Tratra ny Krismasy!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all in Africa, goodnight.

Here in America, however, it is still mid-day Christmas Eve. The tree is lit, the goodies are made, and family is, indeed, gathered near.

I wanted to let you guys know that I was able to attend an international dinner with the Malagasy students at my sister's university and have them over to our home. It has been utterly delightful getting to know them and speak Malagasy with them. I will blog about it soon, but for now I am merely hopping on to say Merry Christmas. :)

A Different Proposal

Here I was missing the oddities of living in another culture and I get one in my own. :-)

Stopping at Burger King to get an icee on my way home, I called my little brother and ask if he’d like one. “No, but I want onion rings,” he answers. I lower my window to order.

“What can I get you today?” The faceless man through the box queries. “I’d like an icee and medium onion rings, please.” “That will be a bamedium…arg…seeicee…arg! An icee and onion rings? Sorry about that, I got my words mixed up,” announces the box. I chuckle and tell him it’s no problem.

Arriving at the window, a gentleman in a red Burger King visor leans out. “That’ll be $1.57.” “One fifty-seven?” I ask. “Shouldn’t my total should be more than that?” “Yeah,” the guy grins and looks me in the eye. “I’ve got a proposal for you.”

Oh dear. The last dozen proposals I’ve received have only been for one thing: marriage. But since this guy and I met mere moments before, I’m hoping it’s something else…

“Here’s my proposal. You take the satisfaction survey, tell them V** gave you awesome customer service, and I’ll give you a free icee!”

I ponder quickly. Hmm…can he do that? Give away free food for good reviews? Is this corruption on the lightest level? I guess he knows the rules better than me since he works here. A free icee would be nice. I definitely consider free food awesome customer service, so…

“Sure,” I say. “Thanks!” He turns around, tossing the onion rings into the brown sack. “I’ve got one more surprise for you.” Reaching out, he hands me the bag. “It’s a large.” Smiling broadly, the guy bids me goodnight and I pull away.

I don’t know if this is normal in America now, if he does this to everyone or just people who are nice to him when he stumbles over his words, but I certainly was laughing on the way home, sipping my Coke icee in bliss. ;)