top of page
Writer's picturePaula

Wart Hog on Toast

Updated: Jun 11, 2024

It appears that warthogs are not allowed on the menu at our house. This week I discovered the Russian’s animal eating threshold though a comically bizarre communications breakdown.


One day for lunch I made him a grilled cheese sandwich and I had tuna salad on toast. As always, I was quizzed beyond reason as to my menu selection while I was making up our lunch and I told him repeatedly that it was tuna on toast which resulted in him becoming increasingly appalled and irate. I noted his strange response but chose to ignore it. After we sat down to eat, he pointed in disgust to my plate and asked “You eat tuna kata?” For the first time clearly heard what he was saying, but still failed to understand.

I, oh so wrongly, assumed that he thought I said tuna on kasha. Kasha is Russian for porridge/oatmeal and the thought of tuna on oatmeal is unappealing. I continued to be intrigued by how repulsed he was by my lunch, until he got down from the table and came back with the Lion King movie box and held it up to my face, pointed to Pumba the warthog and asked in total indignation, “You not eat Tuna Kata!!!”


It was only then, that my light bulb came on. Dennis loves the Lion King movie and thinks the wart hog character is named Hakuna Matata. His Swahili isn’t good so it comes out “Tuna Kata”. The poor little guy thought I was eating wart hog for lunch! My attempts to convince him that it was fish and and not wart hog included pulling the tuna can out of the trash and reviewing the picture on the label. He insisted on having the both the VHS case and tuna can on the table while we ate.

1 view0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

From the Back Seat (November 2015)

My favorite Russian is learning the difference between fiction and nonfiction literature. This morning on the way to school, he ...

The Voice From The Back Seat

D: “When you take Spruce for a walk, and he poops, how do you pick it up?” Me: “Yes, responsible dog owner always pick up after their...

The Voice From the Back Seat

D: “Hey Mom, who is the guy singing this song?” Me: “I don’t know the singers name, but the band is called the Scorpions.” (Rock You...

Comentários


bottom of page