Misunderstanding

There are times when the best language skills are just not enough. Cultural understanding is essential as well. For example: The other day I needed to move a filing cabinet from one of our offices to another. Unfortunately, I had to take the large metal filing cabinet down 4 flights of stairs and up one long flight of stairs so I hired Uncle Blessing to help me. Uncle Blessing is an older man who drives a songthaew. He could be out in the night bazaar fleecing the tourists, but he is content to charge modest fares to drive the clients of the clinic below one of our offices. He is a little, bald man who likes sleeping much more than working. Whenever I see him, I enjoy thinking of him as a chubby, happy baby whose parents adored him so much that they named him "Blessing". Uncle Blessing drove me to the other office and as we reached the top of the stairs I smiled at him and thanked him for dragging the cabinet up and down the stairs. A minute later I looked for him and he was gone. He had left me instead of taking me back to the office with him. Baffled, I got another ride back to my office. I asked my secretary, "What happened? Why did Uncle Blessing leave me?" It turned out that saying thank you meant, "thank you and you may leave." My secretary said, "Don't say thank you unless you don't need any more help." Uncle Blessing summed it up, "You speak so clearly, but in the end you don't understand."

The above pictures have nothing to do with my story, but they are pictures of Gabe making crafts, one of his favorite activities and attending a superhero party for his buddy Stanley.