Just Me And A Laotian Guy

I was in an awkward social situation yesterday. There were four people at the front of our house, me, my wife, a Laotian friend (woman) who speaks very good English, and her aged father who doesn't know any English.

We're talking along, with dad standing their very silent and stoic looking.

Pretty soon something happened to separate all of us, except for me and the dad. The woman went running to see if she could find a recipe for egg rolls. And simultaneously my wife went into the house to get something, I can't remember what.

So there I am, alone with a guy who can't speak, and I can't speak to him. We're just there. At first I tried to make a gesture, like calling attention to his coat, then acting like I'm hot. As if to say, "Aren't you hot in this thing?" He did the exact same thing, as if to say, "I have no idea what you're trying to say."

From that point on, and we had four or five minutes standing there, we didn't say anything. I just stared straight ahead and I suppose he was too. It felt like it would be super rude to just leave, so I stood my ground, and finally the women came back.

I was thinking, "What's the chances of this? One in a million, that I'm out here alone on the front step with an elderly Laotian man."