The Lady in Lisbon
I've met a few individuals on this trip. Most notable was the Chinese lady in Lisbon.
On my first day in Lisbon, a Chinese lady accosted me in the lobby of the hostel. She asked me if I could speak Chinese. I said yes. Then she asked for my help in translation.
I helped her communicate with the receptionist. The receptionist was so glad that I could help, because she was immensely frustrated with the language barrier that she had to use Google Translator. She said the lady should pay me to be her translator.
The next day, as I was about to join a day tour organized by the hostel, she showed up, with her luggage in tow. She was bound for Madrid.
She said she wanted to join me on the tour. I asked the same receptionist if they could squeeze her in. The receptionist was very hesitant to take her money, because she might miss her train if she joined this tour. The train ticket was expensive. The Chinese lady said she could take the taxi to come back, in case the tour ended late.
For every reason we said no, she had a way to say yes. In theory, it was okay, but in practice it would be costly and not necessarily feasible.
The receptionist asked me to persuade her not to go. The Chinese lady asked me to persuade the receptionist to register her.
In between, she paid for two glasses of orange juice, one for me. She said the orange juice tasted very good. Orange juice was just orange juice. It tasted great because in Portugal they typically squeezed the orange as you ordered the juice, so it's fresh. While I was drinking it, I wondered if China did not have fresh orange juice, or perhaps orange juice not made of oranges.
I failed to negotiate, although I did not fail to translate. So I went to the driver instead, and he agreed to take her. We paid him, instead of the receptionist.
The Chinese lady was elated. She said, for the last six days she was in Lisbon, she didn't go anywhere.
I found her situation and her person quite strange. The receptionist commented, "I don't know how she could travel like this without knowing English." My Swiss penpal said the same. I was not surprised though, because I had encountered a similar situation with a Chinese man in Zurich. Like her, he did not speak any European languages. He was in Paris before arriving in Zurich, after which he would head to the Alps and to Rome. He asked me to sketch out the route for him to go to the Alps and find him accommodation in Rome.
The Chinese lady would go to Spain and then to Greece. She had been to Europe before, either with her husband, her sister, or other friends and family members. Last time when she was in Portugal, she stayed at the five-star Hotel Palacio Estoril,, where the movie of James Bond was shot. This time a girl on the plane recommended her to stay at the hostel. She had a friend in Lisbon, but unable to contact her. So she ended up alone with no means to get around. She wasn't a budget traveler. Money solved her problem of language barrier.
The first stop in our tour was the mountain of Sintra. She saw crepes and wanted it. She waved money at the girl making the crepes. The rest of the tour group waited for her. I did not salivate at the crepes. She ordered orange juice, again. I was so full of orange juice, so I drank slowly. Then she split her crepes in half, for me. I did not want crepes, nor the juice, but she never asked. She just gave them to me. She finished her portion so fast that she probably wolfed it down without tasting.
Next, we went to the palace. She paid for my admission. I gave her my money, but she did not want to take it.
We realized that she had already been to all the places on the tour. Previously, when she traveled with company, they rented a car with driver, and went to all the usual tourist sites.
With the two Chinese travelers I met, even though they had a lot of dispensable income, they tried to live outside of China in the same fashion as they did inside China. They were able to bring themselves to a foreign land, but unable to live and breathe the foreign way.
On my first day in Lisbon, a Chinese lady accosted me in the lobby of the hostel. She asked me if I could speak Chinese. I said yes. Then she asked for my help in translation.
I helped her communicate with the receptionist. The receptionist was so glad that I could help, because she was immensely frustrated with the language barrier that she had to use Google Translator. She said the lady should pay me to be her translator.
The next day, as I was about to join a day tour organized by the hostel, she showed up, with her luggage in tow. She was bound for Madrid.
She said she wanted to join me on the tour. I asked the same receptionist if they could squeeze her in. The receptionist was very hesitant to take her money, because she might miss her train if she joined this tour. The train ticket was expensive. The Chinese lady said she could take the taxi to come back, in case the tour ended late.
For every reason we said no, she had a way to say yes. In theory, it was okay, but in practice it would be costly and not necessarily feasible.
The receptionist asked me to persuade her not to go. The Chinese lady asked me to persuade the receptionist to register her.
In between, she paid for two glasses of orange juice, one for me. She said the orange juice tasted very good. Orange juice was just orange juice. It tasted great because in Portugal they typically squeezed the orange as you ordered the juice, so it's fresh. While I was drinking it, I wondered if China did not have fresh orange juice, or perhaps orange juice not made of oranges.
I failed to negotiate, although I did not fail to translate. So I went to the driver instead, and he agreed to take her. We paid him, instead of the receptionist.
The Chinese lady was elated. She said, for the last six days she was in Lisbon, she didn't go anywhere.
I found her situation and her person quite strange. The receptionist commented, "I don't know how she could travel like this without knowing English." My Swiss penpal said the same. I was not surprised though, because I had encountered a similar situation with a Chinese man in Zurich. Like her, he did not speak any European languages. He was in Paris before arriving in Zurich, after which he would head to the Alps and to Rome. He asked me to sketch out the route for him to go to the Alps and find him accommodation in Rome.
The Chinese lady would go to Spain and then to Greece. She had been to Europe before, either with her husband, her sister, or other friends and family members. Last time when she was in Portugal, she stayed at the five-star Hotel Palacio Estoril,, where the movie of James Bond was shot. This time a girl on the plane recommended her to stay at the hostel. She had a friend in Lisbon, but unable to contact her. So she ended up alone with no means to get around. She wasn't a budget traveler. Money solved her problem of language barrier.
The first stop in our tour was the mountain of Sintra. She saw crepes and wanted it. She waved money at the girl making the crepes. The rest of the tour group waited for her. I did not salivate at the crepes. She ordered orange juice, again. I was so full of orange juice, so I drank slowly. Then she split her crepes in half, for me. I did not want crepes, nor the juice, but she never asked. She just gave them to me. She finished her portion so fast that she probably wolfed it down without tasting.
Next, we went to the palace. She paid for my admission. I gave her my money, but she did not want to take it.
We realized that she had already been to all the places on the tour. Previously, when she traveled with company, they rented a car with driver, and went to all the usual tourist sites.
With the two Chinese travelers I met, even though they had a lot of dispensable income, they tried to live outside of China in the same fashion as they did inside China. They were able to bring themselves to a foreign land, but unable to live and breathe the foreign way.
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