innnnteresting how short your neck is, cont'd.

“Why, um… why tienes boca como un pajaro?”

“Why do you have a mouth like a bird?” is the bare bones translation, I’m pretty sure. Birdmouth. This coming from a cook at work named Rafael, whose sassy attitude is overshadowed only by his ridiculous facial hair. This man’s moustache may come thirty years too late, but it rivals Burt Reynolds in his prime.

My response was not one of defense or even shock (due to my translating struggles and overall naiveté, I didn’t realize how inappropriate this all was until much later).

No, my response was something along the lines of confused giggling followed by “No se. Ummmm, mi madre dice la misma. Muy comica?” In my head that translates to, “I don’t know. Ummmm, my mom says the same thing. Very funny?”

The smile that emerged, usually hidden under that furry caterpillar-esque ‘stache, tells me that he translated it differently.