How funny that I was coming home to write about languages and saw that you beat me to it!

I had a very humorous exchange this evening at dinner with my dad, my stepmom, and her mother in SoHo. We're eating a variety of fish and discussing Solzhenitsyn when the women at the table next to us interrupt me:

"Excuse me, would you like a martini? [flattery followed. I can't repeat it here without embarrassing myself] You look like you drink martinis."

"Hi, ok, thanks!"

"Can we take a picture with you and your family?"

"...OK."

"Wow, you're American?"

"Yes, I live in New York."

"That's so great that your dad and your mother are here to visit you!" [note: they were referring to my stepmom's mother, and couldn't quite figure out where my stepmom came into this picture]

"They live in Brooklyn, too."

I took a photo with them, they took a photo of me and my family, and they continued to flatter me while I wanted to continue discussing Solzhenitsyn's critique of Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev, but such is life. It shocked me that they were so surprised to hear that I spoke fluent English. I suppose it makes sense since to that point, they had heard me speak another language (and therefore assumed I only spoke that one?), which was quite shocking to me as I usually speak 2-6 languages a week (last week involved English, Russian with the family, Spanish in the blog, Sanskrit at yoga, Japanese at Kaoru's taiko class, and I usually toss around some French even when not in the midst of a full-fledged French film series).

Having spoken 2 languages since I was 5, I find the idea of speaking only one language so foreign that I had to think for a minute about why they thought I wasn't American (Is it my wrap dress? My sexy grandma shoes? My bangs? My wine? Oh, wait, maybe it's because I'm speaking another language).

Interestingly enough, they started talking about family values and about how "dads rock" and I didn't have the heart to tell them that I come from a "broken home," and that the woman they referred to as my mother was my step-grandmother.

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Well, that was all I was going to write, but I also read what you wrote and feel compelled to add my thoughts on this chicken coming before the egg. Most people find it quite amusing that I have a band before I can play an instrument, but I need to be able to see the big picture before I can focus on the smaller details (in this case, learning to play an instrument). So it's pretty safe to say that I would not be learning to play an instrument if it were not for Boobie Circus. By the by, I've drafted someone to play ukelele for our cover of "Judy is a Punk." Soon enough I can start scoping out a place for us to have our first rehearsal.

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What did I tell you about Flight of the Conchords and beer????

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Hey, about our meeting in February: let's plan it! Dates and airports should come first, followed by Carnival plans. Si?