Dear Friends,

Years ago, at the Aventura Mall near Miami, a retail store manager greeted me in Spanish, “Hola. ¿Cómo está señor?”  “Why do you assume I speak Spanish?” I asked her.  She responded, “You look like un Colombiano!”

In 2003, in Hanoi, I traveled with Sushma and Paawan from Mumbai.  They admitted to me later that at first they guessed I was from India.

Last December, when I was in Cairo, the hotel staff addressed me in Arabic.

Recently, in a retail shop in Miami, once again, the sales lady spoke to me in Spanish.   This is just the latest example of a common occurrence.

What’s going on?  Do I present “international” facial features? Some “trans-national” coloring? A “global” carriage? Posture? Bearing?

What’s in my blood?