give muh nee
Feels like I've been halfway around the world and back again today. Woke up early and took a train to Heidelberg, then proceeded to visit as many castles as I could along the Burgenstrasse, the "Castle Road," that overlooks the Nekar river. Took a lot of pictures with a regular camera so unfortunately they won't appear here for a while.
Well I completely forgot the most memorable experience of Stuttgart yesterday: being panhandled by Santa Claus. When this fat ill-kept old women dressed in a Santa Claus suit, beard and all, approached me, I initially (because I have been conditioned to) had good will towards her. Even after she extended a box for me to put coins in. Only slowly did it dawn on me, through slow translation of the German message written on the box, and the unusual closeness with which she thrust it and held it in my face, that the charity she was collecting for was herself. Unfortunately my initial good will--the conditioned response--made getting rid of her a bit of an ordeal. I tried at first to play the I don't understand German game with her. But beggars can beg in any language and I had forgotten that. When she heard me speaking English, she adopted the mantra, "Give money." To hear her pronounce these three syllables was a disgusting thing.
"Give muh neeeee."
"No," I said.
"Give muh nee to St Niklaus."
"Work."
"Give muh nee."
I told her to work in German.
"Give muh nee."
"Earn it."
"Give muh nee."
"Go away now."
"Give muh nee."
I tried ignoring her but my silence was continually interrupted.
"Give muh nee."
I stood up from the bench and looked down on her. She was much shorter than I, and she said in a scared voice,
"Give muh nee."
At this point in the conversation my U-bahn arrived, saving me the pleasure of further discourse with Ms. Givmuhnee. Tis the season to be jolly, happy Christmas, I just got panhandled by Santa Claus.
Posted by Alan at December 9, 2002 10:51 PM