Link für zwischendurch

Andrew Hammel über einen der größten deutsch-amerikanischen Unterschiede, nämlich das krass voneinander abweichende Verständnis dessen, was Herpes ist. (Ich zumindest habe mich jahrelang jedes Mal gewundert, wenn "herpes" in US-Serien oder -Filmen zum Erzeugen von Schock oder Komik verwendet wurde.)

Update 2023 Das "German Joys"-Blog existiert nicht mehr. Über archive.org konnte ich den Beitrag aber noch finden. Hier die entscheidende Stelle:

And now to one of the most amusing sources of cross-cultural misunderstanding there is. One fine day, a co-worker and I were chatting in my office in German and she casually said: "Damn, my herpes is back. What do you do about your herpes? Is there some special American treatment?"

I just barely avoided a genuine, honest-to-Allah spit-take. Before I could ask what this prim, attractive member of the German haute bourgeoisie was talking about, she added "Fortunately, most of the blisters are on the inside, so it's not that embarrassing." And then she showed me what she was talking about, pointing to the location of the outbreak. I recoiled in horror, crossing my arms in front of me, as she exposed her infected...

...lips. The ones on the mouth, that is.

As you probably know, there are a few different kinds of herpes, and almost everyone carries Herpes Simplex Type I, the virus that causes blisters on the lips now and then. English speakers, in our prudish way, call these outbreaks 'cold sores'. In the English-speaking world, the word 'herpes', standing alone, refers exclusively to genital herpes, the incurable sexually-transmitted disease.