telophase | (no subject)

(no subject)

rachelmanija! I just thought of this! We shall have to see if my superpower of getting total strangers to stop me on the street and ask for directions functions in Japan! I know it works in the US, in England and Wales*, and in France.

* I don't remember if anyone asked me for directions in Scotland.

For those who are new here, my superpower forces total strangers to zero in on me in a street full of people and ask me for directions, usually in cities where I'm a tourist. In London, a vanload of Lebanese men flagged me down on the sidewalk to ask me the way to Victoria Station, and an hour later a group of giggling Japanese girls asked me how to get to Trafalgar Square. And a few days later in Paris, two French people flagged me down to ask me directions.

Luckily, I usually have a map on me, so even when I'm unfamiliar with the area I often can provide directions. But we'll see if it works in a place where I'm very obviously not local.

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I can't wait to see. I think it would actually be cute if it did. And it's another country to add to the list.

I had this happen to me in Japan and Scotland, but only foreigners (businessman, tourist, in that order); nobody local. Does it only count if locals do it? ^_^

I think it counts when non-locals do it, but it counts double when locals do it. XD

Little old ladies were always asking me the way to the Splinter-pulling Jizou or the Metropolitan Art Centre (and young types were always asking me the time.) OTOH a long-time Tokyo resident told me little old ladies *do* ask foreigners for directions often enough, for reasons no one has ever figured out.

You're just so gosh-darn-trustworthy-looking. :)

Sounds like my entire family's power to draw people who are having a bad day to us and tell us their woes... not in any kind of bitchy manner, mind, but as people looking to commiserate or unload their burden. We figure we have some kind of "nice people" sign over us in the cosmos somewhere.

My friend Clint has a version of that same power ... only it draws crazy people, who want to complain to him about the government tattooing us with barcodes or the aliens abucting them and things like that. It makes the time in college when we were on the bus and a drunk guy boarded, sat down in front of us, and explained to us exactly how much he liked Bruce Lee seem positively pedestrian.

Maybe I just look like I always know exactly where I am.

Yes, let's! I had people ask me for directions repeatedly, in Spain, in Spanish. I can see why I might look vaguely Spanish (dark hair, dark eyes, olive skin-- I look vaguely anything of non-Scandinavian European or Middle Eastern descent) but not why they did notice that every time, I myself was desperately wandering about in circles.

I once had a Swedish woman ask me if I were Swedish. OMGWTFBBQ?

And someone once asked me if I were Belgian. The only Belgians I know are Hercule Poirot and Jean-Claude van Damme, so presumably I'm a dead ringer for one or the other.

What you have is the affliction

bookmama29 describes as "libarian face". You appear approachable and knowledgeable in any language.

Affliction? Ir makes it sound like

telophase is followed around by the tolling of bells and has been forced to live in the sewers to avoid the persecution of those who just don't understand.

Though I think it could make for a wonderful story... A society that has forced all it's librarians and academically minded people to hide their intelligence in an underground kingdom full of fantabulous knowledge for knowledges sake and wonderous inventions whilst the world above degenerates in to savage war-ridden animals. :D It's probably been done before though.

You just gave me a image of 'UNCLEAN' signs drapped around the classic 'short woman with glasses' sterotype image of librarians.

Heh. I'm here to serve ;)

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