Sunday 17 July 2011

Laundry in Dunhuang (China)

On the 1988 film shoot in China, I was called from my room by the star we were filming to sort out a laundry problem.  He’d sent in a pair of boxer shorts, but was given a different pair back.  He tried to tell the girl on duty at the reception desk on our floor that they weren’t his, but perhaps because she couldn’t speak English, the message wasn’t getting across even though the size was patently bigger.

Me:     He says the pair of trousers you’ve given back to him are not his.
Girl:    Of course they’re his.
Me:     No, he says they’re not.
Girl:    Of course they are.
Me:     No, they’re not.
Girl:    Yes, they are.
Me:     Look, if they are his, why should he say they’re not?  It doesn’t make sense, does it?
Girl:    Who knows?  You ask the foreigner why he doesn’t want his own things anymore! [不知道啊!你问外国人啊,自己的东西为什么不要了呢!]

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