There are a bunch of street kids who wander around selling post cards, braclets, and the usual fare. THey are all over Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. Some of their sales pitches are pretty good too. "I need money to go to school tomorrow." "I need money to start my own buisness." "Where you from? Texas? oh...I know...AUSTIN!" Or my favorite girl, a very dead pan, and uninterested sales pitch of..."buy something?"
This girl was maybe 9 or 10, but being asian, looked about 7 or 8, and would walk up and down the main street in Luang Prabang with a box of braclets and magnets tied around her neck. She'd walk up to everyone walking down the sidewalk, everyone eating at tables by the street, everyone shopping at the street stalls, basically any one visible and white was getting approached and every. single. time. her sales pitch was, "buy something?" Accompanied by a bored expression and a hopeful tone. SHe was usually turned down, and I got the feeling employee of the month was not a reward system put in place by the parent or grandparent she was working for. I watched her for a while attempting to sell a ring to a moderately interested back packer. The tourist girl changed her mind when she couldn't bargain the 20 cent ring down to 10 cents and walked off. The little sales girl was EXTREMELY agitated to have had her hopes built up so high just to be shot down again, but quitting is a luxury preserved for the rich, and she knew she must carry on. She approached a few more tourists with her traditional sales pitch, "buy something?" Before making her way over to me.
"buy something?"
-no thanks
"Have nice bracet, have nice post card."
-no thanks, I dont wear jewelry and I dont write letters.
(exaserbated, reproachful look accompanied by deep, forlorn sigh) "BUY. SOMETHING!"
-ok then, here's 10,000 kip, what do you want me to take?
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