24 August 2009

German Drive-Thru

WE WERE KIND of in a hurry. We were hungry. The Burger King loomed in front of us. The choice we now had was this: go inside to order or give the Drive-Thru a try. Normally this would be a no-brainer; drive-thru all the way. I mean, if we're planning to eat in the car anyway, why go inside? But this time there was a slight wrinkle: we were in Germany and going to the Drive-Thru could present a bit of a language problem. If we went inside we could at least point and gesture if we got into difficulty.

"Drive Thru! Drive Thru!" the kids chanted in the backseat. "Oh yes," Kerri added with a hint of amusement in her voice. "Let's try the Drive-Thru."

This was clearly a set-up and I knew it. Everyone in the car knew that if we opted for the Drive-Thru I would have to order and everyone knew that if I had to order there would be ample opportunity to make fun of me when I was done. I knew that's what they all wanted -- to laugh at me as I tried to order in a language I don't speak. What I didn't know (at the time) was that Kerri planned to videotape my efforts.

If I had known I would have parked the car and ordered inside.



CJS

11 comments :

Nick Jones said...

I'm impressed!

Unknown said...
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Anonymous said...

Wet our pants laughing!!! Only thing better is if we had been there in person. G & P

مارية said...

Bahahhaahaha! I knew I unpacked my headphones for a reason. That was hilarious. "One...onion rings!"

Ksam said...

That was absolutely hilarious!! But you definitely get an A for effort!

becky said...

All i can say is--good thing that she understood English perfectly well. You basically said 3 words in German: ein, zwei, dahnke!!!!

talesfromagarden said...

i think you did very well and if the order came out perfect well there you go! why do we all point our fingers at an inanimate machine when talking in another language?

Manue said...

it's hilarious. I laugh the part when u see Henry laughing and Patrick giving us the thumbs up!

Harold of Scaggsville said...

You got the "Thank You" down most awesomely. Kudos to you. You got the job done.

If I had to order in German or French, my family would starve. But I would know where the bathroom is and that Claude Dumas has a bicyclette.

Dahnke Kerri for the video. I will now go diable that feature on my wife's phone.

Eddy said...

Btw, it's Danke (not Dahnke) !

What's really hilarious is that you spoke French to her when you were thinking about an appropriate word in German instead of just going ahead and ordering in English.

Penny said...

Love it!! I love how you said "d'accord" to her after she says she doesn't speak french!! I do that sort of thing all the time :-)