Luckily the rope fiasco was eclipsed, several weeks later, when I accidentally pronounced jalapeño with a hard j in front of Vijay, Hondo, and some other campers. I'd only ever seen it printed on the side of a can of salsa. "You think it's ja-lapeno?!" Hondo asked, incredulous. I did.
In her book, Mindy Kaling shares a humorous anecdote about a mishap that occurred during a camping trip. After a previous embarrassing incident involving a rope, Kaling found herself in another awkward situation while trying to pronounce the word "jalapeño." She had only ever read it before, which led to her mistakenly pronouncing it with a hard 'j.'
This blunder surprised her friends, particularly Hondo, who could hardly believe she thought it was pronounced that way. Kaling's candid reflection on her faux pas highlights the amusing and relatable moments that can occur when one is unfamiliar with a cultural reference, showcasing her lighthearted approach to life's little embarrassments.
