I hope you all find this story amusing as well as enlightening. It's from a page in my own life and when I look back on it, I find it amusing but at the time it was frightening. Now, i think of it as a possible explanation of how events may take a turn in an undesirable direction.
Many years ago, I took a Russian language course pre-recorded and self-taught. I memorized all the dialogues and thought they were perfect for any situation. I was really getting good at it, or so I thought.
To further my education, I thought I would look for some Russian videos with English subtitles. I was in New York at the time and there is a very nice Russian bookstore called St. Petersburg books. It is located in a section of town where many Russians have settled. At the time, the Russian language was spoken very freely there but it seems as most Russians also spoke at least some English.
I walked into the bookstore and asked the clerk, in English, if there were any videos with English subtitles. She spoke English about as well as I spoke Russian, not very well, but we were able to communicate well enough that she could point me in the right direction.
When I got to the videos, there was a young Russian woman bookstore customer there who noticed that I was trying to find some with English subtitles and she was able to help me even though she spoke no English. After I selected a few, I saw some Russian Music CDs and started browsing, trying to find the Rock CDs. This was a slow process as I was just learning Cyrillic.
I was feeling ok in there but not really comfortable as I felt I was the only fluent English speaker. As I was browsing, two tough looking guys quickly entered the store and started browsing the CDs next to me. They were talking very loudly in Russian, and laughing. I tried to catch what they were saying but it was too fast for me, much faster than the recorded lessons that I was familiar with. I wondered if they were laughing at me.
My adrenaline kicked in and thinking became too much for me to handle. They were quickly browsing and were moving closer to me so I moved over a bit. It wasn't fast enough for one of them and he quickly moved to the other side of me but while passing me he hit me rather hard with his shoulder. He said, Извините (sounds like Izvinite). I froze.
My mind started racing, there were two of them but only one of me. Mind Racing: What does Извините mean, I've heard it before but cant think. Maybe they don't like me for some reason, maybe it's because I'm not Russian like them. Why did I even come here, what am I going to do if they try to harm me in some way. Mind continues: Maybe they don't know I'm not Russian. Don't speak. Try to look as tough as they do . If one of them hits you again, hit back and exit quickly.
Ok no, this is crazy thinking, be calm, heart racing. Maintain tough-guy stance and demeanor, pay for the videos and leave the store. Maybe they won't follow.
The clerk was pleasant and tried to speak some English to me and I started to feel better. She thanked me and I remembered the response in Russian, пожалуйста (pozhaluysta), "you're welcome". As I was walking out, I saw the customer that helped me and I remembered that I hadn't thanked her, Спасибо (Spasibo) "Thank you", I said. She replied, пожалуйста.
Was feeling much better, the guys hadn't followed me, waiting to hail a cab I noticed an older Russian lady selling pastries on the sidewalk. Conversation completely in Russian I bought pastries, asked her where I could catch a cab and she directed me around the corner to a Russian cab service. The pastries were good.
Turned the corner and saw the такси (Taxi). As I walked to the такси, I began thinking about what that guy in the shop said after he hit me. It came to me suddenly. Crap! I thought. He said Извините "excuse me".
He said excuse me and my adrenaline was telling me to hit him. Seriously folks, I began to hyperventilate as began to comprehend what happened and although I hate to admit it, my eyes began to tear like I was crying, as I hyperventilated. It just all happened at once as all the tension drained from my body and was replaced by regret. Got it under control quickly though.
He said excuse me and the polite response is Ничего (it's nothing). He might have thought I was rude for not saying anything, at worst. So glad I didn't listen to my adrenaline mind.
The cab ride home was great, I spoke with the driver in Russian although his English was perfect. I showed him what I bought at the book store. He gave me a rock CD that he found in his cab, left by another customer. I tipped him well. It was a very pleasant ride back and very pleasant day overall.
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Topic: Adrenaline - Is it our friend? (Read 4039 times)