I had packed like a total spazz, so I couldn't find anything. I grabbed the only bra I could find: BRIGHT aqua blue (I was 21, don't judge me).
Threw on a light-coloured T-shirt and light business jacket and off I went. But it got ROASTING hot by mid-day and I couldn't bear the jacket anymore. I had to take it off,
... and my bright blue bra could be seen clear as day under my light-coloured top. And that was how I taught the rest of my classes that day.
(In hindsight I should have just grinned and beared the jacket but I was young and stubborn)
One of my colleagues later pulled me aside for a very awkward conversation about appropriate school work wear in Japan.
When I did a home exchange as part of my high school trip to France, I cooked dinner for my host family. They traditionally ate course by course in the French way, but I served wild rice soup (a Minnesota delicacy) alongside a whipped cream fruit salad (see Midwest upbringing) in the American style. Thinking they were meant to be served together, the family put fruit salad in the creamy soup and lied through their teeth that it was delicious. Who says the French are rude!?
My Scottish husband has mega problems with sweet and savoury mixed together (ie. He doesn't get candied yams or maple syrup corn bread), I can just imagine what he'd do 🤣😅
I was also a teen cook who had no idea about anything, so the wild rice wasn’t all split and the carrots were still a bit raw. Besides the mishmash of tastes, it was a horrible blend of textures.
Many years ago before I knew French well a taxi driver said I should practice with him and he’d practice some English while on our ride from Versailles to Paris. Sounds simple enough. I asked him if he had a family, where he lived and apparently if he had a “pussy” instead of if he had a cat.
To say I was mortified was to say the least. Pronunciation is key people. The T in “chat” shall forever remain silent.
I was mortified and all my friends were dying as one of them was French and made sure everyone knew what I said. I think even the taxi driver wished he hadn’t. 😂😆
Reading aloud a novel to Thai 3rd graders, they all started giggling as I described jewels falling from the princess's mouth. After we finished the chapter, I grabbed the girls with the best English and cajoled an explanation out of them.
In Thai, "joo" means "penis."
Well, I think it does. They didn't say "penis," they said "boy part." Looking back, the real meaning coulda been...worse.
As an ex-restaurant cook, I was hired to help found a real American gourmet diner in Madrid. My Spanish wasn't what it is today, and so I struggled with things like noun gender and false cognates. When it came time to choose the meat purveyor, I was taken to a lot of plants, and in the biggest, we were given the grand tour. When we got to the imported products walk-in, our host held up a blister pack of beef sausages and said, "¡100% natural!" to which I responded, "Ah, sí, sin preservativos." Because in English, we have additives and preservatives, while in Spanish, the word is conservantes. Preservativos in Spanish means condom. To their credit, no one laughed.
This is terrific. I have a very similar experience with preservativos. The first time I was in Ukraine in a shop I asked if the jam had any preservativos in it and the woman looked at me like I was nuts, probably thinking 'why the hell would this foreigner think we put condoms in our jam?'
Omg yeah, it's a tremendous mistake. But oh well, I went around pretty unfazed by things like this. Just boldly blundering into another culture and language like it was nothing.
My husband and I were building a small house, "casita".....it was a neighborhood project of sorts...all our male friends would spend the weekend working on the construction in exchange for free beer and lunch....It was a pretty good deal and fun times. Then there was the day I yelled up to the 5 guys on the roof (with another 5 guys hanging around, "You need the vagina?" I meant to ask if they needed the drill bit.....ooopss! The words micha and mecha are so close I mixed them up!.....I still get asked if I am offering vaginas.
I love sharing and hearing about embarrassing stories. As a teacher, this is a topic that comes up a lot and I've heard some great ones over the years.
As a teacher: getting my trousers caught on the place where erasers and markers hang out near the whiteboard (is there a name for that?) and ripping them, exposing my pink boxer shorts for the class to giggle at (a bit like your aqua blue bra!).
Also: going into the bathroom after class and noticing a massive SNOT on my white tshirt - ah, so that's what my students were staring at all class!
A non-teaching one: I enjoy going to baths and saunas abroad, but navigating the language journey and different customs is a total minefield, especially when I'm nearly blind and have to take off my glasses to avoid them fogging up. I have no idea where I'm going, what the signs say, whether people are looking at me or asking me questions.
In Budapest, I went to one of the old, historical baths (I think Rudas?), which was men only for centuries, including when I went. They gave me what was basically a tiny square cloth on strings which would barely cover anyone's man bits. Many of the other visitors weren't even bothering to wear them, I noticed. I stumbled around, not knowing what the hell was going on, and I seemed to be on the only one on my own. Everyone else were in pairs. Everywhere I went, I could sense people staring at me, but I didn't want to squint and I hardly knew where to look. People were talking to me in Hungarian. I tried to relax. Then some came and sat down next to me in saunas and tried chatting.
Anyway, I left, and felt refreshed despite all the confusion.
I soon found out it was one of Budapest's prime pickup joints!
As usual... I'll go first!
**My Most Embarrassing Moment Abroad**
It was my first day teaching English in Japan.
I had packed like a total spazz, so I couldn't find anything. I grabbed the only bra I could find: BRIGHT aqua blue (I was 21, don't judge me).
Threw on a light-coloured T-shirt and light business jacket and off I went. But it got ROASTING hot by mid-day and I couldn't bear the jacket anymore. I had to take it off,
... and my bright blue bra could be seen clear as day under my light-coloured top. And that was how I taught the rest of my classes that day.
