¿Española?

"La ciencia será siempre una búsqueda, jamás un descubrimiento real. Es un viaje, nunca una llegada."

I´ve been here for about ten days. I´ve already been mistaken for a Spanish person on several occasions. Two nights ago I was walking without a destination around the city and a student stopped my on the sidewalk. "Do you know where.... is? You´re from here right?" "No I´m from the United States" "Oh really? Your Spanish is bastante bien."

About a half an hour later, a guy yells at me from a car, "¿Habla inglés?" He is here on business... Sounded like he was from England. He had no idea where his hotel was. His hands are shaking, and he looks nervous. I tell him to calm down. I don´t recognize the name of his hotel so I decide to call for back up. I approach a professional looking Spanish man walking by. He happily offers to help and approaches the man in the car and starts talking in Spanish. I tell him that the man does not speak Spanish well. The Spanish man tells me directions to the hotel in Spanish. I then translate the directions to English. I thank the Spanish man and he is off on his way. I tell the man in the car that the best advice I have for him is to not worry. If you get lost... ask again. Watch the movements of Spanish peoples' hands as they give you directions. Go in that direction. Ask again. Go in that direction. You will get there.