Role-playing

On Wednesday we found ourselves in the role of the Venice Tourist Information Point.

I've considered investing into a little funny leprechaun green or dowdy brown "official's" hat to live up to that role. Perhaps a blue and white stripey shirt with a bowtie? No, that's too MacDonalds. Or maybe I should go for the Groucho Marx look - complete with the big nose, ticklish moustache and round glasses?

No matter how much I'm looking forward to fostering the Groucho Marx look for the day-time this summer, I see I'm a little to late.

Peccato!!! (Shame!!)

Perche (because) today we've taken a step forward.

But I can't make up my mind. Is being a tourist information office a rank higher than being the following bureau?

I leave it to the reader to decide.

Today we've become the Lost and Found Office.

It was quiet for most of the morning, until 11.15am when a French lady walked in and asked if we had by any chance found her old Nokia in the toilets yesterday afternoon.

Then an Italian woman told us that she had left her camera on the Pavilion grounds yesterday.

10 minutes later I received a call from Francesca from Arte Communcations to ask if we come across a camera. No, unfortunately we haven't was reply.

Then two Japanese girls came in to ask if we had seen a coat and a white beach hat. I happily handed over the brown-tinged white beach hat over.

BUT........

We're still the Tourism Board of Venice. A bunch of middle-aged Dutch tourists came in, oops sorry, that's not the word, it was more like they barged or tumbled in. And they didn't care in the least about the exhibit. They asked me if I was Venetian. I said no, but yet they did not seem to believe me. So they pressed and asked for the local Venetian party spots. I said I'm not sure as I'm not a local, but you could try Campo Santa Margherita - it has a lot of good bars, street performers and restaurants. Our dear visitors responded by dumping the map on Mike! (I should have told them they were committing sacrilege) and wanted exact directions. They kept asking again if I knew the party spots (I know, maybe I do look like I should know, but instead I repeated that I wasn't even Italian.) They looked sceptical. I tried to explain to them that we provide information solely for the Singapore Pavilion, and that they could try the Information booth at Arsenale for such information perhaps. But they didn't understand.

BUT...

Some wonderful visitors came in just a few minutes ago. People who were asking and wanted to know what this exhibit was about. They were open to ideas, and not just merely open to consume for consumption's sake...but who were willing to digest a little of the immaterial ie. thought!!!!!!

Nat