A cup of coffee with a friend sparked the memories of those first few days in U.S. when even the most mundane tasks seemed like an enigma. Well, that's what happened with this dear friend of mine when he first ordered a coffee after being in U.S. only for couple of days.
Like most Indians he expected a hot steaming cup of the soothing coffee with milk and sugar. But it turned out that his cup not only missed milk and sugar but coffee itself! While waiting for his cup to be filled he naively created another conundrum when asked the server for a polythene. What followed was a set of blank and bewildered looks as the server churned his gray matter to find that word in his vocabulary.
And ah! that big word decoded into simple three letter word 'bag.' All he needed was the white plastic bag sitting on the shelf. As the soft plastic bag made into his hands, he still wondered if the server had forgotten to pour the aromatic beverage into his mug. Hell No! He hadn't forgotten. It was his job. And another perplexed expression with a tinge of exasperation told him that. It was only a matter of few more seconds when our friend learned the art of coffee-making as he observed other customers pour the brewed black drink into their cups.
Most of us have had our little experiences with everyday American terms, my being with the forbidden 'tissue' that can end up getting you a toilet paper or bath tissue instead of a simple napkin.
