3 March 2005

Communication Breakdown

I've had a number of Canadian friends over the years, and have never had much trouble understanding what they say. This lead me into the false expectation that I would be able to communicate readily with their compatriots once I arrived.

If my staying here is dependant on my pronouncing "R" and "T" then all bets are off.

*sigh*

(And I haven't had a flat white in over a month.)
Posted by Mrs Robot

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I would suggest repeating what you are trying to say louder. Canadians will assume you are an American and will dumb down their end of the conversation to a grade 3 level. While this might seem annoying, rest assured that they will be listening to you more closely and should be able to replace the R's and T's.

As for the flat white, I believe if you order a "wet cappuccino" from the corner Starbucks, it should be close to what you seek. You might need to actually specify "no foam" but a good barrista should get it right with the "wet" connotation. Unless you are not talking about coffee and then clearly I am talking out of my ass.

12:28 pm, March 03, 2005
Mrs Robot said...

"Wet cappuccino"?!? This is one of those "wind up the foreigner" gags, right?

Good advice on the communication, by the way. Yelling the same thing over and over is how most Australians deal with foreigners, actually.

4:28 am, March 04, 2005
Unknown said...

No, I assure you, the "wet cappuccino" is legit. Starbucks has its own lingo; wet and dry refer to the balance of steamed milk vs. foam. Wet = more milk, less foam; dry = more foam, less milk. Mind you, I have not actually tried this order, but I have overheard it, and I found this wonderful reference site that demystifies the dreaded coffee giant.

9:14 am, March 04, 2005

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