A divine folly

The biggest challenge about learning Arabic is to practice it in day to day life. I hardly get the opportunity to do that, but I make sure that I don’t miss the chance, if I get one.
There’s a popular Lebanese bakery close to my house – Al Reef bakery. It has the world’s best Falafel sandwich, shorma’s, grilled chicken etc. Another incentive for going there is the eye candy that place offers. Most of the chaps working there are great looking and that makes a trip to Al Reef something to look forward to :)
We buy Arabic bread from there often and I asked my Arabic teacher what I could say while asking for two packets of bread or ‘khubs’, as said in Arabic. The next day I went to Al Reef wearing my most confident smile and asked for two packets of Khubs in Arabic. The good looking man on the other side of the counter was speechless for a minute and I felt my confidence melt away faster than ice cream. I quickly repeated my order in English, picked up the bread and went home wondering what I had said wrong.

We had a good laugh in my Arabic class the next day when my teacher told me that I had asked for ‘Two Gods of bread’ instead of two packets of bread. The word I used was Rabbatain while I should have said Rabbtatain instead.
Needless to say I make sure that I am nowhere close to Al Reef bakery these days :)