My Blonde Moment at the Ginko

So the other day Bridger and I had to make a trip to the bank (aka Ginko).  Before we left, I got the documents and card we would need to complete our transaction with as little confusion as possible. (You know, since I have an incredibly limited grasp on the language and everything.) The last thing I did was use Google Translate to make sure I knew how to communicate what I needed with the bank teller.

We arrived at the bank, and I walked up to the teller. "Konnichiwa!" she said. "Konnichiwa," I replied. I then handed her my paper, figuring it would just be easier for her to read it than for me to slaughter the pronunciation while trying to say what was on the paper.

She stared at it and then proceeded to sound it out as best as she could. I was a bit confused, figuring that the sentence itself must not be grammatically or structurally correct. After a second, she seemed to get the gist of it, and I was able to complete my transaction.

And we left.

Not until much later that night, while I was talking to Casey about something completely different, did I have one of those "lightbulb!" moments (Yes, I am definitely quoting "Despicable Me" right now. What a classic. But back to the point...)

"Oh!" I said.

"What?"

"So I think I know why the teller at the bank had such a hard time reading my paper today."

"Why?"

"Er...well...I totally wrote it in the English alphabet instead of Hiragana or Katakana."

I was sitting there laughing uncontrollably. Half was out of the humor of the situation, while the other was with shear embarrassment.

"Are you being serious or kidding?" he asked.

"Totally serious. Oh man!"

"Well, yes, that was a bit of a blonde moment. Just a little though," he teased. Yes, he probably laughed harder than I did at this point.

So basically, we need to switch banks, so I don't have to walk in there again. I'm sure the bank teller got quite a good laugh about the little American girl who came in and expected her to read her own language using the English alphabet. 

I'll just chalk it up to another Gaijin mistake.