Job Discussion Forums

[arnobi]

I joke around quite a bit in class. When an Arab student (in a class full of Arabs) asked me what "snore" meant, I demonstrated, describing an amusing incident: I had awakened at one a.m., and each of the seven people I live with was snoring in a different tone and style. I then mimicked each snoretone, feeling very clever as I did so.

The students (adult females) tittered uneasily. I knew something was wrong, but nobody would tell me what.

Years later, I learned that Arabs associate the snoring noise with, er, marital intimacy.

[Lynn]

You gotta be kidding? Wow. This one could be a huge faux pas. I always do a snore tone when I teach this word. haha!