pisdetz

Feet.

Pretty much typical Havana. It’s slightly crumbling but doing OK regardless.

Snow hearts. The photo was cropped and flipped.

Biological burger & fries. Yum!

Snow kitty!

Yup, we made one too, just like the rest of the country. Ours has authentic Siberian artistry though!

Scary monster in de Barones.

The Happy Hydrant

In Dutch, swearing is so common that it’s hardly noticed in day to day conversation. The Dutch also like to think they can speak English very well and understand the nuances of the language. This sometimes causes a problem when abroad.

I found myself in a cab in Reading, England with colleagues, most Dutch, one Australian. Rounding up our international bunch was the Indian cabbie. A Dutch guy was talking about his Chinese girlfriend.

“She’s a bit of a cunt sometimes.”

The cabbie looked at us in his mirror. The Australian snorted in disbelief. The Dutch people sat unfazed and me, being only slightly more attuned to the intricacies of the English language, sat there wide-eyed taking all this in. “Uhm, cunt is really not a word you can say around here”, I ventured, eyes locked with the cabbie in his rear-view mirror. “That’s a bit of a fucking understatement!”, thundered the Australian, not the most subtle at the best of times. The rest of the trip I sat pushed into my seat, awkwardly debating the merits of the word “cunt” while the cabbie eyed us at every opportunity.

Which brings me to Jon Ronson on telling his son the worst swearword in the world. Yes, in English, it really is that bad.

Swearing in Russian, on the other hand, is worse. I’m still learning.

John Vanderslice in Paradiso.