Friendly people

On Monday, I decided that I needed some groceries and I wanted to go to the market because I like the eggs better than the ones at the grocery store.  I also needed a couple of things from the grocery store and the nearest one was inside a small mall.  The grocery store is small and I only needed a couple of things, so I suggested Merrill could wait near the entrance for me.  I returned from the grocery store and still need a couple more items from the drug store.  Setting the bag from the grocery store down next to Merrill, I told him what my next stop was.  As I walked away, I heard some chatting and then Merrill saying, "Yes, that one is my wife."  I was a little surprised because he was sitting on the end of a bench with several older women - older than me!

I finished my errands and collected Merrill from the bench.  I asked if he had found someone to talk to while he was waiting.  "Yes," he replied.  "An English speaker?"  I asked.  "No," he said, "but that didn't stop the conversation.  I told her "Nem magyorul" and "I speak English" but it didn't matter."  We started for the bus and just were chuckling about his experience.  We decided some people just like to chat whether they are understood or not.

As we stood waiting for the bus, around the corner comes a little lady who breaks into a big smile when she sees us and immediately begins to talk to us.  This was the same woman who was talking to Merrill inside the mall.   Once again, we tried the "nem magyorul" and "I speak English" when we couldn't understand her chatter.  It did not slow her down one bit.  We finally figured out she wanted to know where we were from, were we staying in a hotel and how many grandchildren we have.  I guess for not speaking the language, we managed to have a fairly good conversation with her.  She continued to pepper us with questions until her bus came.  She boarded the bus, sat down and waved to us as the bus drove away.  We are still laughing!