Chile? What's Chile?

I arrived at one of my favorite lunch spots to get something to go between appts today, and I came up behind this lady speaking to the cashier in very good Spanish with an American accent. She was going on and on, speaking quickly with a good grasp of the language, telling the cashier about her travels in Mexico, one of her favorite teachers there during her study abroad time, some of the places she saw and loved, finally asking the cashier where in Mexico she was from. The cashier was patiently listening and smiling but not with the kind of enthusiasm you normally exhibit when someone is sharing something in common with you. When the cashier finally got a word in, she answered back in Spanish that she is actually from Chile. The lady in front of me was confused at first, asking, “chile?” That’s when the cashier switched to English and told her, “I’m from Chile, not Mexico. It’s a very different country from Mexico.” Just then she reached over to hand me my to go container while I paid, cutting into the awkward silence. LOL While the well-intentioned lady in front of me gathered her things, I think she perhaps was reminded of one very important thing… just because someone speaks Spanish doesn’t mean they’re from Mexico in the same way that she and I are not from Canada, or Australia, England, or any other English speaking country out there… sooooo… so much for good intentions. 😂 And… side note… the cashier was very gracious even though this has probably happened to her a million times just this week. #youknowwhattheysaywhenyouassume

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