Some years ago I was in Munich on business and was lucky enough to have a day off. Munich is a great city to be a tourist in. There's plenty to see, and it's easy to get around even if your German, like mine, is limited to a few mispronounced phrases. The residents of the city seem to constantly wear an expression halfway between bemused and irritated. They will answer any question you put to them with a nearly-inaudible sigh and a slight roll of their eyes. I recognize the expression. Growing up in South Florida I made that face to a great many tourists.

By afternoon I found myself wandering the city with a brightly-colored and well-folded tourist map in my back pocket. I had just strolled through an expansive city park and was waiting for a train at a somewhat out-of-the-way platform. An older couple, speaking with the soft and slow accent of Georgia, was trying to read the U-Bahn map and figure out how to get where they wanted to go. After listening to them a few moments I stepped up and helped them. I showed them how to read the map and what fare to pay to get there. Germany is nothing if not consistent and I had painstakingly learned the basics of the system over a number of trips to Dusseldorf. This exchange left me feeling inordinately proud of myself. I was a tourist, but I wasn't the most clueless tourist, and that seemed to count for something.

The old man thanked me, and the woman took me by the arm, looked me in the eye, and gave me what I'm sure she thought was a wonderful compliment. "Thank you so much," she said. "And you speak English very well."

I really didn't know what to say to that. I was caught between trying explain that I was just an American tourist the same as her, and the desire to make some sort of flippant comment. Even if I had been German, it would hardly have been unusual for me to speak English, though it's not likely I would have spoken with an American accent.

I think in the end I just said thanks and mumbled something about not speaking German anyway. I left them there on the platform just as confused as I'd found them.