04 May 2011

I Love Old People

So I'm sitting in a computer lab. At a nearby computer is an older Indonesian man sharing a computer with an American high-schooler. They're speaking a mix of Indonesian and English. Translated fully, their conversation for the last 15 minutes has gone something like this:

Old man: I need to know how to get to ____________ (the name of a store).
Student: Well, where is it?
Old man: I don't know. I need to know how to get there. Use the internet and tell me how to get there.
Student: Okaaaaaaay.... Let's try Google maps.
Old man: OK. Good idea!
Student: So where is this place?
Old man: Indonesia.
Student: Right, but do you know what town it's in?
Old man: Magelang. (About an hour away from here)
Student: OK. Let's type in Magelang.
Old man: No, no, you're spelling it wrong. MAG-UH-LANG. M-A-G-E. E, not A. Spell it right.
Student: Okaaaaay.... Mag-UH-lang.
Old man: Where is it? I don't see it.
Student: Hold on. I'll zoom in on Magelang.
Old man: Alright. Show me where it is.
Student: Wait. Where's Magelang?
Old man: Go down..... Down more.... Now go east... NO! NO! That's west. Go east. OK. Down some more. A little more. No, upupupup! Go up! Ah, there it is! Zoom in, I can't see anything.
Student: Hold on (waits for image to unblur).
Old man: OK. Now where is it?
Student: Well, do you know what road it's on?
Old man: If I knew, I wouldn't have to find it. Zoom in more.
Student: Um... OK. (zooms in)
Old man: I can't see anything. Use the real life. Maybe I can see the store.
Student: Satellite view. Coming up. (switches)
Old man: What is that white stuff?!?
Student: Clouds.
Old man: WHY ARE THERE CLOUDS?! Doesn't somebody try to ERASE THE CLOUDS?!?

The kid keeps turning around and giving me pained looks. Out of respect for my Javanese elders, I am doing my best not to laugh out loud.

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