Last night at dinner Ann tried to ask for a bowl of white rice. The waiter listened to her, then blushed and left the table abruptly. An English speaking waiter returned to the table chuckling and asked again what we would like. He smiled, left the table, and came back with her order. Upon checking the English-Japanese dictionary we determined that she had asked the first young man if he wanted to hang out in a bowl of hot rice. I think I would have blushed, too.
Just to be fair, I must admit that earlier that day I walked into a small shop and in my best Japanese announced to the owner and all of his employees, "Good evening and welcome to our store!" I kept on talking, and can only imagine what else I must have told them. I am single-handedly undoing years of progress in English-Sino relation. Many apologies Ambassador Kerry, and welcome to my store!
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