At least I can curse like a native!

So yesterday, after a horrendously long work day of trying to tie up loose-ends before taking two weeks off to hang out with my brother, I was a bit late heading for the train and somewhat harried when it came time to "clock out." (I also resent the fact that I have to punch a time-clock at all, but everybody except top management has to do it, so I generally don't whine about it...much.)

At any rate, this time-clock is fairly complex (I suspect it launches rockets, monitors the position of weather satellites and tracks female staffers' menstrual cycles, but I can't prove it) and the instructions for how to use it are in Swedish, which means I've never really bothered learning its advanced functions. So as is my usual M.O. I forgot to push the button indicating that I wasn't just "out", but on vacation...something that really honks off the ladies in payroll.

I realized my mistake the moment I made it, and reacted with the Swedish equivalent of loud and drawn out "Oh Shit! (Vad fan!) just as the CEO emerged from the mailroom adjacent to the resented time-clock.  I COULD HAVE DIED and began apologizing all over myself before I realized that he was only pretending to be horrified.  He laughed all the way back to his office, and actually complimented both my pronounciation and inflection...though I took that with a grain of salt since he's from Spain.

tags: swedish  bilingualism  

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