Communication Difficulties and Non-Alcoholic Beer

Posted on 2007/03/31 19:14:38 (March 2007).

[Wednesday 28th March]
Not much to report really. Slept well the previous night so got into the office "late" (i.e. 9AM) this morning.

In the evening there was a sort of team dinner at this Mexican place which I also took Chie along to. The food was quite nice, but I found it was a bit noisy and hard to hear what anyone was saying - maybe I was just a bit tired. It has occurred to me though that I have real communication difficulties in America - typically more a problem of me making myself understood rather than other people understanding me. The differences between American and British English are a lot bigger than you at first think. Even seemingly basic phrases like "over the road" are apparently strange and unfamiliar here (they always say "across the street").

Despite the apparent American slackness on the issue I was determined not to drink and drive. So I confined myself to a couple of non-alcoholic beers. Non-alcoholic beer appears to be very much maligned, but I have to say I actually quite liked it. It was cold, came in a beer-like bottle, tasted vaguely beery, and the first sip produced more or less the same "aaaahhh" reaction as a regular beer.

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