"Do You Speak English Too?!"

Earlier this summer, I moved to a new neighborhood. In the old one, most people spoke French and many of our neighbors were foreigners. In the new place, it’s all Somalis. As far as I know, my roommate and I are the only foreigners in our section. And since she is South American and is often mistaken for an Arab, I am the only white person in our area. So I rarely speak English when I’m in our neighborhood. Usually at shops and little restaurants, I practice my Somali or resort to French if I can’t make myself understood otherwise. I usually also wear Somali or Arab clothes, so many people ask if I am either Arab, or a French woman married to a Somali (or a single French woman looking for a Somali husband). The other day, I saw one of my students on the street and we started talking in English. A woman from one of the nearby shops who I had only spoken French and Somali to exclaimed in English, “Wow!!! You mean you speak English too?” I laughed and said “Yes, of course! ”
“That’s great! You speak really well. Did you learn here in Djibouti?”
“Umm, no actually. I learned in the US.”
“Oh really? How long did you study?”
“I been working on it about 24 years now.” She looked at me curiously and said “But you don’t look that old.” I laughed and said “Auntie, I’m American and English is my mother tongue! Didn’t you know?”
“No!” she laughed. “It’s just that you seem so Djiboutian. I just thought you were French and had learned English and Somali.”
We both cracked up, but I still can’t tell if this is a compliment to my French or an insult to my English. :)