People often are so locked into their preconceptions of the way something is that they don't really see or hear it. For example, lots of people insist that one brand of something tastes better than another, but in blind taste tests cannot tell the difference. Or they decide they hate something -- zucchini bread, for example -- but when they taste some without knowing what it is, they like it. (Then after you tell them what it is, they hate it again. I've had this one happen a few times.)
Here's another fine example of this phenomenon. As I mentioned in my last post, I spent some time by the fireplace at my hotel in Olympia. While I was hanging out there, a middle-aged American couple came in, and seeing the fire, sat down on one of the sofas right near me. I'd heard them talking when they came in, so I knew they were American. I smiled at them when they sat down, and said "Isn't a fire nice on a rainy evening like this?" The woman looked me dead in the eye and said "Sorry, I don't speak Greek." I said "Uh, neither do I." Then she got all awkward and apologized.
Now, those of you who know me well know that I enunciate quite clearly. Actually, some people make fun of me because I enunciate so clearly. Many non-native speakers of English have commented that I'm easier to understand than most Americans because of it. I was definitely not muttering, she was not hard of hearing, and as it turned out, the couple was from New York, so it wasn't an accent thing. She'd just decided that I must be Greek and therefore must be speaking Greek, so she'd decided she didn't understand me.
Anyway, I've had this happen once or twice before while traveling. It's just plain weird.
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