Unfortunately, I don't know enough of the language to make too many mistakes yet myself. Fortunately, I know people who are willing to share their mistakes . . . and there are always the errors others make with me . . .
- W thought he was regularly asking for a kilo of pears at the fruit & veggie place. One day a friend visited him at home, and W told him to help himself to the pears in the fridge. The friend look puzzled and asked W why he had spiders in his fridge. Only then did W realize that he had been buying "spiders" for months, and the shopkeeper never told him.
- W was telling his English class about taking luggage to the airport, but he got mixed up and used the wrong word for "luggage." His students were puzzled at why he was telling them about taking "prostitutes" to the airport.
- It took me a little while to figure out what the "Breaker" shop was on a nearby street. It's a bakery.
- I love the fact that in a teetotaling country, the "Turkish Saloon" is proudly advertised. (It's really a salon--no shame in that.)
My favorite recent blunder happened to my housemate Danny. Danny met a local who really liked Danny and wanted to be sure that he kept in touch, so the local shook Danny's hand and told him, "Let's touch each other!" We're not going to let that one die for a while.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment