Funniest Thing for November

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is ROBERT CLINE of Kokomo, Indiana:

Several years ago our son, Brett, collected empty beer cans as a hobby. My wife and I tried to help him by getting a can from each foreign country during our travels.

On a plane in Japan my wife, who does not speak Japanese, pantomimed to the man across the aisle that she would like to have his beer can. He thought she wanted the partially full can, so he offered it to her. She was able to convey to him that she only wanted the empty can after he was through with it.

After he finished drinking, he gave her the can. The next thing she knew, empty beer cans were coming to her from all over the plane. It seems he had told his fellow passengers that this crazy lady wanted all their cans.