Tabby saying the cashiers crouch down and look at their phones when customers approach reminded of the time my wife and I toured a headhunters’ village in Borneo. We were told the tour company had negotiated permission for us to enter the village and, more importantly, be allowed to leave uneaten. There was a list of things we weren’t supposed to say or do. We couldn’t make eye contact with them or else the warriors would take it as a challenge and the tour company couldn’t be responsible for what happened. The young male warriors had loin cloths over their swim trunks. The young female villagers wore flower leis and grass skirts over their bikinis. What amused me the most was that as we approached each work station, they all hurriedly put down their cell phones and picked up spears. knives, sewing supplies, cooking utensils, etc. I desperately wanted to make eye contact but didn’t. They were putting on a show and I thought I should cooperate.
Before we went to Tanzania my wife bought some Swahili tapes. Midway through the trip the tour guide told me if he just heard her speaking, without looking at her, he would think she was a native Swahili speaker. But it was mind-boggling to him to hear flawless Swahili coming from an American mouth. I could say yes, no, please, thank you, etc. One morning I thought I had ordered coffee for breakfast but the server brought me a cup of tea. Oh well, I thought, the tea was good. After a few minutes she very shamefacedly brought me a cup of coffee, saying “This is for you. I told everyone in the kitchen that you ordered coffee in Swahili…and then I brought you tea!”
I don’t know what a Hufflepuff is, so I don’t know if I agree or not.