Took Muni for the first time today in a over a year, a privilege lots of people haven’t had. Was heading back to my old apartment near the ballpark in order to finish up some packing and decided to take a 14 Mission bus from 16th Street BART. Missed the bus by a minute, so I took the next one — a 49 Van Ness, which would get me partway home. I hopped off at Mission and Van Ness, hoping to catch the next 14.
A new luxury tower looms over that corner now, where a Goodwill used to be. Signs advertise an Equinox gym in the retail space — the “Van Mission” location.
While I was waiting at the bus stop, a Guatemalan man, possibly in his late 50s or early 60s, walks by.
The bus doesn’t stop here anymore, he told me in Spanish, gesturing ahead to the new stop.
A block up the street, we both stop and wait for the bus. He asks me if I’m Peruvian. I notice his eyes, which are a bit clouded over.
No, I’m not Latina, I tell him.
He thought I was from Peru because, he said, they don’t speak quite right there.
I laughed. Oh yeah? Do they sound like Californians?
He smiled and laughed.
We talked for a few minutes, mostly in Spanish, about language and where we were both from.
The bus finally arrived and I thanked him for helping me get to the correct bus stop. “Gracias, señor. Qué le vaya bien.”