A Miscommunication at the Sushi-Go-Round
This is a perfect little story of how easy it is to have a complete breakdown of communication - even when both parties think they know what's going on.
The sushi-go-round (a name I made up) is a restaurant where you sit down and watch a guy behind a counter cut sushi, put it on little plates, and then put it on a conveyor belt that runs along a loop-shaped counter around the area where he's working. You sit down at the counter and pick up whatever comes by that looks good, eat it, and stack up your plates for the waitress to count when you're done. The different colored plates have different prices according to what was on them. As you can see, I take many plates. There are also glasses for hot tea, a hot water tap, and all the tea bags you want in front of each seat, as well. Or you can just drink a few beers, like me.
In addition, if there is something specific you want - just ask. Yesterday (August 25, 03) I ate a few shrimp (ebi), then asked for some mackerel (saba). More shrimp came by, then some more mackerel. I asked for some "regular" tuna (maguro) next. Yummmmmm. I had a little fried potato for a change, and then I asked for some yellowtail, which is called "hamachi". Hah-ma-chee. I've eaten it a hundred times.
The guy looks at me, signals the waitress, and she comes and brings my check. Hmmmm. She points at the total and just looks at me. I'm confused. I say "No, no" (in Japanese) and point at my plates and the fish in the cooler and repeat "Hamachi kudasai (please)". She gives the check to the chef, he counts my plates again, totals everything up and starts pointing at the bottom line. Now I'm thinking I'm being told to leave or something, as the guy is visibly annoyed and the waitress is looking at me like I'm an idiot.
You figured out what was happening yet??? I didn't (maybe it was the beer). Now I'm irritated, too. I reach up and point right at the fish cooler and say "HAMACHI kudasai!" He points at the check and thrusts it out at me.
I grabbed it, went to the register up front, paid, and left wondering what in the heck had just occurred... Today I asked my co-worker if there was some offensive word I don't know about that sounds like hamachi, as many words mean different things depending on where the stress is, etc. He responded with "How much?"
They thought I was asking how much my bill was....... How muchi