I've definitely had my share of language mishaps since learning Indonesian(heck, it happens to me in English sometimes...it's inevitably going to happen in a foreign language haha). I've wanted to make a point to write down different times that I embarass myself in front of Indonesians, but usually I forget to write it down(or maybe I just don't want to document it :) ).
A couple weeks ago, I was in Jakarta for a training and was trying to make conversation with the taxi driver. When, he started talking about his family, he mentioned he had 3 kids. Well, in Indonesia, there's a common phrase used to promote keeping families small: "2 cukup," meaning 2 kids is enough. Somehow that phrase got mentioned and I tried to be smooth and say "maybe 2 is enough, but having 3 is a blessing." Instead I confused the word "berkat" which is blessing, with "berbakat" which is talented. So, I ended up saying "well, maybe 2 is enough, but having 3 is talent." I realized I confused the two words as soon as it left my mouth. Talent in what, Leslie? Oy vey! Well, the good news is I probably won't confuse those two words again!
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