Manglish Answers

1. Have you ever seen someone's bonnet (hood) fly up while they were driving down the road?

2. My boots (cleats) are in the boot (trunk). (double whammy)

3. Nobody wants to be the lamppost (third wheel...this one might be my favorite phrase).

4. Does anybody have a plaster? (band-aid...have I told you about the time my housemate and I got into a fight about this one? She cut her finger and wanted a plaster; I had no clue what a plaster was but offered a band-aid. She insisted she didn't want a band-aid until she saw it and exclaimed, "That's a plaster!" Oh what fun it is to live with a national!)

5. Can I follow (ride in your car) you to church? This one can initially be confusing as you wait in your car for someone to pull up behind you; at the same time they're waiting on you to pick them up somewhere...

6. I'm gonna make a move (leave) first. I like your definition better, Ryan! I'm not sure why they say this, but they feel the urge to announce when they're leaving by "making a move".

7. I had to use my torchlight (flashlight) today. I had to control my laughter the first time I heard my housemate say that one. Then again, I'm sure she laughs at me: I wear my headlamp every chance I get!)

8. Ugh, my computer hanged (froze) again!
9. I need to go to the toilet. (a freebie) They never say bathroom or restroom here. It's always toilet. It took me a while to get used to saying toilet. It just sounds impolite to me. One day at a Frisbee match I wanted to use the public toilet, which usually costs money at parks and fields. The sign said 0.20 cents-toilet, 0.50 cents-bathroom. When I asked the lady what the difference was she looked at me like I was an idiot. Toilet is obvious; bathroom is literally where you take a bath...except there are no baths here. I guess it should really say showerroom.

10. My computer's spoiled already. (already broken- I don't know if I can adequately describe the way they use already. Maybe they just over use it already until the word appears in almost every other sentence.)

11. I banged (hit) the car! (I think this is my housemate's favorite word!)

Good job, David! You got most of them right! I'm trying to think if there are any other exciting things to report from over here. Oh, I found 2 different cockroaches on me yesterday within an hour of each other! One was in my hair and quickly scurried away. A little while later I felt something in my shirt and after a quick jump, shook my shirt. When nothing scurried out I thought I was just being paranoid. And then 4 seconds later I felt it again. I shook the shirt again. Nothing. I'm in a shopping mall. I frantically RUN to the bathroom, slam the stall door closed, throw my shirt off and give it one hard shake. The little clinger scurries to a corner of the stall. I officially don't like cockroaches.

That's all for now! Hope you're all well! If you don't get my monthly updates but want to (or if you've changed your email since I started sending updates) please let me know! Love and miss you all!