Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Ein bretzel und wasser mit gasse, um... S'il vous plait

G:  Not sure why I do this, but whenever I'm stuck for a word or phrase here (which is pretty much every interaction I have with the locals), invariably, I'll lapse into French. Which is kind of funny, because my French vocabulary is right at the level of a Parisian 2-year old (as opposed to my German comprehension, which is hovering somewhere around that of a 1-month old puppy). So whenever I have to say "excuse me," and I forget the German phrase (entschuldigung)-- which is several times daily, I'll subconsciously let fly a  French "pardon," (pronounced pah-dohn). This way I can butcher 2 languages in one shot.   The header by the way means "one pretzel and sparkling water (German)... please (French)."   And yes, I actually said this exact phrase.  Followed immediately by "Dunkopf (dumbass) American" and pointing at myself.  The pretzel was great.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Next time you want a pretzel and sparkling water say, "One pretzel and sparkling water, please, you dumbass German."