'The Importance of Understanding English*

[Waldo 0]

'The Importance of Understanding English*

I had a bunch of Canadian dollars I needed to exchange, so I went to the

Currency exchange window at the local bank. Short line.

Just one lady in front of me . An Asian lady who was trying to

exchange yen for dollars and she was a little irritated .

She asked the teller, 'Why it change?? Yesterday, I get two hunat dolla fo

yen. Today I get hunat eighty?? Why it change?'

The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, 'Fluctuations'.

The Asian lady says, 'Fluc you white people, too*

[Emancipation 2]

I had a bunch of Canadian dollars I needed to exchange,

The Importance of Understanding Culture... Canadians don't have dollars.. they have loonies

[Sandrila 1]

well here in Philly we have one Notorious cheesesteak joint called GENO'S

well the owner got soooo ticked off by all the immigrants not being able to speak any or at least proper

English that he placed a "WHEN ORDERING SPEAK ENGLISH!!" sign in the window

It cause quite a stir but it still amazes how ignorant people here can be when they know

full well that our country stands on the belief of treating others equally no matter, race, religion

or language

i think some need to muster up just a tad more tolerance

Edited January 21, 2009 by sandrila

[SAT 9,609]

I had a bunch of Canadian dollars I needed to exchange,

The Importance of Understanding Culture... Canadians don't have dollars.. they have loonies

And toonies..Loonie toonies......

[The_Dude 1,142]

I had a bunch of Canadian dollars I needed to exchange,

The Importance of Understanding Culture... Canadians don't have dollars.. they have loonies

So if I wanted to purchase gas, it would cost me $36 loonies and not $36 dollars?

[Emancipation 2]

I had a bunch of Canadian dollars I needed to exchange,

The Importance of Understanding Culture... Canadians don't have dollars.. they have loonies

So if I wanted to purchase gas, it would cost me $36 loonies and not $36 dollars?

but of course!

[pedroh 21]

well here in Philly we have one Notorious cheesesteak joint called GENO'S

well the owner got soooo ticked off by all the immigrants not being able to speak any or at least proper

English that he placed a "WHEN ORDERING SPEAK ENGLISH!!" sign in the window

It cause quite a stir but it still amazes how ignorant people here can be when they know

full well that our country stands on the belief of treating others equally no matter, race, religion

or language

i think some need to muster up just a tad more tolerance

what an idiot.. plus the cheesesteak is so overrated

[LoveMyTico 999]

well here in Philly we have one Notorious cheesesteak joint called GENO'S

well the owner got soooo ticked off by all the immigrants not being able to speak any or at least proper

English that he placed a "WHEN ORDERING SPEAK ENGLISH!!" sign in the window

It cause quite a stir but it still amazes how ignorant people here can be when they know

full well that our country stands on the belief of treating others equally no matter, race, religion

or language

i think some need to muster up just a tad more tolerance

Yep, I'm from the burbs of Philly. I remember when that happened. He got alot of publicity for that. I'm sure it was worth it for him.

When I go to Costa Rica, I don't expect anyone to understand me when I speak English. I don't speak spanish and I rely 100% on my husband when we are shopping etc... I do make a joke of it though. Where ever we go, I ask the sales people or the waiters or the people at the supermarket if they speak English. Amazingly enough, some will say " a little bit" and then I talk with them.

[The_Dude 1,142]

well here in Philly we have one Notorious cheesesteak joint called GENO'S

well the owner got soooo ticked off by all the immigrants not being able to speak any or at least proper

English that he placed a "WHEN ORDERING SPEAK ENGLISH!!" sign in the window

It cause quite a stir but it still amazes how ignorant people here can be when they know

full well that our country stands on the belief of treating others equally no matter, race, religion

or language

i think some need to muster up just a tad more tolerance

I think a business is justified in requiring that you order in English. If I went to country that doesn't primarily speak english, I think it would be quite arrogant of me to order food in English and expect them to understand. Now, here in Los Angeles, some of the best Mexican food restaurants don't speak English there. Rather than complain, I just order in Spanish. You have to adapt if you want the best food

[Peikko 1,575]

However, most restaurants understand that as a service industry that often caters to tourists, it's quite a sound business idea to accommodate one's customers to the best of one's ability and is practiced with world over. An "Indigenous language only" requirement is a tad bizarre under these circumstances.

[LoveMyTico 999]

well here in Philly we have one Notorious cheesesteak joint called GENO'S

well the owner got soooo ticked off by all the immigrants not being able to speak any or at least proper

English that he placed a "WHEN ORDERING SPEAK ENGLISH!!" sign in the window

It cause quite a stir but it still amazes how ignorant people here can be when they know

full well that our country stands on the belief of treating others equally no matter, race, religion

or language

i think some need to muster up just a tad more tolerance

I think a business is justified in requiring that you order in English. If I went to country that doesn't primarily speak english, I think it would be quite arrogant of me to order food in English and expect them to understand. Now, here in Los Angeles, some of the best Mexican food restaurants don't speak English there. Rather than complain, I just order in Spanish. You have to adapt if you want the best food

I agree with you 100%

[LoveMyTico 999]

However, most restaurants understand that as a service industry that often caters to tourists, it's quite a sound business idea to accommodate one's customers to the best of one's ability and is practiced with world over. An "Indigenous language only" requirement is a tad bizarre under these circumstances.

ha ha I think it is a Philly thing.

There are alot of different nationalities in the city and Geno's is pretty famous. You can't go to Philly without having a REAL cheese steak !!!!!

It gets really crowded and I think the employees probably got frustrated just trying to kick out the orders.

[flicker 5]

'The Importance of Understanding English*

I had a bunch of Canadian dollars I needed to exchange, so I went to the

Currency exchange window at the local bank. Short line.

Just one lady in front of me . An Asian lady who was trying to

exchange yen for dollars and she was a little irritated .

She asked the teller, 'Why it change?? Yesterday, I get two hunat dolla fo

yen. Today I get hunat eighty?? Why it change?'

The teller shrugged his shoulders and said, 'Fluctuations'.

The Asian lady says, 'Fluc you white people, too*

[conquest 0]

Hey Waldo,

I see you are back , how was your trip to Peru? I hope that all is well and that you and your wife had a great time together. So lets see some pics of the trip. I agree when in USA speak english. I dont expect the peruvians to speak english to me

[Staashi 371]

I work for a program with state government that is funded through Federal dollars, so we have to abide by Federal rules on all matters. One of the things that is prohibited by the feds is "English-Only" laws and mandates. Well, recently, we had a mayor of a community tell us all proudly that their city officials just voted in an English-Only law in their city. We were shocked and we said, "Are you serious?" He said, "Yes, and we're so proud of it." Well, he wasn't too proud (more like ####### your pants embarrassed) when we told him that this new city ordinance was against federal laws and that we would be pulling the city's $750,000 grant. I love idiots.