Stupid TouristsWhat's the stupidest thing you've ever heard a tourist say? Ever heard an American talking about visiting "Scotchland, England", or (and this one is actually real) a Japanese couple talking about the correct way to say Clapham is actually Clatham, as "ph" sounds are pronounced "th". Which has a certain logic really. UPDATE: Please, no more Loogabarooga stories. It's getting like, "and I opened my eyes and my mum had left me a cup of tea!"
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chthonic, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 16:31)
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"Stupid Tourists III" entryAbout a year before I was born, my parents went on their first (and thus far only) trip to Japan. Now, my mom barely knows enough Japanese to talk to her own mom, and I've never determined how much of it she can read, which probably isn't very much.
One day my mom was in a train searching for a restroom, and she asked a staff person (in Japanese) if there was one nearby. Apparently, while she had asked correctly she spoke very slowly, comparatively. That, coupled with the fact that the restroom was right next to her probably made the staff person think she was merely mentally retarded and not a tourist.
My mom's advice for future travels? "Just speak English!"
All of my mom's trips abroad have been very pleasant, although it is funny when people discover that a gaggle of Asian women are Americans and speak English, not Chinese/Japanese. As for the girth of America, the tonnage never fails to astound me...
(, Thu 7 Jul 2005, 19:41, Reply)
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