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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

This was weird, right?

132 replies

Grumpasaurus · 17/03/2014 23:24

So I am walking up my road the other day, almost at my front door. This lady is walking towards me, and asks me to stop for a minute, which I did. The conversation goes as follows:

Her: are you Portuguese?

Me: no, Canadian (thinking, I am blond and so pale I am almost transparent and have a thick Canadian accent)...

Her: oh (silence). Do you have family in Portugal?

Me: no.

Her: I have family in Portugal but I grew up in America. I am still half Portuguese though.

Me: oh.

Her: so when did you visit Portugal?

Me: never been.

Her: but last year, when you hung your laundry up in the garden, I noticed you had a tea towel from Portugal.

Me: nope I have never been. (panicking slightly- I had never seen this lady before yet she seemed certain she knew me AND my laundry!)

Her: that tea towel is definitely from Portugal, I recognize the cockerel on it.

Me: maybe! Maybe some friends gave it to us, I don't remember where I got it.

Her: you got it in Portugal.

Me: I have never been to Portugal

Her: launches into a five minute tirade about how I should go and that I really should learn how to speak the language.

Me: alright then, see you later (secretly hoping not to ever see her again and considering buying some sort of private-fence system)!

Weird, non?

OP posts:
MissMarplesBloomers · 17/03/2014 23:31

Barking- teach you not to speak to strangers heh ?!!!!

Grin Shamrock

MrsCosmopilite · 17/03/2014 23:32

Mad!

I once got cornered by a vagrant in the US who was convinced that he'd met me at an airport in Ireland.

It was my first visit to the US and I've never been to Ireland.
After fifteen minutes I just agreed and said I had a bad memory.

SallyMcgally · 17/03/2014 23:32

Oh dear God.

WillYouDoTheFandango · 17/03/2014 23:36

Yep odd.

I once got cornered by a drunk on a train platform who had a huge lump of tobacco stuck to his cheek.

He insisted I was planning on being a nurse (I wasn't) and berated me for 20 minutes (following me around the station) telling me it would eat a sweet young girl like me alive Hmm

People are weird!

bubblegoose · 17/03/2014 23:36

Are you quite sure you're not Portugese?

Alisvolatpropiis · 17/03/2014 23:38

Definitely weird!

She's right though, you should go to Portugal. I recommend splitting your time between Lisbon and Sintra.

YouAreMyRain · 17/03/2014 23:40

You MUST have been to Portugal!

MikeLitoris · 17/03/2014 23:42

You are obviously Portuguese if you have a tea towel from there.

Or have you got a nandos tea towel?

DorothyGherkins · 17/03/2014 23:42

And that SO is a cockerel on your tea towel!

WorraLiberty · 17/03/2014 23:42

OMG that reminds me of the time I was walking back from the school run and two ladies stopped their car in the middle of the road.

One got out and said "Hi are you Kosovan?"

I said "Errrm no?"

She said "That's such a shame, I was hoping to have a chat with you about Kosovo."

She then calmly got back in her car and buggered off.

I've never seen her since Confused

smorticus · 17/03/2014 23:44

How daft of you Grumps ! Of course you have been to Portugal, how else would you have a tea towel with cockerel on?

MrsRuffdiamond · 17/03/2014 23:44

This is really odd.
How can you have a Portuguese tea towel and not know where it's come from?
Surely you're familiar with the provenance of all of your tea towels? I know I am. Grin

IneedAwittierNickname · 17/03/2014 23:47

Wow, so now we take on the nationality of our tea-towels? Fab, I'm Australian!

IneedAwittierNickname · 17/03/2014 23:48

Although, thinking about it, I also have some from Cornwall now I'm all confused.

PorkPieandPickle · 17/03/2014 23:51

Could you be Portugese and not realise?

McFox · 17/03/2014 23:51

Weird :)

Years ago, while travelling, I was sitting eating lunch in a restaurant in Memphis and a guy walked up to me and said, in French, do you speak French? I replied, again in French, yes I do. He smiled, nodded like he just knew it and walked off...

RevoltingPeasant · 17/03/2014 23:52

I don't know so much, OP.

When I was peering over your garden fence a few months ago it looked more Spanish to me.

Are you Spanish?

I hope you're not going to tell me you've never been to Spain.....

MrsCakesPremonition · 17/03/2014 23:54

People regularly get very grumpy with DH because he isn't South African.

NobodyLivesHere · 17/03/2014 23:55

Hahaha!!

Reminds me of the time I was walking down the street and this guy stopped me

Him- how's Kay?
Me-...I don't know anyone called Kay..
Him- you know, Kay! Your sister!
Me- I think you have me mixed up with someone else
Him- I don't! laughs can't believe you don't remember your own sister. Tell Kay I said hello

And then just walks off!

Also, the old lady at the hospital who insisted my ex was Debbie Dingles boyfriend from Emmerdale.

YouTheCat · 17/03/2014 23:56

I thought the cockerel was a French thing? Are you French?

Mycatistoosexy · 17/03/2014 23:57

I had a man at work (I worked in a customer-facing job) once come up to me and start talking in Polish.

I said "I'm really sorry, I don't speak Polish"

He laughed and carried on in Polish.

I had to assure him five times that I really don't speak Polish before he believed me.

OpalQuartz · 18/03/2014 00:01

Why do they get grumpy with your dh because he isn't south African? They'd be pleased as punch with mine as he is south African.

Iloveonionchutney · 18/03/2014 00:04

Maybe it's a really important tea towel and you need to ask Portugal if they'd like it back!

YouTheCat · 18/03/2014 00:08

I feel an international incident coming on.

WTFlike · 18/03/2014 00:10

Is this a reverse AIBU? OP, it's not cool to wander around begging people to be Portuguese.