Asshole !

A guy from Clonmel moved to the Phillipines a while back. He befriended a local cyclist who invited him out on a spin with one of the local cycling clubs . On his first day out his friend was unable to go with the group but the guy from Clonmel headed along anyway.

Cycling groups can sometimes be a little cliqueish but all of the Philipino lads seemed like a nice bunch.

As the group set off at a nice steady pace the locals chatted to their new visitor in English but spoke their own language amongst themselves.

He thought that he was getting along fine until he heard someone shout ‘Asshole ‘

Thinking that he had done something stupid he made a concious effort to call the potholes and hold his line in the group.

Still, a few miles later once again he heard a shout ‘Asshole’ and he wondered what they were all saying about him as they spoke  amongst themselves.

A few more episodes of  being called an Asshole whilst being treated to a litany of smiles and polite conversation convinced the Clonmel man that it must just be a cultural thing, so he decided to not take offence at being called an Asshole and got on with the rest of the spin, whilst also trying not to do anything out of the way.

At the end of the spin a few of the locals shook his hand and said ‘see you next time’ and they all smiled as they said goodbye and he was still unsure as to how they felt about him.

It wasn’t until he met his friend the following day that he got to see the bigger picture.

The Clonmel man was explaining that the guys were all really nice but that every now and then they would call him an Asshole . His friend was a little confused at first but the burst out laughing, it turned out that the Philipino word for dog is      Aso !

………………………………………..

While we are on the subject of people from Clonmel. A prominent local businessman whose son is an accomplished cyclist, was once in a very important meeting in China where everyone introduced themselves around the table by way of their qualifications and letters after their name. Some were BENG, MCOM, PHD, DSOCSCI, etc. When it came time for our local businessman to introduce himself he gave his name followed by AMFC. The person chairing the meeting paused for a moment and then asked : Mr. ***** I understand most qualifications and abbreviations in the Western educational system, but yours I have not come across before, could you explain it to me please?

I can indeed, said Mr. *****,     AMFC,      A Man From Clonmel ……. He secured the contract !

Barry