How many times have you wanted to slowly slit your own throat while hanging yourself with dental floss while self immolating when you hear this schtuff:
"OH HI! I'm going to be in Munich/Berlin/Amsterdam/Stockholm/Reykjavik on the weekend of the xth.... you live in zurich, which, like, is in europe and stuff and speaks a funny language too... CAN YOU PLEASE MEET ME/MY RELATIVE/MY KIDS BOYFRIEND THAT YOUVE NEVER MET AND IS A GENERATION YOUNGER THAN YOU AND YOU GUYS'LL TOTALLY HAVE NOTHING TO SAY TO EACHOTHER... But could you take some time off work and travel like a day and half and meet ME/MY RELATIVE/MY KIDS BF?"
and then you explain the logistical impossibilities of said stupid request, and they person who asked gets offended?
look, maybe this sort of thing was more acceptable before we all had google maps at our finger tips, but christ people, if you can send me a mail, you can gmap directions between two freakin' cities.
"oh hai. i'm going to the UK. I'm going to be in Edinburgh, can you come up from Cornwall on the friday and take me out to dinner?"
"oh hai. i'm going to the US. You live in Denver. I'll be in Los Angeles, can you come out and take me out to dinner? its only like 1 color zone away on the map."
... and when it took 6 weeks on a boat to reach "Yurop"
... and when Yurop was a strange land that was so scary you couldn't possibly be left alone as a foreigner
... and when the locals couldn't possibly understand you because they only speak 'foreign languages'
I tell people that 18 year old Europeans set off backpacking across the continent all the time, your 35 year old sister/brother/niece/GF etc. will be just fine... (and no I can't make it because I have a meeting
My sister-in-law emailed me asking if her much younger half sister (17 y.o.) could come and stay with me for 3 months because she got accepted to an exchange program in France and wanted to spend a few months hanging out before the program started
I had met her (sister-in-law) once as they did a Vegas wedding while I was already in Europe. She is a total wack job but that is another story for another bottle of wine..
I never met her half sisters or even so much as traded an email with them, didn't even know there names, and S-i-L was seriously pissed at me because I wouldn't put up her little half sister for a 3 month European holiday.
Just to make it complete, when I asked ol' S-i-L what her little 1/2 sis was going to do for 3 months, her answer was that she was sure I would make sure she saw all the fun things...oh and by the way all funded by me of course
Cool, I finally found the perfect post for that little guy
I lived in London for 16 years until 6 years ago - 4 years after I had left, My cousin (whom I only exchange Xmas cards with, no other contact) emailed me out of the blue to tell me his son had gotten a job at Wimbledon for three weeks and would I arrange for him to stay with one of my friends.....
When I suggested that he stay in a cheap hotel as I didn't really know anything about him and didn't want to put the responsibility of a 17 year old on to my friends ( I don't know if he's a party animal, vegetarian, night owl, miserable depressive....and he's single and 17 and will be let loose in Central London !! ) my cousin really got upset and hasn't spoke to me, or sent a Christmas card since....
that is too funny. I also really enjoy the related, "I'll be passing through Zurich train station/ airport on Tuesday around 2:30 - why don't we meet up?"
As much as it pains me as a Brit to admit it, it works the other way too.
I remember some friends in San Diego telling me that they got a call from their colleagues in London asking them to "just pop over" to a meeting in Boston, MA. They had to explain to them that seeing as they were in the UK, they were probably closer...
I've met a few Swiss folks here (including my m-i-l) who have no concept of how far it is from coast to coast in the US. No understanding why I couldn't just go visit my sis in Oregon when I fly to my brother's in Virginia Beach, and swing by my other brother in Chicago on the way.
Well, I mean, it CAN be done, really, but not in a weekend.
I mean this merely as an example of "Americans aren't the only geographically challenged" folk on the planet.
Not begin "Fellow American" I wanted to ask my son a question , so I lifted the phone and dialed his # ,9am ,after the 8th ring 2th dry His voice came on "He dad it is 6am". He lives in San Diego California ,I Ottawa Ontario
LOL I know, thank God so far I just had to pick up my sisters and mother from the airport. A couple of cousins who I do see when I am back home regularly and an uncle but he had the decency to come to my city and I was glad to offer him a room.
I have a simple rule: if you are in MY city I can come pick you up, if you are in MY country and you gave birth to me the same...