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101 Word Short Stories

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Language!

September 13, 2024 2 Comments

By Johannes Springenseiss

“Family emergency?” my boss asked.

“Well, my uncle retired in Mexico years ago, and yesterday, I got a rather disturbing message.”

There was no emergency, of course. The message from my uncle was in Spanglish, and I thought canicula meant dog show. Lifelong puppy lover, I took five days off and flew to Guadalajara.

After several panic attacks, a major heatstroke, and two weeks in a Mexican hospital, they transferred me to San Diego. Turns out “canicula” means extreme heat in Mexican.

Now I am planning to embark on learning foreign languages as soon as my brain function resets to normal.

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September 12 & 13 on Zoom
Enrollment closes Thursday, September 3 at 7:00 PM Pacific

If your descriptions are vivid but your stories still feel thin, this workshop is for you.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ed Kratz says

    September 19, 2024 at 8:18 am

    This was fun. I loved how a misunderstanding can lead to such problems.

    Reply
  2. Lian van Berkel says

    September 19, 2024 at 8:19 am

    That was funny! I love it!

    Reply

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