¿Como?

Excellent class on Bolaño tonight. My ears lasted an hour and a half, which is good. On my way home I stopped in a nice bookstore/café on Callao and asked if they had a book I’ve been looking for. I must have been more tired than I thought, because I didn’t understand one word the clerk said in response. I tilted my head and looked quizzical (a gesture I learned from Aggie) and he repeated whatever it was he said. Again, zilch. He tried again and somehow I gathered that he was asking where I was from. I said New York and he apologized. Turns out he thought I my accent was Italian and had been speaking to me in Italian.