Imagine a conversation with a person you have just met and the ritual exchange of pleasantries that leads to the usual question: "What's your job ...?" I obviously answer: "I'm a tourist guide!" ...and here we are... moments of silence ... and then the usual comment "Wow! What a great job!" but the faces of many of these people show another thought: "But... is the tourist guide a "real job"?! I thought it was a hobby!".
Being a tourist guide and a tour leader for over twenty years, I have dropped into this situation several times and many other colleagues have confirmed me to have the same impression when they mention their job so here I would like to officially declare that.... YES! The tourist guide can be a full-time, normally paid job, certainly exciting but also demanding intellectually, physically, socially, if you want to do it in a good and professional way.
Fortunately every time I go out to work I do it with unchanged enthusiasm since I know that every day, every visitor, will be different and stimulating but certainly it is not a hobby although, unfortunately, there are also many NOT official guides around who work with a "hobbistic attitude".... but I don't want to waste time in polemics; today I want to share with you some aspects of my special job so I have thought about some of the funniest, most curious, strange things that I have been asked during my work!
Various and bizarre questions also thanks to the fact of guiding tours in different languages and, therefore, with various cultures. Here is a short selection!
Sometimes tourist guides smile "inside themselves" in front of these questions but we always give answers without making people feel uncomfortable because we remember that, if we were in Japan, India, Singapore, Vietnam, Mexico maybe we would also ask questions that would make the local guides smile!
In addition to these funny episodes my job is also made of kind thoughts, sincere compliments, special moments, unexpected gifts that I would like to share with you and I will do it in one of the next articles! While waiting, you can smile at our job watching this funny comedy about us: "My life in ruins"
Le guide turistiche, preparate e disponibili -anche rispondere alle nostre sciocche domande! - ci consentono di conoscere la cultura dei luoghi in cui viviamo, in modo dinamico, come se stessimo leggendo un libro, ma guardando con i nostri occhi le meraviglie che ci circondano. Grazie per il vostro prezioso lavoro!
È un lavoro molto serio e chi decide di farlo suo deve essere pronto a tutto e tutti.