Several evenings ago Eric and I were sitting at our pizza restaurant devouring Margarita and veggie pizzas when a couple we'd never seen before sat down at the table beside us. Her great haircut caught my attention and his graying temples caught Eric's.
"Hey, they look like they're our age. We should say 'hi'," Eric whispered.
(You know you've been away too long when you start picking friends by their age and haircuts. In reality, there are plenty of "our age" here in Lumut, but the fact that this couple was wearing trekking shorts and sport sandals, and lacking the large beer guts of the middle-age construction crowd that generally frequents this restaurant led us to believe they might have an interesting story.")
Eric broke the ice, "Hi! Where are you guys from?"
Great haircut replied, "We're from Florida."
Gray temples added, "How about you?"
"America!" I replied enthusiastically.
Gray temples, "Yeah, we get that. But, what state?"
(Duh....what's worse, I didn't even pick up on how stupid I sounded until later that evening when Eric asked me, "Is that America with a "k"? - you linguists will get that humor...)
All kidding aside, I know I've been away too long when I say stupid things like that.
But, I've got to go now. I have school conferences this afternoon and need to print a list of adjectives. I can't remember any useful descriptors besides the "excellent", "satisfactory", "good", and "needs improvement" that are printed in the aforementioned order on the report cards.
I know I've been away too long when, with trepidation and uncertainty, I said to the principal, "I think "good" is better than "satisfactory."
On the flip side, the couple we met at the restaurant has been sailing around the world for six years. Granted, they just returned from one year in the States to brush up on their English...
Maybe I need a trip home....
"Hey, they look like they're our age. We should say 'hi'," Eric whispered.
(You know you've been away too long when you start picking friends by their age and haircuts. In reality, there are plenty of "our age" here in Lumut, but the fact that this couple was wearing trekking shorts and sport sandals, and lacking the large beer guts of the middle-age construction crowd that generally frequents this restaurant led us to believe they might have an interesting story.")
Eric broke the ice, "Hi! Where are you guys from?"
Great haircut replied, "We're from Florida."
Gray temples added, "How about you?"
"America!" I replied enthusiastically.
Gray temples, "Yeah, we get that. But, what state?"
(Duh....what's worse, I didn't even pick up on how stupid I sounded until later that evening when Eric asked me, "Is that America with a "k"? - you linguists will get that humor...)
All kidding aside, I know I've been away too long when I say stupid things like that.
But, I've got to go now. I have school conferences this afternoon and need to print a list of adjectives. I can't remember any useful descriptors besides the "excellent", "satisfactory", "good", and "needs improvement" that are printed in the aforementioned order on the report cards.
I know I've been away too long when, with trepidation and uncertainty, I said to the principal, "I think "good" is better than "satisfactory."
On the flip side, the couple we met at the restaurant has been sailing around the world for six years. Granted, they just returned from one year in the States to brush up on their English...
Maybe I need a trip home....
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