Lost in Translation

Bon année, or "Happy New Year" in French, is customarily said the first time you see someone in the New Year.  Not like in the States, where one might say it for the first few days after January 1, but, from what I'm told, during the entire month of January.

If French isn't your native language, you might have trouble with this.  Bon année (bohn ahnay) can be a little tricky for we English speakers.  If you happen to place an extra "n" sound in there, (bohn nahnay) you have a whole different conversation starter.  You see, saying bon "néné" to a female can be quite startling.  One of David's co-workers spent the first 2 weeks saying this to all of his employees last January until finally someone took pity on him and told him that he was saying it wrong.  Instead of telling everyone "Happy New Year", he had been telling everyone "Nice tits".  Yep, an extra syllable can be DEADLY!

This same employee played basketball with David for the Lilly team.  He was a college player and doesn't often see a shot that he doesn't like.  If you are familiar with basketball, sometimes a shooter can "get hot".  All that means, is that they seemingly "can't miss" and all their shots score.  In the US, this player would usually say to his teammates, "I'm hot"….indicating that they should pass him the ball.

A direct translation for "I'm hot" would be "Je suis chaud" or "J'ai chaud".  Direct translations are sometimes a TRAP!!  This player spent much of a game yelling "Je suis chaud" to a court full of men and what he was really saying was "I'm HORNY".  The team had a great time with that!!

I ran into another "lost in translation" issue just this past week.  While taking my French lessons, my tutor had warned me that most of the "boutiques" here in Europe would not accept returned merchandise.  That is a bummer!  You see, I hate to try things on while I'm out shopping.  I'd much rather buy it, take it home, try it on and make my final decision.  Compound this issue with the fact that David hasn't purchased his own clothing for 23 years.  I buy it, bring it home, he decides if he likes it and we go from there.  (I think that I've returned less than a handful of items in those 23 years)
Armed with this foreknowledge, I have been very diligent in asking before I make my clothing purchases. Subsequently, I have made a "return" in two of the stores that have become my favorites.

I purchased David and DJ some shirts and a sweater from a well known Alsace men's store before Christmas. (Mise au Green) Before I paid for the items, I explained that they were a gift and wanted to be sure that I could return them.  (I was speaking in English)  The clerk assured me that I could.

David already had a few items from this store and decided that he didn't want anymore "cows".

Company logo…sans the "MISE AU GREEN"….like an "alligator" or a "polo player" in the US

So, we ventured down to make our return.  When we got to the store, the clerk (the same man who helped me with the sale) asked us what we would like in exchange.  I replied…."we'd like our MONEY in exchange for your shirt and sweater".  Nope!  Apparently a "return" in Mise Au Green is an "exchange", not a "reimbursement".  I have crossed one store off my shopping list.

Hope that at least one of these "translation" stories have given you a chuckle for the day.  We are off to visit Luxembourg this weekend.  I hope to have some interesting things to share with you next week.  God's best for your weekend!