Back in October Sarah and I took a cab driven by a very
friendly Bosnian man. At the time neither of us spoke enough Bosnian to get
through any real conversation the driver and I had to communicate in a
horrifying mix of broken German, English, and Bosnian. It was a confusing
enough experience that I distinctly remember it.
This evening, three months after that cab ride, I got into
another taxi with Sarah which happened to be driven by the same man. He, of
course, did not recognize us, but I recognized him and we struck up a
conversation, but this time entirely in Bosnian. At the end of the ride he
complimented me on my language ability and told me how much he appreciated me
trying to learn his language. It was an incredibly validating experience, especially
because he had no idea I was that same girl from October who struggled with
every syllable of his language. All in all, a good day.
