May 11, 2025

My friend and I were in a restaurant and we asked someone if they had any recommendations for nearby places to check out. We were directed to a small help desk with laminated guides of attractions in the area. My friend was scribbling in their day planner with a marker.

Two women approached us and asked if I’d like to join them. I said that I already had a group and awkwardly dropped the conversation. My friend turned around and asked where they were planning to go next. One of them said she was “thinking about Japan. Maybe Hebei.”

“Did you mean Tohoku?” I asked. Their names weren’t too dissimilar and I knew the latter was actually a place in Japan.

“No, she meant what she said.” Her friend responded while giving me a funny look.

I felt embarrassed as I realized I had once again acted on my bad habit of talking over other people to “correct” them. While one might expect that what came after “Japan” should be a locale within the former, but technically there was nothing wrong with mentioning two distinct places.