(Mis) communication

This last weekend we got together with some friends and got to talking about amusing exchanges we've had while living and working in Malawi. Anyone who has lived or worked in a foreign country experiences these -- those conversations when something just gets lost in translation.

At the post office:
C, after presenting his packing slip to the clerk: Can you locate my package?
Post office clerk: Ahhh, yes. Your package is in Limbe.
C: OH! You mean it's in limbo!
Clerk, with a confused look: No, I mean your package is in Limbe.
C: Okay, but that's like being in limbo, right?
Clerk: No, your package is in Limbe.
(Limbe is the town where all incoming mail to Malawi is sent first before it's distributed to the rest of the country. How great is it that all mail must go through a town called Limbe?)

At the store:
B is driving out of the parking lot having just bought a "Coke Light" from the small storefront. He is just about to pull out onto the main road when the store manager comes running after him screaming: "SIR, SIR, SIR, WAIT!!!!" B waits and rolls down the window and the manager arrives, breathless: "That drink is for diabetics!"

Adhering to protocol:
R: We'd like to buy two bottles of water for take-away.
Clerk: Would you like small bottles or large bottles.
R: Hold on (confers for a while with friend)...we'll take large bottles.
Clerk, without skipping a beat: I'm sorry, we're out of large bottles. All we have are the small bottles.

L: I'd like to buy a ticket for the Blantyre-Lilongwe flight.
Agent: Would you like a window or an aisle seat?
L: Hmmm, window would be nice. I'll take a window seat.
Getting on the plane, L notices there is only one seat on each side of the plane. Every seat is both a window and an aisle.