¡Que Embarazada!
CALIFORNIA, FRIENDS, HOME, PHONE, USA, WORDPLAY | FRIENDLY | FEBRUARY 17, 2020
(My dad has worked with a man from El Salvador for many years, and they have become close friends. When this friend first moved to the US, he took classes to improve his English skills, but in the meantime, the language barrier led to a lot of funny misunderstandings between him and my dad. They got used to laughing together about all the little ways both English and Spanish can be confusing. My dad learned a bit of Spanish from his friend but never enough to really understand a whole conversation. One Father’s Day, my dad thinks it would be nice to call his friend and wish him a happy holiday, and he thinks it would be extra nice to say it in Spanish.)
Dad: “Hey, I just wanted to wish you a happy Father’s Day! Feliz papa Dios!”
Friend: *laughing uncontrollably*
Dad: “What? Didn’t I say it right?”
Friend: “You meant, ‘Feliz Día del Padre.’ What you actually said was–” *pauses to laugh* “–’Happy potato God!’”
Dad: *laughing, too* “Well, I was pretty close!”
Friend: “‘Papá’ with the accent on the end means ‘dad,’ but the way you said it with the accent at the beginning, it means ‘potato.’ And ‘día’ means ‘day,’ but ‘Dios’ means ‘God’!”
Dad: *smiling, shrugs* “Well, at least you knew what I meant!”
Friend: “Somehow I always do!”
(Now it has become a tradition that my dad has to call his friend every year on Father’s Day and wish him “Happy Potato God!” When my sister and I call our dad on Father’s Day, we tell him the same.)
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