It took me some time to figure out why it was quiet on the other side of the telephone line when I started my greetings with: Hi how are you? Do I disturb you?
Ehh no… not at all.

Yesterday my patient fiance pointed out to me that in America we say: Hi, how are you? Am I disturbing you?
There is a big difference.
Turns out till now I have been saying hello to people and asking them if they think I’m mad. !!??

Gosh, the pressure of being European and trying to get it right.

There are so many of these small sentences that we Europeans translate directly in to English and with that take away the meaning of what we try to say but translate it I to a completely, yes quite disturbing, content.

My friend Peter Laanen works with the Dutch embassy for exactly this purpose. Trying to save the huge failures that European company speakers make when starting business with the US.
Here are some funny examples from others people, just to show you that it’s not just me.

“I always get my sin” sin (zin) means, my way.

“I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart and also from my wife’s bottom”(My wife thanks you as well)

I promise to keep on studying. But it’s cute to screw up sometimes.