8:13am : Colin drops me off at the Mountain View caltrain station
8:16am : I briskly walk towards the ticket vending machine
8:16am : I am interrupted by this graceful old man, wearing a hat, overcoat and gold-rim glasses, with a big suitcase on his left and his wife to his right.
“Exkhuse me, can I buy tickets for the airport from this machine?”
He asked a question, and I heard
“Oh, you look like one of them. Locals! Who spend half their life either waiting for the caltrain or on the caltrain. Maybe you know something about this overpriced Californian public transport system.”
On your day-5 in a fairly new place, being asked for help as if you were a local (although, I see how he could mistake me for a local – there a ton of Indians in the bay, a bit too much for me as well), is like an honor, is like a certification. I felt a sense a obligation and pride to help the man out. Emm and also, the fact that he was old and was with his wife and spoke in a strange language with her.
So, I tried helping them, the machine won’t accept the bills.
(cutting all the mundane details out > we move to a different vending machine) The train is expected at 8:23am
8:20am : I am third in the row to get my tickets. Old man doesn’t seem in a hurry at all. I wonder when his flight is leaving.
8:21am: Old man taps me on my back and shows me a woman trying to buy ticket from the same machine. Makes his point very clear that he wasn’t wasting anyone’s time, the machine is actually at fault. I calmly node in agreement
8:22am: We (myself, old man and wife) get our tickets and now we wait for the train.
“What language did you converse in earlier on?”
“French” …. “But we are NOT French”
“Oh, so you are Canadians ehh”
“Oh, no no, not at all. We are Swiss.”
It is that oh my God, I am so sorry moment. I can’t do much but just deflect my embarrassment by asking some other question…one of my favorite … “So you must know German as well”
“Man nodes, in pride. Naturlisch, Ich kann ja Deutwesch” (Offcourse, I speak German)
“Na ja, schweiz Deutch oder Hoch”(oh well, Swiss German or High-German)
He looks at me surprised and amused and leans back a little and proudly say “Bidas” (Both)
He mentions how he speaks a lot languages, how he is headed to Vegas for the weekend and so on.
8:23am
Train approaches and I ask, “Soll ich mit dem gepack hilfen?” (Should I help you with the bags)
Perhaps I should have said “Darf Ich?” (May I) or “Lass mich hilfen” (allow me to help you)
Anyways, he respectfully denies help. And as the train approaches, puts a hand on my shoulder and whispers
“Wir sind schon Alt aber noch nicht so alt” and Laughs, while tapping my back
“We are already old but not so old”
Neo
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