I went to this little fabric store in my neighborhood this weekend. I walk past it everyday, but I haven’t stopped in because either Buzz was yanking on his leash, or it was closed when I walked by without him.

I went in because I was in a spending mood. I went in and asked for cloth the make clothes. (As opposed cloth to make saris.) She showed me some, but nothing I was really impressed by. So, I told her to show me the sari cloth. I found one I liked. It’s dark blue with a gold thread weave boarder. It’s synthetic, nothing fancy.

I really didn’t have any business buying a sari at all. I don’t even know how to put one on. But being that I was already in the process, I forged ahead. I got the sari and I said, “So, I’ve never bought a sari before, what else do I need to wear it?”
She just gave me this “Her idiot question has left me speechless” look.
So I said, “Well, do I need a petticoat?” (widely known to Americans as a slip, but fortunately I knew to say “petticoat” because I had negotiated this point about sari wearing with someone before.)
She said, “Yes. Of course you need a petticoat.” (Like, DUH!)
I said, “What about the blouse?”
She said, “The blouse is included in the sari.”
(That meant the material was longer than the actual sari.)
I said, “Oh, so I need to take it to the tailor?”
She said, “Yes, yes of course you must take it to the tailor.”
I said, “Okay.”
She said, “Do you know how to tie a sari?”
I said, “No.”
She asked, “How are you going to wear it?”
I said, “I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to ask someone.” And I smiled.

I was thinking about that interaction later and trying to imagine an equivalent situation in the US so that you could understand just how strange the interaction was for this poor woman.

I guess it would be like buying some clothing very common in the US. Let’s say jeans.
If you worked in a store and some foreign person came in to buy some jeans and she bought them and said, “So, I’ve never bought jeans before, what else do I need to wear them?” You would give her the “Her idiot question has left me speechless” look.
If she then said, “Do I need underwear?”
You would say, “Yes. Of course you need underwear.” (DUH)
If she said, “What about a T-shirt?”
You would say, “The T-shirts are in the next section.”
She would say, “So, I need to buy one?”
You would say, “Yes, of course you need to buy one!”
You would say, “Do you know how to put this outfit on?”
She would say, “No.” and smile and leave.

And you would think—that was a loony-bird!