When I was on a Chinese sitcom

When I was 16 I moved to Hefei, China for a year and was on an episode of the Chinese sitcom Wo Ai Fan Mi Li. It was a total fricking trainwreck.

MUSIC CREDIT

And BIG THANKS to Alex Protopopescu for putting English subtitles on it 💖

[DannyHeywood]

That's the best Swedish person playing an American Person in a Chinese SitCom with no preparation I've seen all day!

[dio]

that's not pain, that's raw existential terror.

[cocoelacanth]

Catherine: "Hello, I am Catherine."
That one guy on the right: *_"YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL, EVERYONE LIKES YOU"_*

[josephyang]

As a Chinese speaker, I think you did really well. Also you were obviously uncomfortable and nervous, but I think that actually works for the character. So good job!

[bluriidreams]

Lol is it funny that I've actually watched this with my Chinese family, and my parents said, " wow that girl is good." XD

[raccoontrashpanda]

I don't know why they were facepalming at you when they were the ones who asked someone who was not an actor and who had told them didn't speak the language well to act in Chinese. What else did they expect? Its honestly impressive it only took 1 day of filming.

[raytwin]

Oh my God! That was you!? My Chinese teacher used to show us that and would say “one day you could be like her”

[njharper]

Ummm If I was dropped into China at 16, after 3 months I'd MAYBE have mastered the first page of tourist phrases. You were in a sitcom, speaking arguably the most difficult language for a European to learn. No matter how badly you think you did, it's 1000x better than most people would have... if they would have the guts to even try. You are awesome Simone!

[TineTineBean]

"Do you have any similar stories?' she says. I mean, who a hasn't been tricked in to acting in a Chinese sitcom, truly a classic coming of age story. XD

[awesomelyshorticles]

This woman is so young and has already had such an eventful life.

[thinkzombiegillman]

Honestly it kind of worked. Your genuine confusion and anxiety mirrored your role, "The New American wife" / You. Both of you were suddenly surrounded by a culture you have only known through one person / Movies, pop culture, ect.. Meta AF Simone. Awesome.

[kyla]

I mean what did they expect? You were a 16 yr old from Sweden they picked off the street

[HarveyDentalfloss]

Bro, you are such a badass!!! You lived on a houseboat, build robots for the heck of it, and after 3 months of being in FREAKIN CHINA you end up on a sitcom, while hating being there when you were 16?!? You are literally the most interesting woman in the world.

[bartzrt]

Honestly, anything bad about this is the fault of the producers. Who the hell just picks a random teenager off the street to act in a language she barely speaks, and then give her almost no time to prepare? Still it's a pretty cool thing to have done. (and also a friend of mine from Norway went on exchange to Taiwan and she had a shit time there. So maybe it's just something about Scandinavian girls and east Asia)

[SuperSuperNova]

Picks up a random white girl from the streets “you only have two lines and a day to learn”

Her: keeps messing up
Them: *shocked pikachu face”

[LogsMaggot]

How has this video still not become a meme baffles me.

[bansheemopar]

The funny thing is, you were really convincing, in playing a frightened foreigner, who barely speaks chinese and is introduced to a lot of strangers at once.
Thus being so, because that is basically was you actually were, but as long as the chinese audience doesen't know they should like your performance :)

[LinkTheHero]

"Come on! It's only two lines!"
^All that guy's fault^

[sophiazhao]

Tbh your Mandarin is actually really good for someone who's brand new at it

[akiralee]

Actually, your Chinese pronunciation was remarkably good for someone who's only learned it for 3 months. I could understand you without looking at the subtitles. And it's only natural that you'd be clearly terrified and uncomfortable; they didn't even allow a rehearsal. If they had higher expectations, they should've searched other provinces for someone more experienced. Or made more allowances for you.

Forgive me for saying something so presumptuous, but I don't think you should feel embarrassed. You did the best you could considering the situation.