I work with a lot of people across the globe, mainly with the team down in Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Mexico. I secretly love it when things don't quite translate between languages. Here is my favorite recent exchange:
Brazilian: "Denise, did you hear about Pedro?"
Me: "No, what happened? Is he ok? Did he make it to Chile?"
...Pedro was traveling from Brazil to Chile for work.
Brazilian: "Yes, but he got so intoxicated on the plane. He couldn't make the meeting."
Me: "Are you fucking kidding me? He got intoxicated on the plane and couldn't do the one thing he was fucking supposed to do there?"
Brazilian: "Yes, but he was very, very intoxicated. He had to go to the hospital."
Me: "So, he gets so intoxicated on the plane that he has to go to the fucking hospital? What the hell!"
Brazilian: "Well, yes, he was intoxicated."
Me: "I get that, but seriously the hospital? Tell him to man up."
....at this point, I thought maybe I should take this call in a more private setting. I am sure my ease dropping neighbors were loving this. I also made a mental note to look up AA meetings in Sao Paulo.
Brazilian: "He could barely move he was so intoxicated. He just went to the hotel and puked all night. So he had to go."
Me: "Well, no shit. That is what happens when you are intoxicated. Tell him to suck it up and stop being a fucking rookie. He needs to deal with it. I do almost every Monday, Thursday and Friday."
Brazilian: "You get food intoxicated every week?"
Me: "Wait, what? Food intoxicated? You mean, food poisoning? He got food poisoning on the plane?"
Brazilian: "Yes, of course. What do you think I meant?"
Me: "Oh, nothing. Absolutely nothing. But if anyone asks you about where he is, especially from the US, tell them about his intoxication."
No comments:
Post a Comment