English is not my first language, and even after 20 years of life and work in the states, I still find myself baffled by little miscommunications, grammatical errors and mess-ups, my own, and of others. But, It all makes me fall passionately in love with every single one of them, as I am a sucker for pop cultured, cheesy, folklorish, idiomatic silliness, regardless of how cliché it may sound to a native American speaker.

I feel that as a foreign native I have a slightly deeper sensitivity and appreciation for the subtle nuance of English language. I have to pay close attention, clarify, look up, then doubly wrap my brain around each new pop lingual concept, comprehend it, blend it into my foreign point of reference database, and later successfully use it. Peace of cake. 😉

As simple as “That’s what she said” might seem, it possibly represents a more sophisticated joke concept for someone who is struggling with daily use of the language. So when they actually manage to grasp a simple cliché, and use it properly in a conversation, or even call on a good pun, I know that it causes sweet heart bubbles, it bears a sense of instant connectedness and recognition, and even awakens feelings of patriotic pride.

For me, hearing a fellow foreign native confidently spew out some of the rich, double entendre quips that English language has to offer, is more exciting and funnier than a barrel of monkeys.  … add an accent and few grammatical errors, and you just left me satisfied and smiling. That’s what she said! 🙂