[MA-HE-GOAT]

I too remember when I first went to a Scandinavian country (my first visit outside Kenya), with the language being different, it was hard to know what things at the grocery store were e.g. whether it was food for humans or cat or dog food as they all looked different from our Kenyan ones and were not written in English. I found it strange too that there was no "Uchumi guy" to take my bags when i entered a grocery store and that you had to bag your groceries by yourself unlike at home where the cashier does that. I would take a train and as soon as i got off, i would take the nearest exit not knowing that each exit led you to a different street and would have to come back to the Station and try again. I remember getting to the bus stop just as the bus driver was closing the bus door and even though i was a second or so late and the driver had seen me, it meant i was late and he would not open the door but drive away so i learnt to check the timetable first and keep time. In the US, one time the bus just passed me even though i was standing at the bus stop when i asked a driver the next day, he told me you have to move closer to the kerb (approach the bus) instead of seating at the bus stop or standing there so the driver would know you are approaching the bus because you want to get on otherwise he would assume you were waiting for another number. I also found out here that if you are in a bus, even though you may be standing and approaching the exit door (front door), if you have not rang the bell, the driver will not stop for you to get off and will assume you are just standing there because you feel like it. Also unlike back home, you do not alight at the nearest door but you enter and alight from the front. I still find myself using phrases like: "You need to indicate when turning" instead of "Put on your blinkers" . "Alight" instead of "get off the bus" and Americans don't understand these phrases. A lot of them are ignorant and could easily tell you Kenya is the capital of Africa and that all Africans speak the same language cause Africa is a country. Lots of the African American think Africa is still a dark continent with people living in the bush and are surprised when you tell them the big cities are just like any city in America (of course apart from the roads).