I Want a Teeth Party

I talk a lot. I mean…a lot. In high school I frequently got detentions for speaking during class (sorry, Ms. Lauden).  Even on the street, I can’t help myself from saying hello to everyone. If I see a familiar face, they deserve a conversation.

So it’s no surprise that I talk a lot in Indonesia. However, my language skills aren’t great yet. I’ve made a few mistakes (and by “few” and I mean “thousands”). Here are some examples:

What I meant to say: “I want to buy toothpaste.”

What I actually said: “I want a teeth party.”

What I meant to say: “I want to be a university professor.”

What I actually said: “I want to be a taxi cab driver.”

*Holding a photo*

What I meant to say: “This is my brother-in-law. This is my sister. They have a child together named Sophia.”

What I actually said: “This is my brother. This is my sister. They have a child together named Sophia”

What I meant to say: “This photo was taken in Peru.”

What I actually said: “This photo was taken in new.”

What I meant to say: “I will teach English.”

What I actually said: “I will die English.”

What I meant to say: “I need to get a cellphone.”

What I actually said: “I need to get a car.”

What I meant to say: “This a cute cat.”

What I actually said: “This is a handsome yellow.”

Despite all my mistakes, Bahasa Indonesia has been a fun language to learn. The only difficult thing about it is the pronunciation. Some sounds are very nasal, such as the –ang and –eng sound.  If you have a hard time thinking about what it sounds like, imagine Janice from Friends speaking in a foreign tongue. Her high pitch and nasal tone would fit in perfectly here in Java.