Just like California

You'll never guess who I ran into at the park today.... Asian grandparents! Taking care of their grandchild. And only one of them spoke English (and not much at that). It was reminiscent of going to parks in the bay area (except that it was 35 degrees).

The parks by our old house were full of Chinese grandparents with their grand kids. I couldn't talk to them, but I recognized them, and they me, whenever we were out at the same place. We waved a lot. The kids always played together. There must be a common language amongst children that requires no real words. Here I rarely run in to grandparents, and almost never run into Asian people who speak English as a second language. When I do, those people are usually surprised that I can understand them. Heck - I use to live in Cupertino. Accents are just no big deal. The gentleman today seemed surprised that I talked to him, and then kept talking. His accent was thick, but understandable. His granddaughters name was Annabelle, and I really thought he said "Anna Bear" at first. Then my translating "what did he mean to say" brain kicked in, and I was fine. He has no idea how comforting it was to talk to him, and watch the kids play together. It felt like I was back in California again.