I was meeting with the Finance Department at my school today, seated facing away from the door and the larger room, and looking at a wall and the woman helping me.
A man walked in to the room who obviously worked there - they referred to him as Tony. I'd had some dealings with a man named Tony so turned around and quickly glanced over my shoulder to see who he was. Then I turned back to the matter at hand, trying not to listen in on the group conversation.
He said something and I started to turn again - when I heard "Hey, I recognize you - you're the American student. The only American... how's that make ya feel?" It was said in a very warm and friendly tone but it totally caught me off guard.
I was seated with a bag on my lap, in a chair that covered my clothes and body, I'd had face time of less than 5 seconds, and I had not spoken a word - how in the world did this guy know I was American from the back of my head???
I was seriously stumped.
It really took me a while before I realized he was my advisor and he recognized me from the photo I had to submit when I sent in my application. It really took me a long time before I got there, though, and my confusion probably came through, making me look like a rather slow and bumbling idiot.
He's nice and rather cool - I met up with him later as he had some questions for me - and now he wants me to check out another class and switch me from a BA program to a Masters degree... I have no problem with that. Less time, more interesting and in depth courses and a fancier piece of paper in the end.
I'll let you know how it goes. In the meantime, I'm the American, the sole American, in the school.
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