Lisa and Tammy

Lisa went into a restaurant. She saw the sign on it, and it was in some foreign language. She figured it'd be okay, though. Lisa was fluent in 58 different languages, so she knew she'd be okay. She was starving anyhow.

When she walked in, the hostess asked her "Comen numgeben?"

Lisa stared at her, confused. She was unsure what that meant. Had she maybe misheard the lady? Did the lady have an accent?

Sensing her confusion, the hostess repeated herself, slowly this time. "Comen...numgeben?" This time, she definitely didn't mishear. Lisa still didn't understand. The hostess understood what was happening. She pointed to a sign on the wall. It read: All employees here speak Chloquiana. If you do not speak it, we encourage you to use gestures and online photos to communicate. Say 'cociana sa' or 'sa cociana' to your waiter/host if you do not understand the language."

Lisa nodded. "Sa cociana." The hostess gave an understanding smile and pulled out her phone. It showed a bunch of numbers, and then people being led to tables. Lisa understood now. She made the number 1 with her fingers. The hostess gestured for her to follow, and led her to a table. Handing her a menu, she gave a brief "abiome" and then walked off. Luckily, the menu was one designed for those who don't speak Chloquiana. It had pictures on it so customers could point to what they want, and point to various sides and changes to it. Looking through it, she decided that she'd start off with a chocolate milk. Her waitress eventually came. She couldn't see that Lisa had the special menu, so she was unaware that Lisa didn't speak the language.

"Ebo! Ai Asi! Comen binc go?"

Lisa stared blankly. "Sa cociana," she stated. The waitress blushed, embarrassed. She made a gesture of her drinking something, and glanced at Lisa questioningly.

"Ohhhhh!" Lisa pointed to the picture of chocolate milk. The waitress nodded and walked away. Now it was time for Lisa to decide on her food.

She decided that she'd get some apples and a chocolate bar for dessert. The waitress returned shortly.

Instead of speaking, she gestured towards Lisa, hoping to inform her that she was ready for her food order. Lisa pointed to the red apples, and gestured the number 5, then pointed to the photo of the chocolate bar.

As the waitress walked off, Lisa heard her shout, presumably to the chefs, "Cincu gubis abem cesun coceb!" The chefs all cheered enthusiastically.

Lisa received her food, and nodded and smiled at the waitress with gratitude, attempting to say thank you. The waitress brought her a check. Luckily, it looked like a normal check. Just a few words were in Chloquiana. Lisa still knew where she had to sign and where to write the tip amount. She paid, then walked out, pretty satisfied with the restaurant, despite the language barrier. She decided to herself that she'd try to learn Chloquiana as well, so she could communicate with the employees effectively.

The end.

Lisa went back to the restaurant, but this time, she brought her friend, Tammy. Lisa had been studying Chloquiana, and had learned a bit more.

"But I don't speak Chloquiana," Tammy said.

"Don't worry," Lisa assured her. "They accommodate to people. And I could try to translate for you. I know just enough to order at restaurants."

"Ebo!" The host said. "Comen numgeben?"

"Bos," Lisa said.

Tammy saw the sign on the wall. "Sa cociana," she said, timidly.

The host smiled, grabbed a normal menu and a picture menu, and led them to a booth. "Gasi!" Lisa said to him. He nodded and left. Tammy was amazed that they had menus to help accommodate. "What do you think you're going to order for your drink?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe lemonade?" Tammy said thoughtfully.

"Do you want me to order for you? It may make things easier for both you and the waiter."

"I guess so..." Tammy felt bad, but Lisa insisted. Finally, their waitress arrived. Lisa recognized her as Asi, from the last time she came there!

"Ebo! Ua name Asi! Comen binc go?"

"Ai ginu coceb-mic," Lisa began, "cesun se go bemonabe."

Asi nodded. "Bemonabeo con naboc bemons?"

Lisa translated to Tammy. "Do you want a lemonade with...yellow lemons? What? Aren't all lemons yellow?"

"It shows a photo of blue lemons and red lemons too. It's odd...but I guess I'll try blue lemonade!"

Lisa turned back to Asi. "Bemonabeo consa naboc bemon. Se go bemonabe con cubus bemon."

Asi walked off to the kitchen. Tammy glanced at Lisa. "That was insane. This language sounds so complicated."

"Honestly, it really isn't. It's quite easy. All words are phonetic, letters only make one sound, there's hardly any vocab, and you have choices for how to say things."

"You did tell her I wanted blue lemons, right? I heard bemon and bemonabe, which sound really similar."

"Yes, don't worry, I got you."

"Anyways, we need to decide on our entrees. They have a photo of a...pear? It's literally just a bunch of fruits by themselves."

"Yes. They serve plain fruits here. BUT you can combine them together."

"So like...a red apple with green grapes, yellow bananas, and blue lemons, but without orange juice since that apparently comes with it???"

"Exactly. It's a pretty unique place. Is that what you want?"

Tammy nodded. Lisa decided that she was going to get blueberries with milk on the side.

Asi returned. "Comen nabgo?"

"Ai go cubus-bebis con mic, cesun se sug ginu gubis abemo con naboc-cubus gabe, naboc banam, cesun cubus bemon, nuco consa gubis-naboc-suc." Tammy went wide-eyed. Dang. Lisa said a whole lotta words. But surprisingly, it was the same words being repeated a lot. Maybe those were colors?

Asi spoke to Lisa. "Se sa go gubis-naboc-suc? Comen go se binc con naba?" She was asking about Tammy.

"Tammy, what drink do you want with your food instead of orange juice?" Lisa translated.

"Oh...um...water, I guess?" Tammy replied.

Lisa turned to Asi. "Se ginu sug aguan con nu nab."

Asi burst into the kitchen, shouting "Cubus-bebi con mic, cesun gubis abemo, naboc banamo, naboc-cubus gabes, cubus bemon, nuco consa gubis-naboc-suc. Con aguan."

Tammy was so astonished.

Finally, the food came out. Turns out, the chefs had made a slight mistake. Instead of a red apple, they gave Tammy a green one!

Lisa noticed this, and notified Asi. "Se go me gubis abemo. Comeni naboc-cubus abemo."

Asi profusely showed deep contrition. She went back into the kitchen and fixed it immediately.

They decided on no dessert. As they left, Tammy said she would love to come back sometime. Lisa promised she'd invite her again.

The end.

Lisa and Tammy were at the store. They ran into a Chloquiana employee there. Attempting to speak to him was difficult, but they tried.

"H...He...l-lo?" The employee stumbled. It was apparent that he was struggling to speak English.

Lisa smiled. "Ebo! Bo?" The employee's face lit up.

"Buenub! Gasi! Bo nescu?"

"Ci buenub! Gasi!"

The employee began to scan their items. He made small talk as he did so. "Ua name Mac. Gu nescu?"

"Ai Bisa, cesun nu name Bami." (Chloquiana translations of the names).

Mac glanced at their items and noticed that they were buying three entire TVs! "Mes gibi?! Comeso?"

Lisa chuckled. "Comesoi, ai, Bami, cesun ua babag amob gebibison." Indeed, Lisa, Tammy, and Lisa's dad loved TV. They were buying a TV for each of them.

Mac cashed them out, and waved goodbye as they left. Lisa and Tammy were thrilled. They had made a new friend. They traded contact info with Mac, hoping to see him again sometime. "Abiome!!!" Mac enthusiastically shouted as they walked off. They waved back and gave him a thumbs up.

The end.