John cannot find his hotel and asks two passers-by who he thinks are 'locals', and he is surprised those people are not real locals, but immigrants from other parts of China.
John Smith
您好!请问,去北京饭店怎么走?Nín hǎo!Qǐng wèn Běijīng fàndiàn zěnme zǒu? TranslateHello. May I ask how can I get to Beijing hotel?
Person 1
北京饭店?我不知道,北京的路我不太熟悉。Běijīng fàndiàn?Wǒ bù zhī dào. Běijīng de lù wǒ bú tài shúxī. TranslateBeijing hotel? I don’t know, I am not familiar with the roads in Beijing.
John Smith
您不是北京人吗? Nín bú shì Běijīng rén ma? TranslateAren’t you from Beijing?
Person 1
我不是北京人,我是外地人。Wǒ bú shì Běijīng rén. Wǒ shì wài dì rén. TranslateI am not from Beijing, I am from outside of Beijing.
one minute later
John Smith
您好,请问,去北京饭店怎么走?Nín hǎo. Qǐng wèn Běijīng fàndiàn zěnme zǒu? TranslateHello. Could you tell me how to get to Beijing hotel?
Person 2
对不起,我不知道北京饭店怎么走。Duì bu qǐ,wǒ bù zhī dào Běijīng fàndiàn zěnme zǒu. TranslateI am sorry, I don’t know where Beijing hotel is.
John Smith
您是外地人吗?Nín shì wài dì rén ma? TranslateAre you from outside of Beijing?
Person 2
对,我是从云南来的,我来北京找工作的。Shì,wǒ shì cóng Yúnnán lái de,wǒ shì lái Běijīng zhǎo gōngzuò de. TranslateYes, I am from Yunnan, I came to Beijing to find a job.
很难,现在北京没有以前那么好找工作了。Hěn nán,xiàn zài Běijīng méi yǒu yǐ qián nàme hǎo zhǎo gōngzuò le. TranslateIt is difficult, it is not so easy to find a job at Beijing like before.