i love language.

I love language.

I put my hair up, a bit sloppily, the other morning. But what ensued on the bus was an amusing exchange with my roommate that reminded me why languages can be so fun(ny) sometimes. (Basically recapped below.)

Roommate: I like your hair today.
Me: Oh, thanks. I was thinking it looked pretty messy.
Roommate: No, it’s like, organized hows. ::the word she said sounded like ‘hows’ to my ears::
Me: Hows? It’s like an organized what?
Roommate: Hows.
Me: House? ::thinking to myself, what kind of weird Russian compliment is this?!::
Roommate: No, howz.
Me: ::thinking to myself, what on earth is she trying to say, so I take a second guess…:: Cows???
Roommate: ::laughs::
Me: I totally don’t understand. Organized house? Organized cows?
Roommate: No, you know, the English word for something without order, in Russian it’s hows.
Me: ::thinking:: Oh…. CHAOS?
Roommate: Yes! Keyhows.
Me: No. KAY-OSS. Like my name, K, and then “-os,” kind of like you’d say “Aussie”
Roommate: Oh, is it spelled with a K?
Me: No, C-H. C-H-A-O-S.
Roommate: Uh, right.