ABCisms

Cross-cultural mishaps as an ABC....

At my cousin's grandma's 80th birthday banquet a few weekends ago, I was trying to tell another cousin that he should drink more water if he wants clearer skin. Some other cousin was giving him a stupid tip that was akin to boiling tree bark and old socks (not the exact recipe) and drinking it for a week.

So I started arguing with her that he just didn't drink enough and was dehydrated. I was yelling "No, he just doesn't have enough water! (不够水!!)" not remembering that 水 was slang for money. So my pimply cousin quickly whips out his wallet and says "Of course I don't have enough money, will you give me some?"

Haha, clearly, what I said was clearly not what I meant to say. I left out the crucial verb "to drink." woopsh. This is the kind of trouble I have with speaking in general. I feel that my Chinese (especially Cantonese) is extremely limited, especially since graduation. I don't have the opportunities to speak Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin) as much since I don't usually interact with Chinese-only speakers.

I was so embarrassed. This is the kind of stuff that university language studies can not prepare you for... haha. have you ever had something like this happen to you?

Continuing Love Affair With All that is Delightful and British