Friday 8 June 2007

Mistaken for an American

I was on my way home from work to the Tube station, minding my own business and listening to my iPod, when an elderly man who had been walking in front of me turned around and asked if I was an American...

'I beg your pardon'
'Are you an American; you're very tall' (I'm about 6'3")
'Erm, no, I'm British'
'You just look American'
'Oh'
'They're very big aren't they?'
'Some are' - trying not to laugh - 'But I find that, in general, Scandanavians can be quite tall'
'Ah yes, but I always think of Americans as being big and tall'
'Well, some are...'
'Their cars are really big'
'Yes, I suppose so'
'You're very big'
'Well I'm not extraordinarily big'
'As big as an American'
...

The conversation then turned to a hospital appointment he'd just been to, and his journey home. We parted amicably and I returned to the confines of my iPod.

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