no speak...uh..yingwen...english. no speak english

I was going downtown today to try to find a waterproof backpack so I could tred outside in the treacherous Bloomington rain w/o having to worry about my books or laptop getting wet. I walked down Kirkwood and made a right at the Courtyard, heading to Samira's Restaurant, looking for any shop with backpacks. This lady was in my way, and just stood there, smiling at me. Uh...not knowing what to do, I smiled back. It seemed like she needed some help, and she didn't look like she was begging for money or anything, so I took out my earphones. Me: Hi. How ar... Her: Hi! So what nationality are you? Me: ...uh, Chinese. Her: Wow! That's so far away! So how long have you been here? Me: Since the beginning of the school year, since August Her: That's amazing! You really don't have an accent at all! Me: Haha, nope! So by now I realized she thought I was a lost foreign exchange student...not wanting to deflate her hopes and not quite sure how to get out of this situation, I just played along. I suddenly made sure to speak more slowly and more Chinese-like and laugh a lot. Me: I am good at it I guess! Haha! So I am looking to buy a backpack. I do not know where to buy a backpack. Do you know? Her: OH! I know just the place, I'll point it out to ya, just hold on I need to put this *lifts shopping bag* into my car *points to her car, parked right next to us*. Me: Ok I will wait. Her: Ok, so now we just wait for that light to go green *points to the pedestrian sign*. Do you know green? Like the color of the grass. Or the color of that sign, see that's green! *points to 6th Street sign* Me: We can go (the sign had turned into the white pedestrian sign) Her: So what's your name? Me: Sibo Her: Sibo? My name is Alo. No, it's really just Alice. Me: Haha! Her: It means bright and shining truth. But sometimes that's just a little too pointed you know? Me: Haha! At this point I really was laughing and wondering if I should just let her know about the misunderstanding. Her earnestness was really funny but also kinda awkward to respond to. Her: Oh ok. So the shop is just across the next street. It's...I can't see because of the sun. Me: The J.J. store? Her: Yeah, Jay Jaaay! That's right! Ok have fun! Enjoy it here! Me: I will, thank you. Byebye. What a nice lady. I hope in China there will also be helpful people like that. I'll just walk around aimlessly looking for a backpack store, and my Chinese fairy godmother will spring up and guide me. Oh wait, I look like them. Haha!