Roma: When some words are inappropriate
Another funny moment in Rome occurred after a couple of us had spent the day down on the Appian Way (and very nice it was too). Unfortunately, we just missed a bus and the long wait for the next one meant that we were late to that evening's rehearsal. I might have won the BNC Choir Tour "Virgin Trains Award for Punctuality" but not even my nagging wife could have done anything about it in this case.
As the two of us raced towards the Dutch Church, however, we realised to our horror that the gate at the top of the steps was locked, and that getting in could be a problem. The sight of a nun the other side of the gate provided a glimmer of hope and we sprinted up the stairs...where we realised that we had no idea how to convey in Italian that the choir we were with was inside the church and that we wanted to join them.
The situation looked pretty desperate when hand gestures and "Cantare" (which, it turns out, may mean 'you sing') failed to get us anywhere, so I turned to the guide book in search of some useful phrases. 'Choir' would have helped, as would 'Church'. Under the C-Section however, only 'condom' kept popping out of the page. Somehow I cannot think of a less appropriate situation in which to use that word.
Fortunately, I resisted, and after a few more hand gestures it became apparent that we weren't going to leave and the nun relented and let us through anyway.
As the two of us raced towards the Dutch Church, however, we realised to our horror that the gate at the top of the steps was locked, and that getting in could be a problem. The sight of a nun the other side of the gate provided a glimmer of hope and we sprinted up the stairs...where we realised that we had no idea how to convey in Italian that the choir we were with was inside the church and that we wanted to join them.
The situation looked pretty desperate when hand gestures and "Cantare" (which, it turns out, may mean 'you sing') failed to get us anywhere, so I turned to the guide book in search of some useful phrases. 'Choir' would have helped, as would 'Church'. Under the C-Section however, only 'condom' kept popping out of the page. Somehow I cannot think of a less appropriate situation in which to use that word.
Fortunately, I resisted, and after a few more hand gestures it became apparent that we weren't going to leave and the nun relented and let us through anyway.
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