I work as an afternoon caretaker in a school – grades are 1-9. We do all kinds of stuff with the kids, mainly their homework, but also playing boardgames, crafts etc.
This story happend on a very hot and sunny afternoon in the summer. We were handing out sunscreen to the kids or asked them to stay in the shade and got into a conversation about sunscreen, sunburns and the like.

Me: “I usually dont get a sunburn. I’m just turning brown.” (Common way to say that your skin is getting darker in german)
A little boy, maybe about 6 years old, looks at me for a while, contemplating what I said.
Then he says: “So just like an old banana!”

When I was a kid I was on the school lunch program which meant I got lunch for free, but one day I decided to bring some money to school to buy a snack. I bought an icecream sandwich and was excited to eat it, but the fire alarm went off during lunch and I had to leave it behind, by the time I got back the icecream had melted and I couldn’t get a new one.

I own a South Indian restaurant. Like most South Indian restuarants, I have a hot food table with different yummy appetizers. I made sure to clearly state the names of each item, the description of each item, and the price.
As you can guess, I still am asked, “what is this?” or “what’s inside of that?” or even “how much is this?”
I have been asked these questions for so long, that even though it’s annoying, I’m used to it.
But then this gem happened.

Customer comes up to my counter
Customer: “Hey can I get a few of these balls?”
(He was referring to Mango Vaipan (a sweet bread famous in Sri Lanka.)

Me: Sure (I’m used to people calling them that)
Customer: Wait no, what are these called?
He looks down and reads the name.
Customer: Oh Vaipan, can i get some of those?
Me : Of course!
Customer: I have been coming here for so long I should learn what they’re actually called.
Me (now laughing it off): it’s okay, everyone calls them mango balls anyways
Customer: Nah its not okay, I should actually learn what these are called. Especially when its on the sign in front of me.
Me: I mean, it used to be annoy me when people don’t read the labels but now i’m used to it, it’s fine.
Customer: We live in the GTA (our metropolitan is called the Greater Toronto Area), everyone loves how multicultural we are, but don’t want to appreciate or learn different cultures. I have to learn about different cultures.

That, my friends, is why I love my job. I like teaching about my culture and my unique food. It’s also great to have those really sweet customers, who take the time to actually try and understand different cultures!

[I’m at my first job, at a hamburger fast-food restaurant. I’ve recently be trained on the grill. I’m working a Saturday lunch rush, and a female co-worker is attending the drive-thru register.

After 3 hours of non-stop cars at the drive-thru, there’s finally no customers waiting to order.]

Female Co-worker: Whew! I have *had* it!

Me: Oh? How many times?

[Everyone on the production line stopped and glared at me; none of them expected that kind of comment from me. Then, everyone but the female-coworker burst out laughing. She went in back, blushing. I did later apologize to her.]

I’m a substitute school bus driver, meaning every day that I drive, I see new kids depending on which routes need coverage. One of the many things I love about my job is calling parents to tell them when their children have been particularly well-behaved or helpful on the bus (though I did quickly learn to start out by reassuring the parents I’m calling to compliment, not complain!). One recent conversation went like this:

Woman, answering her phone: Hello?

Me: Hi, I’m [name] and I was [child’s] bus driver today. I have a compliment, is this his mom?

Woman: Yes, it is.

Me: I just wanted to tell you how helpful [child] was today on the bus. I’ve never driven this route before today, and there’s a tricky part where I have to turn the bus around, and the directions aren’t clear. When I got close to it, he saw that I looked confused and told me exactly how his regular bus driver does it, which made my day a whole lot easier.

Women: That’s great to hear! Hmm, he was just asking if he could have seconds on dessert…

Me: Well, if my vote has any sway, I say yes!

He got extra dessert that night.