my accent is affecting my noodle

Before I start telling you this, and you don’t know me, My name is Ben German.

So there is this place in the centre of the Indianapolis called noodles and company. They do a menu where there are four price ranges to choose from depending on size. There is Asian, American or Italian to choose from. When you order, you line up, say what you want, pay for it and then say if you want to eat in or take out. Pretty straight for forward right?

I went there with four of my co-workers, Eric, Dan, Anne and Greg. Anne and Eric wanted to eat at the office so the plan was that Dan, Greg and I eat in the restaurant.

Dan orders first, “I’ll eat in” he says to the lady taking the order.

“Here is your number… put this on your table so the server can bring you the order” says the girl at the cash register.

Then it is may turn. I give her my order.

“eat in or take out?” she says

“in please” I say.

“Here is your cup, and what is your name?” she asks

“German” I say.

“John” she says.

“German” I repeat.

“Jim? ” she asks again.

“shewer” (translation: “sure”) I say, throwing in the towel with this line of questioning. I obviously have an accent when I talk and it is lunchtime in a very busy restaurant with an ever increasing line behind me.

I sit back at the table and notice that Dan has a glass drink container rather than the paper take out one I have. A little concerned, I go back to the lady and say. “I’m good to eat in, right?”

“Oh, you want to eat in?.. er OK, I can change your order. It’s Jim right?” she says.

“Er yeah...Jim” I say looking down and kicking my feet.

I then sit down realizing that both Greg and Dan have numbers and I don’t. There server than comes over to drop the food off at our table and says “You changed you order to eat in right?” “Yes” I said with a sigh of relief. “So this is yours then Eric” the server says to me.

“No Eric is stood over there to take, I’m er Jim.”

Even now I don’t know I ate Eric’s food, but I do know that my name is not Jim and I wasn’t going to ask for a beer. If I got asked for ID and I showed then one that said Ben German, it would only make matters worse!