nice quotes

today at work via IM:

coworker: i sometimes watch CSI – am i getting old?

Is he asking me because I’m older and wiser, or just older?

Something I’ve always liked is the way ESL speakers have a rawness or bluntness to their translations or speech (even when the blutness hits me).

When I lived in Mexico I always had good quotes from the kids I taught. I can’t remember anything specific, but the kids would reply to questions in English with stuff that I would think as funny, but to them was just efficient translation without any PC-ness.

me (pointing at the textbook picture): which person has the red bag ?

student a: the woman

as there are many people in the picture, I’m trying to get an answer of “the woman on the left”.

me: “which woman?”

student a: the fat one

And most times, the kids were right. Or at least the other kids knew which one was meant.

The reason I brought that up is because I was getting a hair cut over the weekend. The two barbers I go to barely speak english, and I only know how to say “thank you” and “big brother” in Cantonese. But we communicate enough to get my hair cut right and the prices right.

But sometimes the communication is a bit more harsh, even if it’s not intended:

barber (combing my hair): bald top front getting.

me: thanks for the reminder. whatcha think? 5 to 7 more years up there?

barber: heh, longer, more years maybe not sure

me: oh well

barber : (nodding) bald soon top front bald

me: (to myself) that’s either a great haiku or you’ve been watching Star Wars too much

Bald top front

getting. Bald soon top

front bald soon