There seems to be a more light-hearted slant to the greeting card sentiments for Father's Day compared to those sent on Mother's Day: sentimental verse with lots of flowers versus lines about DIY nuts or beer-swilling slobs living the couch potato lifestyle. Do we really see dads this way? Of course not, but dads and humour often go together, as the following anecdote from my expat years in Germany may illustrate...

My parents had come over to visit and were staying at a small hotel in a rural area near the Dutch border: a nice place, pleasant staff, clean rooms. The only drawback - the staff spoke little or no English and my parents little or no German. As is the way of things, they had made themselves mutually understood with polite gestures and a handful of phrases. One day at the hotel my Dad pointed to a forbidding sign above a door, lowered his voice and asked what it meant. He explained that he and my mother had been discussing it for a couple of days and were now convinced that it must be a warning to unwary travellers of something truly terrible on the other side.

The sign read "VORSICHT STUFE", which translates into English as "Mind the Step"!

Luckily for them they had not ventured through the mysterious door, so had not found out the hard way what it actually meant. A cautionary tale, and one that perhaps highlights the benefits of learning the language at least a little before you go.

Wherever you are this Sunday, try to remember your father or the father figure most important to you...and if you're stuck for a present, how about a phrase book?

Mind that step, Dad and Happy Father's Day!

Jo James is a freelance writer based in the UK but with years of experience living as an expat. Anyone wishing to commission an article can contact her through Expat Focus.

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