Microwave Mishap
I call this the microwave story.
Seven years ago, I embarked on a study-abroad program in
Colombia. Having family there it is always customary
to ask if you can bring something into the country, as it may be
prohibitively expensive there. My Aunt Rosi asked me to bring a
microwave.
No problem, or so I thought.
I had been in the country no more than 10 minutes and found myself
trying to talk to the customs guy (I couldn't speak Spanish well yet,
as this was the main objective of my trip).
"What do you have in the box?" he asked. My mind was racing, how do
you say microwave? Surely it must be like other American words that
naturally are understood in foreign languages if you just say it with
a Spanish accent. Some that came to mind were baseball=beisbol,
football=futbol, basketball=basket. So I gave it a go....
"microjueva?" I said tentatively. The man's eyes flew wide open, and
he shook his head unbelievingly. "Microjueva" I said more firmly and
confidently. A little smile, couldn't hurt, I thought.
"Describe it!" he commanded. "Well...", I faltered using all of
the Spanish I could muster up, "It's big, black, cooks things
real fast, has a lot of heat energy, but it makes things really
hot..." He walked over to his companion, laughing and guffawing,
they talked it over and he came back, red-faced from laughing
with a funny smile. "Microhorno o Microhonda", he said between
snickers. Sure, I remembered, horno means oven so just put the
micro in front of it. Great! Thanks! I paid my tax and went my merry
way.
Later, in Rosi's house she asked me if I had any difficulty in
customs. Just that I had forgotten the name, I said. What did
I say, she asked? I told her, "Microjueva. "No!?" she
exclaimed, you didn't?! Yes, I did. What's so funny?
And then she told me, tears streaming down her face from
laughing so hard, you said you were carrying a ...
microtesticle!
Then I remembered the words I had used to describe it: big, black,
cooks things really fast, HOT! I felt the flush of my skin, I knew
for sure I was beet red.
Wow, not even ten minutes in the country and I was making outlandish
claims of having a microtesticle right here in this box. How much is
tax?
--Lisa
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