Random English Mondays

You know how girls back home get Chinese characters tattooed places like their ankle or on their lower back?  Have you ever wondered if those characters actually mean "truth" or "harmony" or whatever other meaningful slogan?  I mean, what if all those tattoos are wrong?  And not just tattoos, what if the whole fascination that the US has with Chinese writing on pottery or wall art (or French writing, or whatever other trendy languages abound) is full of translation blunders and/or grammar mistakes?  (They probably all are!)(...says the girl who wants a Hebrew tattoo someday.)

I have come to this question because, as the blog title suggests, I do indeed live in South Korea now.  They seem to love English here in South Korea!  However, I've noticed that even English-speaking Koreans do not grasp that there are English phrases all over the place that just don't make sense to native speakers.  They crack me up!  Sometimes they're just misspelled words that make me laugh, sometimes they're translated directions or warnings, and sometimes they're just off the wall. 

I have decided to introduce a series on this blog called "Random English Mondays" to showcase some of these comical occurrences that I've found in my daily life and travels around the country.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

This first picture is of my trashcan.  That's right.  My trashcan. 

First of all, it has a picture of an oscillating fan.  What the heck?!

Second of all, the wording of the proverb.  Here, let me pour some happiness on you, and, oh no, I dropped some on myself as well!  At least I smell nice now :)

Third of all, this is on my trashcan.  Who puts proverbial phrases on a trashcan? 

I really do love the meaning behind the silly words, though!  We express it a little differently in the states, you know, more along the lines of "be happy and it'll rub off on other people."  (I guess that sounds weird to a non-native speaker... how can happiness rub off on anyone?  Is it like chalk?) 

It's your turn!  Go out into the world and pour happiness on people!  Then you'll get some happiness drops on your own life too :)  I hope you enjoyed this week's installment of Random English Mondays!