I’m leaving for the UK on a business trip in about a week. And over the past week or so, my co-workers have been having some fun advising me on what not to say while I’m there unless I want to be the butt of their jokes. It’s kind of funny how two groups of people can speak the same language and use the same words, yet take away something completely different from the conversation. And I’m sure I’ll be the source of much snickering. At least I hope so!
Examples:
We refer to unexpexted days off as “floaters.” In the UK, a “floater” is a turd that doesn’t sink.
I’m not exactly sure what this means, but apparently I’m not supposed to say someone “has the floor” in a meeting. I can only imagine …
And if you’re running late, never EVER say you’re going to just blow off the meeting.
Does anyone else have advice for phrases I could use innocently enough (heh heh) that would evoke, how shall we say, odd looks from my English co-workers? I’d like to toss a few in under the guise of innocence just for fun to see what happens.
Also, I’ll be in York for almost two weeks. If anyone has ideas of sights to see or things to do in my spare time, I would really appreciate it. Thanks, Helen for your ideas already,
Posted in A Cacophony of Posts, Mike O | 14 Comments »This is a neat idea - TXatheist made a youtube video of his comments!
Posted in A Cacophony of Posts | 9 Comments »I found out how articulate and insightful Hemant was a little over a year ago, when I read the church reviews he wrote for Off The Map (the winning bidder in his ebay auction).
I’ve been looking forward to reading about Hemant’s ‘further adventures’ since I heard he was writing a book. I was pleased to find this book is every bit as insightful as I’ve come to expect from him. Hemant’s ability to notice what’s significant and describe it with an undercurrent of humor makes his book a very interesting and enjoyable read.
Hemant calls himself ‘the friendly atheist’ with good reason. I found his comments about Christians in the book to be friendly, respectful and fair. Is this important? To me it is, because I would love my Christian friends to ‘go to the source’ and learn about atheists by talking to them or reading their books. On the other hand, I don’t want to send them into a situation where they’re going to be continually mischaracterized and insulted – I value my friendships with them! I’m happy that I could recommend Hemant’s book to them without hesitation because it’s friendly and fair to generous.
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