When I first came to the states, I was enrolled in an ESL program. In one of my classes, we played scavenger hunt to learn some of the “useful” words that may not show up in our word memorization books.

One such word was a “bong”. A party-size bong. Find out how much it is and where you can get it.

Nobody in my class knew what a bong was and the word was not in our pocket-size dictionaries. My group split the work and of course, the task to find a party-size bong fell on me, a naive and ignorant teenager who could barely pronounce “bong”.

I went into a barber asking what a bong was and where I could find it. After a moment of silence, he told me to try a cookie store down the street. So, I went and asked the same questions again. The store keepers stared at me, looked at one another, and turned their heads towards me again with a shrug.

Time was running out. I started asking people on the street but got nothing except a smile or a frown. I ran into someone from another group, who was just told that we should try a pipe shop.

And there it was. A guy with a million piercings on his face took out this humongous colorful vase for me. I asked how much. $500. Do you want it? No, thank you. I wrote down the price and quickly ran out of the shop, still not knowing what a bong was for.

I successfully completed the ESL program.

Now I wonder who really needed that information. And whoever it was, I hope you had a good time afterwards. Same goes to you, Mr. Barber and Mrs Cookies!