Not As Ugly As Your Attitude…

(I’m 12. I’m Canadian, living in Germany for the summer, going to school there for a few weeks. My class is selling bags we made out of newspaper, to raise money for child labourers. I don’t remember the price, but it’s not much, probably about the equivalent of $1.)

Classmate: *explains about the bags, in German, to a couple*

Couple: “We don’t speak German…”

Classmate: *to me, in German* “Those people are English; you go talk to them!”

Me: *a little homesick, pleased to use my native language, and they sound Canadian* “Hi! What my friend was telling you was that we’re selling these bags to raise money for child labourers. Would you like to buy one?”

Couple: “What? No! They’re made of newspaper; they’re ugly!”

Me: *deeply ashamed of my language/countrymen*

Classmate: *in German* “What did they say?”

Me: “…they said …no.”