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URL: https://boards.fool.com/im-with-you-on-that-one-tb-when-i-arrived-in-19821802.aspx
Subject: Re: OT? Guangzhou translator...	Date: 11/7/2003 11:16 AM
Author: baccigator	Number: 1413 of 3437
I'm with you on that one, TB. When I arrived in Guangzhou (I speak not a lick of Chinese), I had NO idea where my hotel was. The bus dropped me off at the fanciest hotel in town, where not even the concierge spoke English. I don't mean to sound like a spoiled American. I don't generally expect to be catered-to in my native tongue, but I was surprised that the hotel staff spoke no English, especially given GZ's increasing stature in international trade. All I wanted was to get a cab and instruct them where to take me, but that was impossible without finding someone with whom I could communicate. Some fancy prostitutes on the corner spoke a little English, but their vocaulary was limited and we had different spheres of interest. Finally, I saw a young Chinese woman with braces. I thought she must live in the U.S., and it turned out she did. She was home, visiting family. She shared a cab with me, wrote down some phrases for me in my notebook so I could get around, and told the cab driver where to take me. I love being lost in a place like that. But it's nice to be found, too. Luckily, in China, it seems that if you just smile, everything works out.
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