I was on the train, and there was an American talking to his Japanese friend in English about 5 feet from me. We briefly made eye contact and he suddenly switched to Japanese.
I smiled, because I do that too. It's a totally pride-fueled maneuver. But, I feel better knowing that there are people out there as petty as I am.
Actually, it's totally cheesy.
But as a feeble attempt at a disclaimer, I always try and speak Japanese in public. But for some reason, when I am with Japanese people, I become conscious of other Westerners.
Not much of a disclaimer. Oh well. OK, I'll say it, I sometimes care too much about how others perceive me.
Now I must go study, so I can go show off for strangers, thank you very much.
;p