Definitely
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I’ve had some foreigners giving me some smiles and staredowns on the streets last couple days.
Is they one of you?
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good band name
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I just hope the older version of me I see on the train every Friday morning isn’t a bad dude because the younger version I see on Friday afternoons sure looks like he gets up to shenanigans. It really throws a kink in people’s necks when we are in the same car and they’re rubber necking worse than tennis fans.
YO !
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You think too much
You see a vision of your younger and older you while you take the train? You need a shrink
Let you in on a little secret… Tommy don’t got even a G150
G-string maybe? 
Yup I got a g string budget
Only if I already know you. I only go as far as to nod at someone who has already nodded at me when it comes to foreigners I don’t know.
This should be in the life on buses thread, but it fits this convo.
Yesterday I had a 2 hr bus ride involving two bus changes. At the bus stop and on the first bus, we didn’t even acknowledge each other. After the first bus change we gave each other a nod. Second bus change, he gets off at a stop and I get off at the next stop, only to find we both get on the same next bus. He says, “Heeeeey!”
I say “Heeeeeey!”
He was all friendly smiles. He got off just two stops from my house. As he exited he turned around and yelled “Heeeey!”
If I ever see him again, I will use our greeting.
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Does anyone else put on a fake, randomly chosen accent when meeting other foreigners? Or is that just me?
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This was one of best mundane stories I’ve read. Nice writing 
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I feel as if I live in two worlds now. I spend mornings and evenings on zoom calls with the US/Europe so I don’t think I’ve quite lost my ability to interact with westerners. Once I see them on the street, I assume they’re just any old regular Joe I’d see on the street in the US. When they turn out to be a weirdo, like that dude hiding in the bushes with all his belongings (homeless?), I’m taken aback by it.
However, I do remember what it’s like to live here and not have exposure to westerners/Americans for a long period of time. Moving back to the US after that, I felt like I had to learn to socialize with Americans again. They’re always asking how you’re doing in grocery store line, telling you their life story. So friendly. If that happens here, it’s because a local wants to practice English. I respond in Chinese until they give up…or they’re sincere and I’ve made a new friend!
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May just be you
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I like to give a nod if I feel someone looking at me. Sometimes I get nothing back and they just stare at me which ruins my day. Also, why are all the foreigners here so tall?
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I’ve gone full on Scouse English once but then it backfired. I ran out of slang I knew and so switched to an American Texas accent…of course not! Are you serious?
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That’s why flipping the bird is the preferred greeting. You walk away happy and even proud regardless of the reaction ( reciprocation, shock, laughter, etc).