quick funny story..
on my 'gap year', 15 years ago (ouch!).. teaching English.. I spontaneously snuck around the side of a building and jumped out at one of my students and said: BOO!!!!
..what hadn't occured to me in that moment was:
-there is no tradition of doing this in that culture
-'Bu' (pronounced 'Boo'), means mother!!
-it was someone who looked a lot like the top student who might have understood, but was actually a teacher from another faculty who didn't speak English!!
Hahahaha!!! I had no way of explaining myself, they had no comprehension of why this odd colleague had jumped out at them and shouted Mother! ..and I felt like a bit of a fooool!!

Hahaha!!
..a treasured comedy moment.. me being me, I have many treasured comedy moments!!
Vx