Lost in Translation

A few weeks ago, I went to the Anhe Night Market for some tasty sausages and tomatoes stuffed with plums. For dessert, I was fortunate enough to taste a Taiwan treat known as Shein Tsao. This dessert is a concoction of grass jelly, jam pearls, and Taro balls mixed with sweet cream. I was so taken with this dish, I returned for another helping the following night.

Fast forward to last week. I was at dinner with a Taiwanese friend and some other friends. I told them I had the most delicious food the other day for dessert, and surely, they wanted to know what it was. I told them I had Shein Tao, leaving out that crucial "s" between the "t" and the "ao". Now to the untrained ear, the pronunciation appears to be identical. However, to the Chinese ear, there is an enormous difference. Basically, I didn't tell my friend that I had a delicious dessert, but instead, that I got "breast enlargements".

But miscommunication goes both ways, you know. In class, not so long ago, I was playing a game called "Teacher Says" which is essentially the same as "Simon Says" but simpler so you don't have to explain to the children who Simon is. Well, I gave what I thought to be a simple command- put your hands in the air. All the hands went up. Then I said, put your foot in the air. Most feet went up right away, but one girl, instead of putting her foot in the "air", put her foot, well actually, attempted to put her foot, in her "ear".