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There's an elderly English guy working in our company, doing... I'm not sure exactly what he's doing here. Well, he comes to work everyday and sits in his office. But I digress.
When he came back from his vacation after Christmas, he tried to get into his apartment, but apparently the locks were changed, so spent the night at a hotel.
The next day, he calls us from the hotel. Can we send someone to get him, cause he's left the car keys in the office (the car was taken to the garage to be checked and stuff) before he went on the vacation. I'm a bit surprised at why he doesn't just take a cab, but whatever. I arrange for a driver to pick him up.
He gets here, and meanwhile we call his landlord to find out about the keys. Landlord says the locks were not changed. I tell that to the English guy, he says no, it's the key to the building, not the apartment. We call the landlord again. Indeed, there's a new lock in the building door, he'll bring it tomorrow. Why doesn't the English guy ask a neigbour to open the door for him? We suggest that to the English guy (honestly, it's the first thing I'd do - I didn't even think the problem which resulted in him getting a hotel room would be caused by the building door). He says no, he'll stay at the hotel one more night.
So today, he gets the key, and the car keys. He says which car is it? Well, he also got a car ID, with the plate numbers on it. The car is in a small car park (20 cars, at the most). Plus, they keys have the beeping thing that lights the car's lights from afar. Not dificult to find it. We say we don't know what car it is, why doesn't he go there and see. Okay, so he finds the car and goes to his apartment. And... he calls again from the hotel. He can't get in. We call the landlord again. Yes, it's the right key, yes, he's checked if it works before he gave it to us. We call the English guy, tell him to try again. I wonder if he'll call again with more problems...
posted
Sterotypical English Colonial era guy? I've heard those people were a little on the side of odd.
Posts: 3003 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
Yeah, Alzheimers was the first thing that popped into my head as well. I'll bet it wouldn't be too much fun being that guy.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Hmm, I wouldn't say it's Alzheimers... Like, he's doing just fine on his own, only in unconventional ways: such as instead of calling a neighbour, he goes to the hotel. Instead of getting a taxi, he calls the office.
Hm... he only speaks English, and it is not very common for people to know it. So maybe it's jsut easier for him to call us (or go to a place where they speak English, like the hotel) with his problem, instead of dealing with people who don't understand him... only that actually, this way it's much more of a hassle for everyone involved.
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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No, he's been weird since he got here a couple months ago. He was recommended by another English guy who cooperates with our company, and knew him for a while. He was employed to do some sort of a job, but nobody really knows what. From the very beginning, he was spending the days in his office, only communicating with people when he had some problems. Like finding the restaurant we had the Christmas party in.
See, I don't think it's Alzheimers, cause he's spent a few months in a strange country, living completely on his own, always shows up for work on time, eats and drinks properly, dresses properly, etc. etc.
The problems he has *are* genuine, only he makes them appear bigger than they are, and involves people to solve them for him.
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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I'd imagine that any problem seems bigger than it actually is when you're in a strange country surrounded by strange people who don't speak your language. Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Yeah, but come on. Would you really go sleep at a hotel cause you can't get into the building? When there's at least 20 other people living in the building? If you just started calling one after another, someone would prolly unlock the door without even asking. And I'm pretty sure they know there's a foreigner living there. So if he said *anything* and they wouldn't understand, they'd open anyway. This is just stoopid.
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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"Would you really go sleep at a hotel cause you can't get into the building?"
Honestly? It depends on how much I like my neighbors and how nice my apartment is.
Seriously, I think you overestimate the English -- and American -- willingness to communicate with and/or rely on strangers. Most of the Brits I know would probably sleep on the street before asking someone with whom they hadn't broken bread for assistance of any kind.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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Tom, I am a shy, shy, shy person. And yet, I was 12, I didn't speak any languages, and I went to Germany and communicated with people. Went into a store and "talked" to a lady there.
He's 60+, and people here speak more English than Germans speak Polish. He's a grown-up person. He chose to come to work to a foreign country. He should be able to deal with such things.
All the other people do. We have at least as many foreigners in our company as we have Polish people. Maybe 3 of them speak a tiny bit of Polish.
He's just annoying.
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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quote:Hm... he only speaks English, and it is not very common for people to know it. So maybe it's jsut easier for him to call us (or go to a place where they speak English, like the hotel) with his problem, instead of dealing with people who don't understand him...
That was my first thought, along with isues stemming over depression over being in a new place, exacerbated by the fact that he doesn't speak the language.
Posts: 13680 | Registered: Mar 2002
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Considering my mastery of the Polish language consists entirely of being able to pronounce "Wrocław" in such a way that a Polish person would probably know what I was trying to say, I'd feel a lot more comfortable calling a coworker whom I know speaks English than trying to contact a neighbor who probably doesn't.
Posts: 1814 | Registered: Jul 2004
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I would: 1) Never wander about without a dictionary 2) Look up the words for "key" and "front door" and then buzz other people in the apartment building and say those words. 3) Never, ever, rent a car if I couldn't speak the language and be pretty confident deciphering road signs.
Kama, did you ever think he might be trying to appeal to your maternal side?
Posts: 22497 | Registered: Sep 2000
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If I didn't speak the language at all, I would probably call someone I knew that spoke mine before calling a neighbor that didn't.
And if I knew the people at the hotel spoke English, I might even pay for a night in the hotel before I'd call neighbors who I couldn't communicate with. But that's related to my own phobias, so I can't say that it's normal behavior.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
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Oh, and I don't have a maternal side. Not for old people, anyway.
If it was only they key incident, I'd let it pass. And don't get me wrong, I understand what it's like to be in a country where nobody speaks your language. I've been to several. I've helped people here with doctor appointments, shopping, all sorts of things. But he's engaging me and the other girl in the office in every single thing. Like getting a ride from the hotel? Every single cab driver in this town knows our company. Or finding a restaurant, where he had the address, name, and a map drawn by us so he knew how to get there...
Posts: 5700 | Registered: Feb 2002
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