Karolina--re; English as a second language: as an inexperienced sailor (I still am) about to take some people for a ride in a small sailboat, I was paired with a guy named "Jack", who had an accent I didn't recognize. I was told he had about as much sailing experience as I had, so I figured that would work. We got in the boat, and I said to him, "Why don't you take the tiller?" He replied, "What's a tiller?" I said,"It's that stick back there, I thought you'd sailed before." "Yes, but I only know the terminology in Polish." We ran into the fishing pier.

This thread has taken some really odd turns.