A woman just called me three times looking for her little sister.
The first time I gave her the old, "Da cuo le" - wrong number, and after a brief, confused pause, she hung up.
The second time, a minute later, she tried to clarify the number. It was the right number, so I told her whoever gave it to her must have written it down wrong. She asked if I live in district 3. I said no. She asked my name. I told her. It was nothing close to what she was looking for. Baffled, she hung up.
The third time she called she asked who I was again. I told her our surname and asked who she was looking for (again). She told me it was her sister. She asked if her sister was here. I told her there were four people here, all with my last name. This again baffled. I asked if she wanted me to go look for her sister. She said yes. (sarcasm apparently does not translate). I told her that her sister definitely was not at my house. She then asked again if I live in district 3. I told her I really wasn't. Finally satisfied, she apologized for inconveniencing me.
On the contrary, she amused me greatly.
Winding Down
12 years ago
5 comments:
That is funny! Glad you could see the humor in it!
It's a really common situation actually! When people get the wrong number, they often try to insist that I'm the mistaken one, and they seem genuinely mystified as to why the person for whom they search is not at my house. :)
Last week i had the fortune of talking with someone whom I had no previous knowledge. She called, and it was obviously the wrong #. Only thing is, she didn't hang up. So, I asked how she was doing. Then she asked how I was doing and on went the conversation. When I had enough, I mentioned she should call the person she intended to call. She didn't understand, and I almost had to hang up on her! Bizzare, but probly not as bizzare as doing in it Mandarin ;-)
Wendy - yeah, that's just weird! Actually I think it might be weirder than in Mandarin. At least here it's not totally unexpected!
So humorous! You have so many things that are funny happen to you- the fruit man, etc! Love your stories! Now I know what to say when someone calls with the wrong number. I usually say "Wo ting bu dong" and hang up! :)
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