You’ll all be happy to know that my power of acquiring unsolicited North African men’s phone numbers has not abated and knows no geographical limits. (I’ve got another one for our pile Alex…) I was standing on the street in Kuala Lampur waiting to meet up with a Johan (can I state that I really don’t understand how meeting up with people worked before cell phones) and he was late or I was in the wrong spot or something but I needed to try to call him. I went to an info kiosk and asked to use the phone which of course they wouldn’t let me and Salim comes up all distressed and says “do you speak French?” which the kiosk woman didn’t but I did so I translated for him so that he could get directions back to his hotel. Then the Mediterranean man in him entered:
Salim: “now you have done me a service, allow me to do you a service- may I buy you a drink?”
Laura: “no thank you”
Salim: “coffee? Beer? Tea ? "
Laura: "It’s really not necessary"
Salim: " Ah but it is necessary ! There must be something I can do for you "
Laura’s brain : " yeah, go away!"
Laura’s voice: “Fine, can I use your cell phone?”
Salim: “I don’t have one, but there’s a mall! I’ll buy you a cell phone!”
Laura : “No no no. Really not necessary”
Salim: “It IS necessary!”
Laura: “I’ll just go back to my hostel and use the phone there”
Salim: “I’ll come with you Miss”
Laura: “oh no. I don’t think so and it’s Mrs. I’m married”
Salim: “to an Arab?”
Laura: “no, to an American”
Laura’s brain: ‘thank God you put your ring on the left hand today’
At some point it became clear that it didn’t really matter what I said, he was going to go wherever I went. He seemed harmless and it gave me an opportunity to practice my French and Arabic. I found myself speaking Arabic but answering “ka” (yes in Thai) instead of “eh” (yes in darija) which must have confused him. He came back to the hostel, watched me call Johan, and walked me back to meet him while in the interim giving me his phone number in
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