A guide takes on a number of roles for the tourist: teacher, entertainer, ambassador, nurse, and the boss. As ‘teacher’ the guide is passing on information, as we’ve discussed. Most tour groups are on holiday so they went to enjoy themselves and want to be entertained to a certain extent. People also need looking after, so you sometimes have to be a nurse. Some people are jet lagged or have minor illnesses (sometimes worse!). When we train, we do a basic first-aid course.