working for peanuts

A few weeks ago I became very depressed after receiving a text message from my good friend Anne. "My students brought me 50 ears of corn!" It said. "I love the kindness and smiles of this culture."
It was a bad day anyway, but upon recieving this message I couldn't help but think "Jeez. No one in my town has given me anything more than a headache since I've been here!"*
So, I was walking home from the Puesto yesterday when I was stopped on the street by a young girl selling peanuts. "Seño.," she said. "Here is a bag of peanuts for you."
"How much is it?"
"De nada."
I thanked her profusely, and continued down the street with a new swagger. Someone gave me something! Finally! Somebody in this godforsaken place likes me! It might not be 50 ears of corn, but a bag of boiled peanuts seemed good enough for me. These are the moments you have to cherish, I told myself.
I walked into my house, smiling. Nothing could ruin my mood right now, I thought. I had such high spirits, I extended the bag to one of the little kids hanging around our house. This gesture, I thought, would be universal for "Want a peanut?" Instead, he took the whole bag from me and meekly said, "Thank you.
No!!! I thought. My one tiny victory snatched from my hands!
Thankfully, the whole thing just made me laugh. And I'm glad her small gesture of magnanimity turned out to be a gift that kept on giving. But I was really looking forward to those peanuts.

*This is not entirely true. My host family has been very generous with me. It was just the first thing that came to mind.