Being like cabbage
I forgot to mention one funny cultural moment.
It has gotten colder here in Ternopil so people have been a little cold. I asked one girl if she was cold and I kinda pointed at her clothes since she was wearing a long sleeved shirt, a sweater and a scarf.
She said “yes, yes kabage, like kabage.”
I gave my smiling blank face look. “..kabage? Sto kabage?” [What is kabage?]
There have been a few times when I am confused on whether someone is telling me a new word in Russian or they are mispronouncing an English word. This was one of those times.
She repeated this mystery word again and followed it with some hand motions.
I was still lost. And she said, “you know many clothes.”
It came to me. Like a candle being lit in a dark room, I saw the light. CABBAGE! She was talking about wearing many layers like a cabbage is wrapped up in many layers.
I found this really funny. Only in Ukraine would it make sense to say you are wearing many layers like a cabbage. I am quite positive North Americans would not think of that.
What would we say? Any thoughts on what North Americans would compare themselves to if they were wrapped up in many layers?
A burrito?
By the way I check your blog all the time in anticipation a new posts!
Wrapped up like a mummy? Which would be really fun becaus of it’s ambiguity. “Mummy” is British along with “mommy” as we might say, and that’s also how a mommy would dress their precious child. All bundled up. Of course “bundle” is likely what we would say instead of cabbage. so much less descriptive. Just “bundled up” instead of “cabbaged up”.
An ear of corn?….. you know, all those husks that you have to peel off before getting to the corn kernels.
Sometimes we talk about the layers of an onion, but that’s used more in reference to getting to know someone or in learning. Isn’t language interesting? I love it!!
We would say wrapped up like a burrito