Are you serious?

More than once this week, I posed the question, Are you serious? Certain social encounters really throw me off like when you meet a friend for lunch and, as soon as you sit down, a man you do not know tells you to scoot over so he can sit at the same table. No, neither you nor your friend invited him to sit down much less know him. As you're trying to talk he interrupts to ask if you could speak French, because he cannot understand what you are saying. He tells you it as if you were speaking Chinese... When this happens the day after two guys expect you to pick up their tap after going out for a drink with a group of friends, even though they were the ones who invited themselves to come along, it begins to wear on you. And then your French teacher asks to end class early so he can go to the grocery store, even though it will still be open after class... sometimes it's just hard to understand. From others, you experience generosity and kindness that makes you feel a part of a family and gives you a sense of belonging such as cooking lunch with a friend, receiving a beautiful necklace from a beggar, and laughing with neighbors as they teach you a foot game.