Patience, Pictures and Chinglish
You know it has been a long time when you can´t even remember the password of your blog! Luckily my mac possesses other word processing facilities for when I am feeling inspired to write, so I can post this later when I have gotten the password from my buddy.
I am sad and sorry to say this blog has been a bit of a dissappointment.. Guide of the week was abolished almost the second we started it, probably because we made the first feature too long and then never bothered to do a similar follow-up. As for the pavilion visits which were the main intent of this blog.. well let´s just say, when we have time off work we have very little urge to stay at the expo site at all! Like Trine expressed in her last post, there are A LOT of people. Way back in June some of us dedicated an entire evening to expo sightseeing, and I recall several getting very irritated when having to wait in line at the Thailand Pavilion for FOUR MINUTES!! Yes, we know patience is a virtue and that the people waiting next to us at that point had most likely queued for over an hour. But spending most of your time at the expo site, with an average of just under half a million people swarming around everyday, can really push your limits!
But you know what I miss writing/reading about? The funny stories from China and expo that can sometimes make us laugh untill we cry. Especially involving Chinglish. (No offense to the Chinese visitors, it is great that they try to speak English, and for the most part they do manage to get their point across.. but it is still so so funny) The process leading up to the picture-taking for example, is still quite a source of amusement. Seeing people fiddling nervously with their cameras and practicing their stuttering English can sometimes be priceless. Here a select few phrases that have been used by Chinese to ask us foreigners for a picture:
"Shall we take photo with us?"
"Excuse me, would you like to take a picture with you?"
"Let´s have a shot!"
"Can we make a picture with us?"
"Can we make phone together?"
"Let´s invite you to have a picture with her?"
"Would you like to take a picture with me?" ("No I wouldn´t like to, but it looks like YOU want to take one with me?!")
Please add the ones that I haven´t thought of..
P.S. Even if wearing a bright orange mustache for no apparent reason, people will still want to have their picture taken with you. Also, if you dress up like a dwarf with a mustache, you will be immensely popular. (Someone please send me the picture of Tine so I can post it).
ToRi
