Funniest Thing for April

This item appears on page 20 of the April 2009 issue.

Tell ITN about the funniest thing that ever happened to you while traveling in a foreign country. There are no restrictions on length. (ITN prints no info on destinations in the US, Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean.) The ITN staff will choose each month’s winner, who will receive a free one-year subscription to ITN. Entries not chosen cannot be acknowledged.

This month’s winner is JAMES McGEE of Sun City, California:

While the president of an international company before retiring, I was in Singapore visiting key customers and prospects in Southeast Asia with our resident regional vice president.

The chairman of a bank who was seeking our business invited us to a Chinese banquet. The main dish at the banquet was a whole roasted suckling pig that stretched across the round table at which we were seated. As the guest of honor, I was seated at the head of the pig, with the VP opposite me.

Returning to our hotel after the meal, I commented to the VP that it was disconcerting to be eating the pig with its eyes looking at me.

He responded, “What do you think I was looking at?!”