I know English, or at least I think I do. One day back in the fall when I was still in Springdale, I passed by Mary Brown's (the Newfoundland Kentucky Fried Chicken) while running errands in town and decided to drop by to pick up some lunch. I had already tried Mary Brown's fried chicken and decided to try a different item on their menu. The fried chicken is quite delicious, but KFC has more seasoning in their batter. Anyway, I looked at their menu and decided I felt like a sandwich that afternoon. Since Mary Brown's specializes in chicken, everything on the menu is pretty "safe" and predictable. I decided that day would be a "Hot Chicken Sandwich" day. I ordered take out and brought it back to work on my bike. Little did I know, when I opened my Styrofoam box, I was faced with one messy sandwich. In my box was a sandwich consisting of shredded chicken between two slice white bread - a chicken sandwich. Except the title "Hot Chicken Sandwich" failed to mention that my sandwich would be drenched in gravy! They should have named it "Hot Chicken Sandwich in Sauce"! Apparently, when Newfies read "Hot Chicken Sandwich" or "Hot Turkey Sandwich", they know to expect a sandwich covered in gravy, because that is a fact of the culture. Sometimes we don't realize the amount of inexplicit practices or knowledge that are associated with different cultures and environment.
Once again, the Newfie has something in common with the Quebecois. The Quebecois also eat sandwiches drenched in "la sauce brune" and covered in green peas. Guess what they call their sandwiches? A " 'ot chicken"!
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