The time I was mistaken for my husband’s tour guide
A couple of years ago, my parents in law and four of our friends (two Taiwanese couples that live in China) flew to Spain to attend our wedding. As it was the first time they went, I took them to visit several cities both in Spain and Portugal and we spent 10 days travelling around. When we were in Madrid, one of the Taiwanese women wanted to buy some shoes from a fancy Spanish brand and she had even looked up the shop’s address. Chinese people love shopping in Europe because brands are cheaper than in China (because in China, foreign brands have a high tax). So we went to the shop, she tried on the booties she had previously seen online, and she bought them. Her English is pretty much nonexistent, so during the whole process I was being the translator between her and the seller. When the deal was done and we were heading for the door, the seller asked for my business card, “In case I have more Chinese customers in the future, I can contact you”, she said. At first I didn’t understand what she meant, then it dawned on me and I laughed: “I’m not working, these are my family and friends”. The seller was quite embarrassed and quickly apologised, but I wasn’t mad. It was an easy mistake to make.
A selfie with my “tour group”.
I really smiled! Love your photo!
Haha, this is so funny! And such a cute story. Thank you for sharing, Marta.
Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com
Ha funny story, but I’d have to wonder if it ever happened to me… would you ever consider actually being a tour guide?
Mmmm, not sure. What if my customers are super annoying? xD
When my husband’s family came to a small town in New Hampshire for the wedding, the staff at the hotel couldn’t tell any of them apart. Imagine my shock when the hotel staff told me how crazy my drunk fiancee had been the previous night…until I figured out it was his brother (a foot shorter and 40 pounds less than my husband).
Well, that also happens here, haha. For Chinese people, westerners all look the same! (unless there is some super obvious difference like brown hair vs blond hair).
Hahaha! So funny but it does happen. Maybe one day you can consider a career as a tour guide 😛 That looked a very fun selfie group.
Who knows, maybe I move back to Spain and start a business taking Chinese tourists there :D
It looks like you were all having fun. That’s a cute picture.
The case of mistaken identity that I remember was when my husband returned to his hometown, Gulangyu, after more than 30 years of absence. China had recently opened up to the rest of the world, and in Gulangyu they weren’t used to seeing Overseas Chinese. Since my husband’s clothes and mannerisms were different, they didn’t think he was Chinese. He was pretty angry when he overheard his own countrymen talking about him as being Japanese.
Hehe, that has happened to C. too… the last time it was this year! He doesn’t look very Han (he likes to joke saying he’s from Xinjiang), he has a big nose and he goes around with a foreign woman… People just assume he’s not Chinese.
Great story Marta and you handled it really nicely – a genuine mistake (assumption) by the shopkeeper.
Hahhahaahahhaaha.
Hehehe! Marta’s Tours. You could start a tour guide where you are now. The other way around!