Cultural Differences

by **jvcc** » Sat May 12, 2007 12:49 pm

Funny story a friend told me today. She's American and got on a plane to visit her friend in Australia. Apparently "fanny" means something different in Australia (a lady's private area) and there was a guy on the plane next to her with a fanny pack (a pack you connect around your waist with a strap; like a mini backpack.) Apparently the guy kept taking everything out and rearranging it.

When my friend got to her sister's house there were a bunch of Australian people there, and they asked how her plane ride was.
"It was weird, this guy on the plane had a fanny pack, and he kept taking stuff out and rearranging it. He was, like, obsessed with his fanny!"

Confused by their horrified silence, someone explained to her what it meant. They laughed and she was embarrassed.

The end.

by **IglooJeffrey** » Sat May 12, 2007 1:32 pm

Yeah, over here we call 'em bumbags. At least I do. Fanny packs, that is, not women's privates.

by **Chrono Crow** » Sat May 12, 2007 1:41 pm

Everything's dirtier in Australia.

by **ntw3001** » Sat May 12, 2007 9:38 pm

I didn't know what you Americans called a fanny for ages. My first encounter with the difference was when Marge Simpson said she thought skiing fanny-first into an avalanche wasn't fun. I was amazed that the Simpsons contained such filth. Oh yeah, and there was the one where Marge wanted Lisa to buy an oufit with a starfish on the fanny. I think I assumed I'd misheard, but I eventually figured it out.

by **Mimiheart** » Sat May 12, 2007 10:27 pm

Everyone is out to get my Fanny
Everybody wants to see my Fanny
Everybody likes to hold my Fanny
But she loves no one but me

Everybody wants to seize my Fanny
Everybody likes to squeeze my Fanny
They do everything to please my Fanny
Still she loves no one but me

Oh, don't touch my Fanny
Please don't ever try
My little Fanny
Is reserved for just one guy

That's why I never let another love light blind me
Everywhere I go you'll always find me
With my little Fanny right behind me
'Cause she's so in love with me

Everyone who ever spied my Fanny
Tried to hang around beside my Fanny
Maybe I should go and hide my Fanny
Or she'll find somebody new

I've seen lots of Fannies in my time
And frequently their cheeks were close to mine
But never have I held one so divine
Like the Fanny that belongs to me

We will be married
Some day next June
And when we go away
To spend our honeymoon

I know that everyone is goin'a miss my Fanny
No one ever could resist my Fanny
But they wouldn't dare to kiss my Fanny
'Cause she's so in love with me

by **catastrophile** » Sat May 12, 2007 10:32 pm

IglooJeffrey wrote:Yeah, over here we call 'em bumbags. At least I do. Fanny packs, that is, not women's privates.

For some unknown reason, I was actually talking about this very idiom with my Cornish stepfather this week.

by **Mimiheart** » Sat May 12, 2007 10:34 pm

My Choir teacher in high school had a similar experience when she visited with some people in Scotland. Only their response was more along the lines of, "Say it again!"

by **Ninjatron** » Sat May 12, 2007 11:04 pm

I heard a story like that once. I think it was 7th grade French.

If you ever find yourself in a French-speaking place and you don't wish to have any more food, don't say "Je suis plein." While it translates literally to "I am full," it means "I am pregnant."

by **maxthedork** » Sun May 13, 2007 2:28 am

I like how, if you're an American dude in England, and you say you wear "suspenders," you get funny looks.

by **maxthedork** » Sun May 13, 2007 2:29 am

I myself have a pair of black suspenders, but I only wear them at shows.

by **Chrono Crow** » Sun May 13, 2007 4:32 am

There isn't a huge difference between the meanings, if you think about it. They're both considered "naughty" places.

by **jvcc** » Sun May 13, 2007 9:41 am

Chrono Crow wrote:There isn't a huge difference between the meanings, if you think about it. They're both considered "naughty" places.

You mean the different definitions of fanny? It's not dirty over here at all; it's like a word a little kid would use. Actually, when I was, like, eight, I thought it was the F-word and my mom laughed at me.

by **James** » Sun May 13, 2007 12:19 pm

catastrophile wrote:Cornish

I wonder if Cornwall will ever attain independence. I hear some people there want it.

I was surprised to learn that Americans use their cutlery differently not too long ago. In fact, I initially didn't believe it. YOU GUYS DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO EAT.

by **ntw3001** » Sun May 13, 2007 12:49 pm

Americans use their cutlery differently? What do they do with it?

Actually, I'll ask them. What do you do with cutlery?

by **giantsfan97** » Sun May 13, 2007 1:02 pm

ntw3001 wrote:Actually, I'll ask them. What do you do with cutlery?

I use mine to cut Lery. He's a jerk though, so he deserves it.

by **Judas Maccabeus** » Sun May 13, 2007 1:11 pm

James wrote:
catastrophile wrote:Cornish

I wonder if Cornwall will ever attain independence. I hear some people there want it.

...

...

There are people in Cornwall? I thought it was all sheep and rocks and pseudo-Welsh?

ntw3001 wrote:Actually, I'll ask them. What do you do with cutlery?

Well, I use the butterknife to eat soup and the large, serrated knives to perform satanic rituals at midnight. What strange uses do you have for them on your side of the Atlantic?

by **catastrophile** » Sun May 13, 2007 2:15 pm

Judas Maccabeus wrote:
James wrote:I wonder if Cornwall will ever attain independence. I hear some people there want it.

There are people in Cornwall?

This was the essence of my initial reaction as well. I imagine it's a sort of "me-too-ism" stemming from the Scottish independence movement.

by **jvcc** » Sun May 13, 2007 2:56 pm

You don't you British just tell us how we use our cutlerly differently?

by **maychorian** » Sun May 13, 2007 3:15 pm

Um, I hold a fork or spoon in my right hand like a pencil and use it to stab or scoop things in order to bring them to my mouth. What do the British do differently, and why?

by **ntw3001** » Sun May 13, 2007 4:11 pm

I have no idea. I once got reprimanded for scooping peas onto the concave side of the fork, but that's just bizarre. I guess genteel folk use forks for poking alone, never scooping. So you'd have to hold it convex-side up...?

by **katzenkoenig** » Sun May 13, 2007 5:53 pm

ntw3001 wrote:I have no idea. I once got reprimanded for scooping peas onto the concave side of the fork, but that's just bizarre. I guess genteel folk use forks for poking alone, never scooping. So you'd have to hold it convex-side up...?

some people insist on using the convex side of the fork, but i still haven't figured out how exactly that's supposed to work.

now that i think about it, maybe it was just a dream.

by **Nyperold** » Mon May 14, 2007 2:12 am

Ah! Finally!

by **Chrono Crow** » Mon May 14, 2007 2:19 am

I'm just having fun pretending you're all really saying fuck.

by **Gelatine Cow** » Mon May 14, 2007 2:28 am

Nyperold wrote:Ah! Finally!

The hell? Americans do everything weird... :roll:

by **ntw3001** » Mon May 14, 2007 4:11 am

Huh? Do Americans actually eat like that, or is it just how they're supposed to? It's really strange.

Cultural Differences

Cultural Differences

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