Something very very very amusing was talked about tonight. A week ago, I fell sick with a cold, and I kindly let Tina's parents know about it.
Fast forward a couple of days later. When I got home from work, I took my shoes and socks off, and walked barefoot around the house. I saw Tina's mum in the kitchen, and she started talking to me in German. After a bit of dialogue, she gestured at her feet, wearing socks and slippers, and gestured at my bare feet, then said more German which I didn't understand. But the part which I thought I understood properly was that she pointed at my feet, pinched her nose, and then said schnupfen, among other German words.
And immediately I realised she was offended by my smelly feet, just by the way she said schnupfen when pinching her nose. It sounded more like Pfffoar! Your feet are smelly as, bro! They weren't overly smelly, but maybe she had a keen sense of smell, as women do, so I immediately stammered Entschuldigung, or excuse me in German. She walked out of the kitchen, and I stood there feeling quite stink (excuse the pun!). Feeling bad that I stunk the kitchen, I proceeded to take a shower and clean my feet.
Just today, I was retelling the story to Tina. And I learnt that she actually knew about it because her mum told her the entire story, as mothers and daughters do. Oh great, now she's not the only one who knows about my smelly feet. "Smelly feet?", she asked. "What on earth are you talking about?"
It turned out that Tina's mum wasn't referring to smelly feet at all. She was referring to my cold. Schnupfen means runny nose, and according to her the reason I had a cold was because I walked barefoot in the house. Hence when she pointed at my feet, pinched her nose, and said schnupfen, she was actually saying that walking barefoot in the house had caused my runny nose. I thought schnupfen meant smelly feet! Why else would she pinch her nose? Perhaps holding a tissue paper would have illustrated a runny nose situation better.
Tina was in splits. She proceeded to make an international call to her mum in Germany, and laugh even more at my expense. Her mum was apologetic in making me feel stink (excuse the pun again!). Nevertheless, I learnt three things.
Fast forward a couple of days later. When I got home from work, I took my shoes and socks off, and walked barefoot around the house. I saw Tina's mum in the kitchen, and she started talking to me in German. After a bit of dialogue, she gestured at her feet, wearing socks and slippers, and gestured at my bare feet, then said more German which I didn't understand. But the part which I thought I understood properly was that she pointed at my feet, pinched her nose, and then said schnupfen, among other German words.
And immediately I realised she was offended by my smelly feet, just by the way she said schnupfen when pinching her nose. It sounded more like Pfffoar! Your feet are smelly as, bro! They weren't overly smelly, but maybe she had a keen sense of smell, as women do, so I immediately stammered Entschuldigung, or excuse me in German. She walked out of the kitchen, and I stood there feeling quite stink (excuse the pun!). Feeling bad that I stunk the kitchen, I proceeded to take a shower and clean my feet.
Just today, I was retelling the story to Tina. And I learnt that she actually knew about it because her mum told her the entire story, as mothers and daughters do. Oh great, now she's not the only one who knows about my smelly feet. "Smelly feet?", she asked. "What on earth are you talking about?"
It turned out that Tina's mum wasn't referring to smelly feet at all. She was referring to my cold. Schnupfen means runny nose, and according to her the reason I had a cold was because I walked barefoot in the house. Hence when she pointed at my feet, pinched her nose, and said schnupfen, she was actually saying that walking barefoot in the house had caused my runny nose. I thought schnupfen meant smelly feet! Why else would she pinch her nose? Perhaps holding a tissue paper would have illustrated a runny nose situation better.
Tina was in splits. She proceeded to make an international call to her mum in Germany, and laugh even more at my expense. Her mum was apologetic in making me feel stink (excuse the pun again!). Nevertheless, I learnt three things.
- Don't walk barefoot around the house, otherwise you'll catch a cold.
- Make sure your feet are clean , so others don't run for cover.
- Learn more German, so you don't end up in embarrassing situations like this.
How embarrassing.
1 comment:
I later told this story to my mother. Her response was basically:
Well, duh! Isn't it obvious that pinching your nose means having a cold?
Post a Comment