The Steps to Reading Body Language 25
With nowhere to go during the day, she sits home and watches tele-
vision with her kids around the clock. The farmhouse is equipped
with satellite TV, so she not only gets news, but also American
crime shows, and a plethora of programs that cause her to con-
clude that the United States has a population of immoral, insane
people. She spits at you and the other soldiers, as her husband
gestures for her to sit down and shut up.
The electronics repairman’s brother owns the house; he’s a
sheep farmer who makes a point that he has a thriving business.
He uses his arms to indicate that his flock is enormous and that
they keep him busy night and day. His wife has two kids at home
and, similar to her sister-in-law, all she does is take care of the kids
all day. From the way she answers questions, she seems to be
more educated than the other woman.
After you ask a barrage of standard questions, such as “Where
you were born? How long have you lived here?” the tactic you and
your buddies use is to ask questions designed to make each person
leak information about the others. You go after the woman who is
vocal in her anti-Americanism and suggest she’s obviously alone in
her feeling.
“No!” she screams and points again and again to her sister-in-law.
“Ask her. She knows what they’re like!”
The other woman strides from where she was standing and
faces you directly. “Yes, I know because I saw for myself how you
kill,” she says quietly. “She sees it only on TV.”