My neighbours and I go walking most nights from 9-10pm. I have really enjoyed the walking and the company. One of the women, who lives two doors down, is Japanese but has lived in the States about 10 years. Her English is very good but often does not understand idiom, puns and some slang. For instance, she asked me a couple of weeks ago what uptight meant because her husband had called her uptight and she could tell from his tone of voice that it was not a compliment.
Last night, I told her about the dressing-up-for-Halloween-as-a-bum thing. My neighbour did not know that bum was another name for tramp/hobo nor did she know that bum was another name for butt! I spent about 5 minutes explaining it so by then it was not at all funny, but she still laughed politely.
Tonight, I told her this joke (sent to me by Shelly:
Q: What is George W. Bush's position on Roe vs. Wade?
A: He really doesn't care how people get out of New Orleans.
My neighbour did not laugh. She did not groan. She just looked at me perplexed. I had to explain to her (she did know that Roe v Wade was), Roe/Row and what wade meant. By this time, I was not expecting any kind of mirth so I was surprised when she roared with laughter. She told me that she would not be able to tell her husband that joke because he is a huge Republican and apparently they do not have a sense of humour (just joking, my Republican friends!) but she definitely thought it was funny (she must be a Democrat at heart).
I am glad that one was not lost in translation...er, explanation.
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