WHERE IS THE HOTEL? HOTEL! HOTEL!

The problem with dealing with people of vastly different ethnic and cultural backgrounds is that when one recognizes their behavioural social assumptions, one can either act like a typical tourist oneself -- respond ever louder without approaching the situation -- or adapt to the person in question, and circumvent potential stumbling blocks. Which is okay, but if there are too many of them at once from widely divergent mental places, one ends up spinning and disoriented. I am the designated United Nations tranlator and diplomat at work. Because I am linguistically flexible and somewhat well-travelled. And I've dealt with everything from Suez to Yokohama in the last two days.

I'm a Dutch-speaker from somewhere in Middle Earth, okay?.
We don't have your "precious", there is hobbit here.
Who is this Smaug of whom you speak?
And please, no Orcs.

Do not try to speak Elvish at me. Yo no comprendo.

The best time of day is before the doors open. If anybody comes in it will usually be the neurosurgeon, who is very easy to get along with, much like the medical researcher who works on cancer treaments. Both are rational and brilliantly intelligent and consquently communication is effortless and enjoyable. There is content and expertise.

The worst time of day is from lunch till closing when all the neediest hard of hearing bozos in a hundred mile radius stumble in. And please understand that "hard of hearing" is meant metaphorically and diplomatically.

Trust me, there are piranhas and sharks in that upland lake. Don't go swimming.


On the other hand, I am well advanced on cleaning up several oversized Charatans of the type that advertise that the smoker who used to use them had a very small penis and desperately needed to compensate.


Lovely briar. Just too damned large.
Biological freak.



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