jumpingenes

Just a quick question for everyone --
I ran into a friend at JFK the other night and as it turned out we were both on the same flt (LH405) so I asked her to join me in the LH lounge next to the check in area. As usual, the gate keeper there invited me to the business section (eventhough my *A Gold status should really get me into the SEN lounge, but i find them both adequate for the brief wait so I didn't care). So then, she points to my friend and says that starting April 1st, with my United MP Gold card I am not allowed to take a guest in, but that she'd make an exemption this one time.
I've been to this lounge several times since April 1st and never heard anything like that. I also checked the LH website and there's no mention of anything like this. Did this LH Champion Dobermann totally made up the rule or is this for real?
Thanks!

Keith009

Maybe they stole the idea from this thread but watered it down.

Flying Lawyer

You are UA-* and that might be worth less in those days

jumpingenes

on what days would that be?

weero

Being inventive is not a good trait on lounge wardens, law enforcement, or
criminals. It always leaves innocent victims with more problems than necessary ...

I reckon that she had no printout handy yet of her recent invention?

jumpingenes

I just didn't feel like arguing with a 80+ year old lady with a strong german accent, lord only knows what she's capable of...

weero

I agree the capacity of revenge is unlimited. But then she would be the very
first LH lounge warden who did not love a good argument - what does
not kill them makes them stronger...

Flying Lawyer

I always dream of somebody in a RCC speaking German - even with a strong US accent. But it will never happen....

So what is your problem?

There is a word outside the US and your so-called 80+ year old lady spoke at least two languages getting her intellectually in front of 85% of the US population and 95% of the white US population - isn't it?

weero

What did the Poms do to you again? Ought not bash the Americans just because you
have to deal with the British.
Speaking a second language is normally a curse of being born outside of China or
in a non-English speaking country. It bears no links to intelligence or personal
achievement. Unfortunately, I'd have to say.

And if an RCC with German speaking crew will cure those wounds: try the one in
FRA. Monday and Tuesday mornings it is crammed with young, pretty ladies whose
first language is Teutonic. One of them is even friendly despite her looks and despite
FRA. I always have an erroneous MP statement ready when I travel through FRA
to discuss 'the issue' with her .

Flying Lawyer

But it bears certain links to your interest in the world outside your own country.

I always take with some surprise that native-american speakers (NO, not the Sioux) expect the world outside the US to speak English and I did not consider the description of the LH agent as an "80+ year old lady with a strong german accent" to be funny. In the US you might find yourself in a courthouse for jokes like this.

By the way, the Poms are getting much better in French, German and Spanish. No problems with them. But what do you expect from a country with an elected President that hardly ever left the country (or even the state) before being elected....

jumpingenes

One should always make an attempt to get over one's self and stick to the topic at hand...You're replying to a European citizen who speaks three languages fluently and has a PhD, as I'm sure the LH lady speaks at east two or three languages too, neither of the facts has anything to do with the fact that this lady made up a rule or is using a rule that hasn't been posted on her company's website.

SleepOverGreenland

Honestly it is much better to talk English with a strong German accent, than no English.

I don't care about the accent, even not about the very strong Spanish accent in Southeast FL, NYC, south CA, AZ, ... But all those people still speak English and communication aside hand signs is possible.

It is not true to think, that only PhDs got educated in languages here. Everybody in Germany MUST learn English in school, and about 50% MUST learn another foreign language (e.g. French, Latin). More languages are commonly voluntary. This has nothing to do with university diploma and has been set in place a good 40 years ago !!!

Depending on the US location even many born US citizens have a very strong English accent. You are not going to tell, that you always understand the waiters in Restaurants in Texas, Tennesse, Maine, Illinois and Kansas. You would be the first US citizen to do so...

So please, don't blame anyone for a strong accent. Everybody is doing its best to communicate with those, who are usually not able to talk foreign languages. No blame on you, because it is not your fault. But it is a given fact in US education, that foreign languages (incl. Spanish) still don't take the same role as in Europe.

weero

Not really - one gets all the news in English. So you don't have to be bilingual to
here news from country X while in the US.
I find it more amusing that some French and some Brittons try to stick to a similar attitude
even though it is much harder not to leave those places.
In the US you can spend a life without having a business reason to leave.
Not that this is what FTers do but at least it's possible. But even then English
will do for the trip.

SleepOverGreenland

I have a long business relationship with one person in the US.

Amazingly short after 9/11 she started reading www.spiegel.de and www.ard.de using web translation engines to understand it. Since those engines don't work very well in all cases she asked me a couple times whether I can help her to translate and to understand.

Why did she do this? Not only hearing news from country X in the US (which you can only barely do, to be honest). But she was even interested on an outside view of the US news. She didn't trust the English news and was interested in an outside countries view about the US. She could find many differences and so could open her mind to multiple sources. ^

Since then things have been improved and spiegel online is available in English too. However, still the content is not the same.

Flying Lawyer

A last reply OT: A European citizen speaking three languages fluently and being proud of a PhD should refrain from characterizing another person being at the utmost in her early sixties as an "80+ year old lady with a strong german accent"....