I went into a hardware store to get some brown paint, and couldn't remember the word for 'brown', so I asked "Como se dice brown en Espanol?"
A couple of them got together, shrugged their shoulders, and said 'Brown esta brown.'
I didn't feel so bad about forgetting the word for brown. (I think was looking for 'moreno' but that may only apply to hair.)
Some of the gringos on base couldn't believe I was living off base. Some of them actually told me the locals would carry machattes just to attack gringos. Some of them lived there three years and never stepped foot off base. My group mingled with no problems.