Translation Issues

I'm picking up a little German while I'm here . . . very little.

Our hosts speak better English than I speak German, so we can communicate pretty decently. But there are still times when we have trouble.

I was riding home with Uwe from Schwerin and he was telling me about his car.

"It's a special car; it runs on gas."

"I thought all cars ran on gas."

"No . . . just a few."

"So other cars run on . . . diesel?"

"No . . . they use . . . oh . . . fuel."

"But this one uses fuel as well, no?"

"No . . . it uses gas."

Blank stare.

"Um . . . how you say it . . . gas." And a gesture with his hands followed.

"OH! GAS gas . . . like hydrogen."

"Yes . . . gas. But not hydrogen -- Propane."

So his car is special because it runs on Gas gas.

I'm having fun here.