Life Is Still Funny

In my last post I mentioned many of the more humorous encounters and English foibles that I've come across. I really think I should mention one more though; one I was just reminded of today at a ski resort with the host fam.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the ultimate winner of I do not think that word means what you think it means (English version): "Throb."

My host sister asked me today if, because of skiing, I was "throb." And no, she didn't mean it in the painful way. But this was not the first time this word has been used. One of my best girls also used the word in a paragraph she wrote, talking about how the letter she wrote to my high school makes her throb, and I've had several other students use it similarly.

I'm not quite sure what the Korean word is that they're trying to communicate to me, although I'm pretty sure it means something along the lines of the heart beating faster. Which is an excellent feeling to try to communicate is a foreign language. Nevertheless, I think someone needs to write a letter to some of the dictionary companies and expain the nuances of the word "throb."

Don't you worry, I'll get my comeuppance for all my inner, adolescent giggling at such mistakes. My Korean still isn't great, but I try to communicate as much as possible. Given these conditions it's only a matter of time - if that time hasn't come already without my knowledge - until I utter the the Korean I-do-not-think-that- word-means-what-you-think-it-means equivalent of throb.