What to say after a long weekend? Apa nak cakap/cerita lepas cuti minggu yang panjang?

Now that the long Raya Aidiladha weekend is over, it's time to get back to work. Bila time masuk kerja, normally kita akan tanya kawan2 ofis kita apa khabar, macam mana cuti dsbgnya. Macam mana nak cakap dalam BI pulak?

Selalunya 'catching up', small talk ni kejap je...mungkin 2-5 minit bila waktu masuk pejabat.

Ali: Hi Ahmad! good morning!

Ahmad:Morning!how was your long weekend?

Ali:It was great. How was yours?

Ahmad:Was fine. Went back north to see my parents.

Ali: Oh. Good for you. Got to go. I have some stuff to do.

Ahmad: Alright then. See you around.

Short and simple kan? Perasan tak setengah ayat atas ada perkataan missing macam 'it was fine. I went back north to see my parents'. Bila bercakap dan menulis memang lain sebab dalam English banyak benda yang dipendekkan bila bercerita dan tak macam bila menulis.

Atau...

Amin: Hey Halim. What's up?

Halim: Good. How bout you?

Amin:  Was good, bit tiring since I joined the qurban this year. Other than that, it was superb. Great experience.

Halim: Really? Wow. That must be something. I have to run. We'll catch up later? You have to tell me more about your qurban experience!

Amin:  Yeah, sure. I'll tell you more later. Bye.

What's up? Ialah soalan sama macam apa khabar atau apa cerita. Kalau tengok filem mat salleh rata2 akan gunakan what's up, what's going on, what's happening - semuanya boleh diterima dalam percakapan tetapi bukan penulisan.

bout you =about you

bit = a bit

I have to run = saya kena lari??? tak, bukan. Halim terpaksa pergi dengan cepat.

I ada juga terima sebelum ni emails sebelum ni bertanyakan macam mana nak improve cakap English, atau macam mana nak reply balik dalam English dengan spontan...antara tips saya selalu bagi ialah berfikir dalam bahasa Inggeris...senang perkataan yang nak dikatakan untuk keluar dalam bahasa Inggeris. Pasti dalam pejabat anda ada kawan2 yg memang suka cakap English, jadi bila nak cakap dengan dia, setkan yang anda kena fikir dalam bahasa Inggeris.

Happy working!

To know more about qurban or qurbani/hajj and it's meaning in Islam, go to: http://www.albalagh.net/general/zulhijjah.shtml