Say what?

We're often amazed at the misinterpretations we see printed. Native speaking english speakers must charge a pretty penny to do translations. As you can see, cheaper second language translators can make big, entertaining mistakes. I can only assume this means, "Don't litter".

Words of Wisdom from Ayi

A few weeks ago I misplaced my wedding ring.  Its a long story that is not worth telling but there were a few funny parts that went along with the story.  Bri thought it would be a good idea to tell our ayi that the ring was lost.  This way she could keep an eye out for it when vacuuming and doing laundry.  Somehow this was lost in translation and ayi was very confused.  At first she acted as if she had been accused by the translator on the phone.  The translator stated that she had not accused, only informed her and asked her to be looking for it around the apartment.  After trying to clarify ourselves through the translator Bri and I left for dinner. Upon returning we found an entertaining and helpful letter from ayi.  Here is the translation by one of our friend's who teaches Chinese:

Teacher

Your ring is missing.  You said the ring was missing last Tuesday.  Due to holiday I was not working all last week and you were on vacation so I think you lost the ring outside of the house or inside the house.  Either way, I think only Jesus knows.

You should remember to put valuables in their proper place

God Bless You

Ms Yu

Vocabulary Problems

At times, not learning Chinese is really not a problem.  We have both learned a minimal amount and we seem to get along just fine.  Once in a while however we are reminded of the importance of being specific. 

We went to eat with some friends at a restaurant geared towards expats.  At the end of our meal I ordered two margaritas for my friend and I.  The waiter repeated what I said and I nodded in agreement.  It was taking our drinks a really long time to come out and when I asked about them he said that they were almost ready.  The next thing I knew, he was carrying two regular sized pizzas to our table.  Then it occurred to me, he thought I meant Margherita PIZZA! 

We ended up boxing up the pizza and paying for it anyway because I am sure that when the waiter asked for clarification, I told him that we wanted pizza.  Looks like we will be having leftovers tomorrow night!

You there! Don't even think about it!

On a river cruise sponsored by the school it was too hard not to mock the "No Striding" sign.

That must be great gelato!

Often we're amused by signs around Shanghai that contain translation mishaps.  Here's one we saw this afternoon at a nice restaurant that specializes in chocolate desserts.

Some things don't need an explanation.

Don't forget to read the small print.  Bri

How would you like your coffee?

We see signs like this quite often, but they never fail to give us a good chuckle.  Matt