Uncomfortable moment
Whilst teaching English to a small group of foreign businessmen of different nationalities, we began a role play based upon the report we had just seen. The subject concerned smoking – cancer and the resulting lawsuits initiated by those afflicted. Casting the German student in the role of cancer victim and his Dutch classmate as a rich tobacco executive, I sat back to watch the action unfold.
Unfortunately, I had forgotten what the word “cancer” is in German (though it now explains the zodiac a little more). Imagine my horror and surprise when he opened the debate with the line “I've got crabs and it's all your fault!” Falling off my chair in hysterics took some explaining too.