I should be dissertating right now, but ...
Here's a weird happening.
It's 3:30 AM, Canadian time (I'm blogging from Halifax, Nova Scotia; I'm up here for a conference), and I hear a knock outside my door. I don't whether it's on my door or not, so I look through the peephole.
No one there.
I open the door. To my right, I see a young, Asian woman, knocking on the door of the room next to me. When I appear outside my room, she notices me. Wanting to give an explanation of myself -- as I'm wont to do -- I say, "oh, I thought you were knocking on my door" (at 3:30 in the morning). She says, in perfect Canadian English:
"No, I ... hey, this is gonna sound weird, but do you know how to open these doors? I think this is the right key, but it won't work."
"Oh, that's easy," I say. "Just turn the lock to the left." She gives me her key and I promptly do that. The door opens.
"Thanks, she says. You're amazing."
"You're welcome."
She then opens the door and STARTS SCREAMING AT THE PERSON INSIDE. In Chinese.
By the time she started screaming, I was in my room. I start listening to iTunes, but the screaming continues, and gets really loud, and I hear all sorts of stuff being, uh, thrown around and impacting against the wall of my room. I'm pretty sure, anyway.
The screaming has died down, but I have officially checked another item off of the list of polite things I will never do for people again ("helping strangers get back onto 'their' horse", you've got a new buddy!).
It's 3:30 AM, Canadian time (I'm blogging from Halifax, Nova Scotia; I'm up here for a conference), and I hear a knock outside my door. I don't whether it's on my door or not, so I look through the peephole.
No one there.
I open the door. To my right, I see a young, Asian woman, knocking on the door of the room next to me. When I appear outside my room, she notices me. Wanting to give an explanation of myself -- as I'm wont to do -- I say, "oh, I thought you were knocking on my door" (at 3:30 in the morning). She says, in perfect Canadian English:
"No, I ... hey, this is gonna sound weird, but do you know how to open these doors? I think this is the right key, but it won't work."
"Oh, that's easy," I say. "Just turn the lock to the left." She gives me her key and I promptly do that. The door opens.
"Thanks, she says. You're amazing."
"You're welcome."
She then opens the door and STARTS SCREAMING AT THE PERSON INSIDE. In Chinese.
By the time she started screaming, I was in my room. I start listening to iTunes, but the screaming continues, and gets really loud, and I hear all sorts of stuff being, uh, thrown around and impacting against the wall of my room. I'm pretty sure, anyway.
The screaming has died down, but I have officially checked another item off of the list of polite things I will never do for people again ("helping strangers get back onto 'their' horse", you've got a new buddy!).
posted by Bobcat at
2:29 AM
3 Comments:
So much for the stereotype that we Canadians are insanely polite (although I think that I already single-handedly demolished it during my time in 'the States').
What's the conference? Are you giving a paper?
By
Akrasia, at 7:51 PM
I dunno, it sounds like she was polite before the door was opened.
By
Christer Watson, at 11:44 AM
You should have told her "Ni you yi ge da pigu."
By
kmosser, at 5:42 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home