A few years ago, Prime Minister Mori was given some Basic English conversation training before he visits Washington and meets president Bill Clinton...
The instructor told Mori Prime Minister, when you shake hand with President Clinton, please say 'how r u'. Then Mr. Clinton should say, 'I am fine, and you?' Now, you should say 'me too'.
Afterwards we, translators, will do the work for you.'
It looks quite simple, but the truth is... When Mori met Clinton , he mistakenly said 'Who r u?' (Instead of 'How r u?'. )
Mr. Clinton was a bit shocked but still managed to react with humor: 'Well, I'm Hillary's husband, ha-ha...'
Then Mori replied 'me too, ha-ha....'.
Then there was a long silence in the meeting room.
Moral of the Story: Let Experts do their Work
Date: Friday, October 24th, 2008, 10:31:35 UTC +0000
