At Strothoff International School, moving between languages is part of everyday life. Sometimes it leads to a better understanding of someone else. Sometimes it leads to mustard in the shower. 

September 30 is International Translation Day, a chance to celebrate the translators, interpreters, and other language professionals who help meaning travel between languages. Their work requires care, judgment, and an ear for context. As these stories from our teachers show, changing just one word—or mishearing one—can send a conversation somewhere entirely unexpected. 

Happy International Translation Day! 

The Checkout Plan 

Miss Adela 

It was my first trip to a supermarket alone in Germany, and I spoke almost no German. Fortunately, my friends had given me a plan. 

At the checkout, I should say “Mit Karte, bitte.” If the cashier said anything else, I should say no. They were probably asking whether I wanted to withdraw cash. 

Simple. 

I gave the cashier my rehearsed line. She said something in German. I gave her my rehearsed answer. 

“Nein.” 

She looked confused. “Nein?” 

“Nein!” I repeated, certain I had understood the question. 

I paid and walked out. I thought I had passed my first German checkout. The cashier looked less convinced.

Later, I told my friends how well it had gone. As we pieced together the exchange, I learned that the cashier hadn’t asked me a question at all. She had said, “Schönes Wochenende!” 

Have a nice weekend. 

I had declined. Twice. 

A Matter of Potatoes 

Miss Jameela 

I had been in Germany only a few months. My German was still what I called “Tarzan German”: a small vocabulary, plenty of improvisation, and the hope that context would do some of the work. 

My husband had invited friends over for a barbecue. Some arrived early, while the potato salad was still very much a plan. I hadn’t even peeled the potatoes. 

One of our guests kindly offered to help. I knew exactly what I needed her to do; I just had to find the words. 

I asked her to peel the potatoes. She looked at me for a moment, then burst out laughing. 

I had said, “Bitte die Kartoffeln nackig machen.” 

Please make the potatoes naked. 

She understood what I needed. My German had simply given the job a more memorable name. 

A Plan for the Balcony 

Ms. Campbell 

My mother-in-law, who is from Australia, was helping me plant flowers on my balcony when she suggested adding lettuce along one side. 

Vegetables weren’t what I had pictured for the space. Still, why not? I told her I’d go and buy some. 

The first puzzled look came then. The second arrived with the seeds. 

The next day, I proudly pulled a packet from my bag and showed her what I’d bought. She studied it. Whatever she had been expecting, it was clearly something I couldn’t have carried home in that bag.

Finally, she showed me a picture. 

It was a wooden framework for climbing plants. 

A lattice. 

I looked down at my lettuce seeds. 

We planted them anyway. 

That Was Meant Kindly 

Dr. Snow 

I can’t remember what my German mother-in-law and I were talking about. I do remember finding her funny and deciding to tell her so. 

I expected a laugh. She asked why I would say such a thing. 

She was offended. I couldn’t understand how a compliment had gone so badly until she repeated the word she’d heard. 

“Lästig? Ich bin nicht lästig!” 

Annoying? She thought I had called her annoying. 

What she had heard was “Du bist sehr lästig.” I had been trying to say “Du bist sehr lustig”—“You’re very funny.” 

The compliment had travelled one vowel and arrived as an insult. 

Something for the Shower 

Mr. B 

I couldn’t find the bar soap in DM, so I asked an employee where it was. 

She gave me a strange look and shook her head. 

I thought I was asking for soap. Her expression suggested otherwise. 

Perhaps she hadn’t understood my pronunciation. I rubbed my hands together, then my face. I explained that I wanted it for the shower and even mimed washing under my arms. 

She walked away. I found the soap myself. 

At home, I told my wife about the baffling exchange. She asked what I had actually said in German. 

“Haben Sie Senf?” I told her. “Senf für die Dusche?” 

I had asked for mustard. Mustard for the shower. 

And I had given the employee a demonstration. 

A Very Thorough Answer 

Ms. Susanne 

About five people sat across from me at my first interview for a teaching position in Lebanon. My Arabic was still limited, and my nerves weren’t helping. 

Then came a question I understood: Was I good at sports? 

I used to be. I explained that, then explained why I hadn’t had much opportunity to do sports in recent years. Wanting to give a proper answer, I kept going. 

I was still explaining myself when the entire panel started laughing. 

I felt myself turning red. Had I gone on too long? The principal smiled and repeated the question. 

“Not riyada—sports. Riyadiyat—mathematics.” 

I had given them a detailed answer about the wrong subject. 

I got the job anyway.