Learn from the mistakes of others

i took the buses into the city today to catch up with an old friend who's been in town for the past two weeks.

on the way in, i was surrounded by tourists. american tourists.

now, this is usually amusing, just for the converstations they have about the 'way they do things here' and 'how much better/different is is back home'.

but today's conversation was special.

the group turned out to be a family, with their very own tourguide.


the tourguide was also american.


and she spoke very sloowly. and repeated everything at least twice.

after ten minutes it became irritating. i began to consider asking her if either she, or her clietns, were morons.

then i realised, she was probably an old teacher - probably primary teacher - who thought she had to speak that way so that the family would (a) understand her, (b) remember the inane facts she was repeating, and (c) not realise that she had learned everything off rote - and this was her rote-remembering voice...

[some of the things she said were out of date, and clearly paraphrasing some chirpy tourist guide. the woman sounded like a pre-recorded message, in monotone.]

i took the buses into the city today to catch up with an old friend who's been in town for the past two weeks.

on the way in, i was surrounded by tourists. american tourists.

now, this is usually amusing, just for the converstations they have about the 'way they do things here' and 'how much better/different is is back home'.

but today's conversation was special.

the group turned out to be a family, with their very own tourguide.


the tourguide was also american.


and she spoke very sloowly. and repeated everything at least twice.

after ten minutes it became irritating. i began to consider asking her if either she, or her clietns, were morons.

then i realised, she was probably an old teacher - probably primary teacher - who thought she had to speak that way so that the family would (a) understand her, (b) remember the inane facts she was repeating, and (c) not realise that she had learned everything off rote - and this was her rote-remembering voice...

[some of the things she said were out of date, and clearly paraphrasing some chirpy tourist guide. the woman sounded like a pre-recorded message, in monotone.]