Ing Euro?

[luckykaa]

Funny thing happened on the way home from work yesterday. Someone appeared to want change for the parking ticket machines. He held out a 2 Euro coin and said "Ing Euro". Now I've picked up enough Dutch to understand numbers. I didn't have any change. I showed him that I didn't have any change. It didn't register. He kept saying "Ing Euro". It was odd that he kept saying this, and didn't at least try english. My experience is that most Flemish people have competent English. I would have expected his English to be better than by Dutch at least.

I shrugged and walked away. He chased after me and said "Ing Euro, Ing Euro", holding up a finger. He was practically begging me to take the 2 Euro coin, and, I presume, give him a Euro (although why he didn't go into a shop and buy a bar of chocolate I have no idea. 

Why was he so desperate to get one of my Euros? This was a busy part of Brussels near the station. Surely lots of other people were passing for him to ask.

Comments

[blue-sun-scribe.livejournal.com]

Weird, as you said you told him you didn't have any, there were plenty of other folk around and that most Flemish speak compent English. I'd think that he was possibly a beggar as the fixating on a single person and making the same request over and over is a tatic some use.