Pregonero

On the occasion of a recent international conference held at this university, I was addressed by an American visitor who asked me where the restaurant was. I told him it was a bit complicated to find and offered to show him the way. He was a bit surprised but came along. As we were walking down the hall, I told him that it was outside the building and that there was only one on the campus. He was even more surprised at that, and I contested that after all this was only a small university. When we got to the end of the building, I told him to cross the bridge and that it was on the left hand side, in a glass case. He looked at me completely flabbergasted, and when I added I wasn’t sure if it was open at this time of the day, he finally lost his patience and said defiantly, “Look, what are you talking about?” I said, stupidly, “I am showing you the way to the restaurant”, at which he answered, barely disguising his anger, “Look, I did not ask you for the restaurant, I asked you for the restroom.” Only later did I realise what I had done: I had told a fellow who had asked me for the toilet that a) it was complicated to find, b) it was outside the building, c) there was one only on the campus (this being a small university), d) it was in a glass case, and e) I did not know whether it was open right now. Small wonder he never talked to me again.