Just a while ago, while having lunch, in a restaurant here in Tacloban City. I called the waiter and asked if he can give me some 'sili' but I was surprised with the waiter's reaction.
He stared at me for about few seconds and repeated what I said for three times, "Ha? Sili ma'am? Sili? Ma'am Sili? The timid looking waiter looked surprised and embarrassed.
And I was kinda annoyed and was wondering why he kept on asking me if I really wanted 'sili'. So i responded to him with authority and full of confidence, "Yes, sili!" (Imagine me saying it with my loud voice).
Then my workmate interrupted us, with an awkward reaction, telling the waiter, 'harang'. (She means, she is asking for harang.) I was wondering why they were having those reactions. On my mind, I asked myself, is there something wrong here? Is asking for chili offensive?
When the waiter went his way back to the kitchen, my workmate said in a discreet way, "Dai, do not say 'sili' when you are asking for chili because 'sili' here means penis."
Such a facepalm!
I felt so embarrassed that I cannot even call the waiter again to ask for a drinking water. What a facepalm to start the busy week.
Trivia: If you are Bisaya/Cebuano or Tagalog speaking visiting a Waray-waray place, don't use the word 'sili' if you want to ask for chili because they might give you what you don't expect. I am just so lucky that the waiter found me decent that he didn't gave me a plate full of 'sili' for lunch. LOL
Lesson learned: Next time, before visiting to another place, make sure to somehow learn the dialect, even just the basic words.
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