7-ELEVEN SPECIAL

I went to the supermarket, it's actually called 7-Eleven (I'll get a pic), last Saturday (about 30 minutes from my place, two taxis), which has become one of my routines. The people there at the store are very friendly. The first time I went there I had to buy quite a bit of start-up groceries, and for that amount of food (and money) I had three helpers: one to push the cart, one to explain confidently and repeatedly in English that they "have everything", and one to get whatever I pointed to.  Fun times.  Women who work there, the "stockers", normally walk around and look at you (the single white male), and wait to ask if you need help as soon as you start thinking about what you need for more than one second. Yesterday was a special trip. As I was looking through the tea section, a younger, chattier (rather pretty to be honest) female employee asked if I needed help. I said I was looking for caffeine-free tea. She didn't understand the concept.  She said she didn't speak any English and asked me to speak Amharic. I said I couldn't speak much, so she just smiled and asked me for my phone number. I chuckled and thought, "What a great county!"  Although it would have been a great opportunity to improve my Amharic, I kept my smarts about me and realized that our interests didn't match: she was looking for a long-term relationship and I only wanted Peppermint tea.

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