A Kiwi on a Slovakian train heard a familiar accent come over the loudspeakers to announce the next station earlier this month.
But how did a New Zealander get the job?
Gavin Shoebridge was working as a broadcaster for the English version of Slovak Radio when his colleague put him up for the job.
He told Breakfast he read the names of “thousands” of train stations and bus stops across the central European country’s public transport network.
“I did the main trunk lines, the buses in the capital and all that.
“Now I’m tormenting passengers going across the country constantly.”
He said pronouncing some of the names was “admittedly difficult”, including Banská Bystrica and Banská Štiavnica.
“That takes a little practising, but then they started branching out into Austria and Hungary and the Czech Republic. Some of the station names in those countries, I needed a lot of help to get through those.”
Shoebridge said he spoke “intermediate-level” Slovak.
“If I start speaking Slovak, its obvious I’m a foreigner. It’s as rough as the Waikato Expressway, not that rough.”
He said the key when doing announcements was to “slow down the speech”.
“Kiwis, we talk fast, we’re like a puppy after five espressos, so we have to slow right down.”