(In hindsight I should have just grinned and beared the jacket but I was young and stubborn)
One of my colleagues later pulled me aside for a very awkward conversation about appropriate school work wear in Japan.
When I did a home exchange as part of my high school trip to France, I cooked dinner for my host family. They traditionally ate course by course in the French way, but I served wild rice soup (a Minnesota delicacy) alongside a whipped cream fruit salad (see Midwest upbringing) in the American style. Thinking they were meant to be served together, the family put fruit salad in the creamy soup and lied through their teeth that it was delicious. Who says the French are rude!?
Omg 🤣🤣🤣 can totally picture it!
My Scottish husband has mega problems with sweet and savoury mixed together (ie. He doesn't get candied yams or maple syrup corn bread), I can just imagine what he'd do 🤣😅
You need to try corn dog pie! Bake sliced franks in cornbread—diced jalapeños are optional—and serve with maple syrup. 🤤
Yum!!! 😋
That sounds delicious! I'm looking up the recipe right now.
I got confused and thought you wanted a way to recreate fruit salad in wild rice soup 😂
As far as I know, it was invented by a friend but slice hotdogs, chop jalapeños, add to Jiffy cornbread mix and go to town.
I was also a teen cook who had no idea about anything, so the wild rice wasn’t all split and the carrots were still a bit raw. Besides the mishmash of tastes, it was a horrible blend of textures.
I'm totally seeing their French faces eating that!!! 🤣
Many years ago before I knew French well a taxi driver said I should practice with him and he’d practice some English while on our ride from Versailles to Paris. Sounds simple enough. I asked him if he had a family, where he lived and apparently if he had a “pussy” instead of if he had a cat.
To say I was mortified was to say the least. Pronunciation is key people. The T in “chat” shall forever remain silent.
Oh now that's a good one, Rich! hahaha
I was mortified and all my friends were dying as one of them was French and made sure everyone knew what I said. I think even the taxi driver wished he hadn’t. 😂😆
🤣🤣
Reading aloud a novel to Thai 3rd graders, they all started giggling as I described jewels falling from the princess's mouth. After we finished the chapter, I grabbed the girls with the best English and cajoled an explanation out of them.
In Thai, "joo" means "penis."
Well, I think it does. They didn't say "penis," they said "boy part." Looking back, the real meaning coulda been...worse.
Oh yes I've been exactly there but with "Jim" (girl part) 😅 and mine were in university — giggles all the same 🤣
As an ex-restaurant cook, I was hired to help found a real American gourmet diner in Madrid. My Spanish wasn't what it is today, and so I struggled with things like noun gender and false cognates. When it came time to choose the meat purveyor, I was taken to a lot of plants, and in the biggest, we were given the grand tour. When we got to the imported products walk-in, our host held up a blister pack of beef sausages and said, "¡100% natural!" to which I responded, "Ah, sí, sin preservativos." Because in English, we have additives and preservatives, while in Spanish, the word is conservantes. Preservativos in Spanish means condom. To their credit, no one laughed.
Hahaha That's a good one, Camila 🤣 Nice that they were respectful of your faux pas too!
It was indeed. They were very nice people.
This is terrific. I have a very similar experience with preservativos. The first time I was in Ukraine in a shop I asked if the jam had any preservativos in it and the woman looked at me like I was nuts, probably thinking 'why the hell would this foreigner think we put condoms in our jam?'
Omg yeah, it's a tremendous mistake. But oh well, I went around pretty unfazed by things like this. Just boldly blundering into another culture and language like it was nothing.
My husband and I were building a small house, "casita".....it was a neighborhood project of sorts...all our male friends would spend the weekend working on the construction in exchange for free beer and lunch....It was a pretty good deal and fun times. Then there was the day I yelled up to the 5 guys on the roof (with another 5 guys hanging around, "You need the vagina?" I meant to ask if they needed the drill bit.....ooopss! The words micha and mecha are so close I mixed them up!.....I still get asked if I am offering vaginas.
Oh hahaha 🤣🤣. What timing too!
I love sharing and hearing about embarrassing stories. As a teacher, this is a topic that comes up a lot and I've heard some great ones over the years.
As a teacher: getting my trousers caught on the place where erasers and markers hang out near the whiteboard (is there a name for that?) and ripping them, exposing my pink boxer shorts for the class to giggle at (a bit like your aqua blue bra!).
Also: going into the bathroom after class and noticing a massive SNOT on my white tshirt - ah, so that's what my students were staring at all class!
A non-teaching one: I enjoy going to baths and saunas abroad, but navigating the language journey and different customs is a total minefield, especially when I'm nearly blind and have to take off my glasses to avoid them fogging up. I have no idea where I'm going, what the signs say, whether people are looking at me or asking me questions.
In Budapest, I went to one of the old, historical baths (I think Rudas?), which was men only for centuries, including when I went. They gave me what was basically a tiny square cloth on strings which would barely cover anyone's man bits. Many of the other visitors weren't even bothering to wear them, I noticed. I stumbled around, not knowing what the hell was going on, and I seemed to be on the only one on my own. Everyone else were in pairs. Everywhere I went, I could sense people staring at me, but I didn't want to squint and I hardly knew where to look. People were talking to me in Hungarian. I tried to relax. Then some came and sat down next to me in saunas and tried chatting.
Anyway, I left, and felt refreshed despite all the confusion.
I soon found out it was one of Budapest's prime pickup joints!
Omg 🤣🤣🤣 imagine hooking up at a sauna! That's one way to skip a few steps 🤣 These are all gold. Thanks for sharing, Daniel!