"Um. Besides being herbivores we're... taller? Hermaphrodites? We have wider-set eyes and pointier ears? I think we might be less vicious and competitive on average? There are... ways we're permanently damaged by being away from our own kind, but I already am and it can't get worse."

"Okay, I don't think any of those things are likely to trip anyone up."

Nod. "What happens to me if I misunderstand my job?"

"If you know you don't understand, or something sounds weird, you check with your supervisor. If you make a mistake that you didn't know would be a mistake they carry insurance for that but if it was really bad and they think you'd have to be pretty negligent to make that mistake they might fire you."

"Would that cause problems besides not working for them in the future?"

"If future employers call them for a reference they'll probably mention what happened? And if you additionally did a crime in the process that could also affect things that differ based on your criminal history."

"...Your laws are very complicated."

"They are more complicated than Hari laws."

"Is there a set of actions you can recommend to me as definitely safe?"

"- I think that by the time I'm trying to do that we're assuming so little common ground on what things are reasonable to do that I'd have to specify detail to a level that I'm not qualified to do for you."

Sigh. "I guess so. How likely do you think it is that I'm going to regret this?"

"It's a pretty serious cultural divide but I think if you're going into it with the right attitude you won't."

"What’s the right attitude?"

"You're taking a job in a foreign culture but pretty much nobody there wishes you harm. You can ask most random people for directions or explanations and get answers. Good faith mistakes aren't going to ruin your week, let alone your life. You are set up to succeed if you don't wish anybody harm either."

"...I can try."

"And I wish you the best."

"So. How does this job work?"

Their supervisor presents a map. "You're gonna travel through all the areas marked in red, and disappear the pavement. We're here right now. A robot team will be following you to deploy appropriate safety flags and re-pave, so you should move at a moderate walking pace - at or below three miles an hour - but you don't have to do it on foot if you'd prefer another way to putter around. You want to go two inches deep in most places with concrete, six with asphalt, and you're also going to get the curb," he presents a diagram of a typical stretch of sidewalk to point it out, "in places where that exists. If you get that deep and there's still just concrete or asphalt or aggregate or something like that, keep going down, but stop when you see a panel like this -" Example panels. "Which conceal electrical and plumbing work. If you accidentally vanish a panel, take a picture of the site with the Mapt app and somebody'll fix it, no worries. If the sidewalk is really messed up, like a tree root's cracked it in half, you remove all the pavement and you also take a picture of that in Mapt and the arborist'll take care of the tree, but we last had this done not too long ago so probably that won't come up. If anybody asks what you're doing you're allowed to talk to them, but be polite and professional, and if someone gets annoying, take a picture of them and we can get you a security guy. If you see anything on the sidewalk you're not sure about - last few incidents I can recall were a dead bird and some kid's chalk drawing and an amateur repair with a mosaic in it - skip that part, take a picture, somebody can go in later to deal with it, you're retained for the bulk removal and not the complicated judgment calls. Questions?"

"What ways of talking are polite and professional here?"

"- you don't talk about your or their personal life, you don't use swear words or slurs, you say please and thank you and you're welcome as opportunities to do that come up, you keep your volume down."

"...When would I say 'you're welcome'?"

"If someone thanks you, presumably for removing some janky sidewalk they keep tripping on."

"...Because they're not expected to tip?"

"They are... not expected to tip, that's right..."

"Gotcha." She also has other questions about the mechanical details of the job.