The woes of being short: What did you just say to me? Installment #1: Vienna

I am a tiny woman. Standing proudly at 4’11 and being blessed with super metabolism I often pass for younger than my almost 25 years of age. Even though I am from America where the diversity in a person’s height, weight and color varies more than any other country I have been to, I stand out. I still hear,“Wow! You are so tiny!”.“How old are you? You are so tiny”. “Well you will get carded for years! You are so tiny!”. You get the point. While I have gotten used to these comments and accept that people are fascinated with what is smaller than them, I always manage to be struck speechless at the comments I get while traveling. This is one of many examples I will be sharing.

I was beyond ecstatic when I planned my first visit to Vienna with my girlfriend. It was my first trip outside of Czech Republic since moving there. Although I mostly loved living in the CR, I was ready to see somewhere else and I had heard amazing things about Vienna from the architecture to the food. We decided to take an extended weekend trip to see it for ourselves. Since we wanted to spend as much time as possible there, we booked a fairly early train ride. My friend and I couldn’t wait to get off the train, put our bags down and see the city. After a six hour ride we got off at the central station and decided to invest in a local transportation multi- day pass. I almost always recommend this to people staying in a big city for a day or more. Public transportation in most Western Europe is fairly easy and saves time as well as money. Since we wanted to make sure we got the best deal possible we went directly to a customer service rep to buy a ticket directly (also recommended). We said how many days we would be there and asked what the best choice was. He was very kind and told us the correct pass to get. Before confirming our purchase he looks at my friend and asked, “So you will get one adult pass for you and one for the child”. I paused for a minute confused. Then I realized he was pointing at me! I was immobilized and speechless! My friend was at a loss for words as well. After what felt like a minute but was most likely 5 seconds I gather myself together and state with all the dignity and class I can muster, “I am not a child”. The man looks at me with an unapologetic face and says, “OK, two adult tickets then”. I can feel my friend holding in her laughter more than I hear or see it.
I have been called many things regarding my height, but never an actual child. It would be the first of many situations abroad where I find myself convincing people I am an adult.