Here is an older post from my blog called Adventures in Miscommunication
In our area of ministry, we use 4 different languages. I'm only fluent in English. Two of the others, I can converse in fairly well. The fourth, well, let's just say that I'll get to it eventually.
But speaking in a foreign language can be tricky. For instance, I once tried to tell my former language teacher that I don't eat goat. Instead I said that I don't eat towels.
One day when we were first in this country, I gave my little speech. You know, the "I have X# of kids. I live in an apartment. I am from America" that sort of thing. Well, I said, "I AM X# of kids" and "I AM an apartment". No one corrected me and acted like they understood me. It took me 5 minutes to realize what I had said. I unterrupted conversation with a laugh and tried my speech again. Of course, my mistake would have to be in front of our senior missionary. EEK! But he applauded me on catching the mistake myself, so it's all good.
Fast forward to last night. We were at meeting and my Love was saying something funny. I piped up and told him how funny he was. His reply was the funniest blunder. Tapping his noggin, he was trying to say that he was very smart. Instead he pointed at his head and said he was very dead. That was side splitting funny!
But the funniest time of miscommunication was when we were speaking English---which makes it even funnier. You'll understand when you reach the end...
One day a cement step was being poured in front of our indoor bathroom. Well, our kids at that time had a habit of making Zorro "Z"s in any wet cement. We didn't want any "Z"s, so my Love lectured the kids not to do it. Then he left for his chuch meetings and asked me to keep an eye on the wet cement.
One minute when I checked it, it was fine. The next, it had a dog print and a "2" drawn in it. I went around to the kids, asking who drew the "2" in the cement. As you probably already guessed, no one did it.
I called my Love to talk to him about how to smooth it out. Here is how the conversation went:
Me: Hi, Babe. Well, the kids are at it again. Somebody, though no one will confess, did a number 2 in the wet cement.
Him: (loudly) WHAT? What are these kids thinking? Why on earth would they do a thing like that?
Me: (a little shocked by his tone) Yeah, I know what you mean. They just can't behave.
Him: (a little less loudly) Seriously? Someone put a number 2 right there? How on earth are we going to fix that?
Me: (not sure why it was that upsetting) Well, I can just smooth it out, right?
Him: Smooth it out?! What?! That's disgusting!
Me: (still not understanding. DUH) Babe, it's not that big a deal. I can just smooth it out.
Him: No. We have to think of something else. I mean, what possessed one of the kids to do such a thing? Could they not make it IN to the bathroom to do their number 2?
Me: (Loud laughter. VERY loud. Took a long time to gain my composure) Babe....
Him: (laughing because it was contagious) What? What's so funny?
I finally gained my composure and explained that no one "did" a number 2 on the cement----they drew the number "2". We laughed for what seemed like an hour. We still laugh about it when we think about it.
Ah, adventures. Adventures in miscommunication.