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04/07/2008The tongue-tying trauma of life in Spain

The tongue-tying trauma of life in Spain Expatica blogger Kristen Bernardi told a salesgirl she needed to get laid when all she really wanted was powder.

UPON arriving in Spain for the first time, I discovered that my make-up compact had broken in transit. I realised that I didn't know the word for 'powder', so I consulted my dictionary. I tossed the old peach-coloured bits into the bin and set out for the perfumería.

I took a brief lap around the shop and couldn't find what I was looking for, so I found a salesgirl to ask for help.

"Hola, busco un polvo," I told the salesgirl in what I thought was a pretty good accent.

She kind of coughed and asked me to repeat myself.

I thought perhaps I had the verb wrong.

"Necesito un polvo."

She could barely contain her giggles, and clearly still wasn't understanding me. I made a circle shape with my hands about the size of a compact, insisting, "Un polvo?"

The salesgirl eventually took me over to a shelf full of baby powder, asking if that was what I meant.  I left the shop empty-handed and rattled by my first attempts at being understood.

Once my new Spanish housemates wiped the tears from their eyes and stopped choking with laughter, they explained the charming Spanish colloquialism that needing a polvo meant 'I need to get laid.'

And apparently in the perfumería, I needed it bad. I groaned when I remembered my hand motion - not only did I tell the salesgirl that I needed some loving, but I was apparently a very, ahem, demanding customer.

And so, despite my years of studying grammar and literature, that is how the humbling experience of truly learning Spanish began.

photos by flickr contributors Daquella manera and Roberto_Garcia

The writer, Kristen Bernardi, is a blogger with Expatica Spain and contributes to a fortnightly blog on alternate Fridays. If you have accidentally ordered pants in a restaurant or hit a similar language landmine, Expatica Spain invites you to share your experiences below.

 


3 reactions to this article

sheila posted: 2008-07-08 18:24:27

I?m allergic to sulfites. Years ago, before the spanish market was flooded with the food preservative, as it is now. I walked into a bar and asked for a glass of wine without preservativos. The entire bar laughed so hard and my 12 year old daughter told me what I'd done after we left the bar.

sheila posted: 2008-07-08 18:24:27

I?m allergic to sulfites. Years ago, before the spanish market was flooded with the food preservative, as it is now. I walked into a bar and asked for a glass of wine without preservativos. The entire bar laughed so hard and my 12 year old daughter told me what I'd done after we left the bar.

Kerst posted: 2009-02-11 11:25:10

preservatives? done the same in France. Flatmates nearly killed me!

If ever you're explaining to someone how you "ran like crazy" for the bus, don't make the verb CORRER reflexive.

"Corría y corría como una loca para coger el autobus..." is what you SHOULD say...

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3 reactions to this article

sheila posted: 2008-07-08 18:24:27

I?m allergic to sulfites. Years ago, before the spanish market was flooded with the food preservative, as it is now. I walked into a bar and asked for a glass of wine without preservativos. The entire bar laughed so hard and my 12 year old daughter told me what I'd done after we left the bar.

sheila posted: 2008-07-08 18:24:27

I?m allergic to sulfites. Years ago, before the spanish market was flooded with the food preservative, as it is now. I walked into a bar and asked for a glass of wine without preservativos. The entire bar laughed so hard and my 12 year old daughter told me what I'd done after we left the bar.

Kerst posted: 2009-02-11 11:25:10

preservatives? done the same in France. Flatmates nearly killed me!

If ever you're explaining to someone how you "ran like crazy" for the bus, don't make the verb CORRER reflexive.

"Corría y corría como una loca para coger el autobus..." is what you SHOULD say...

Add a comment
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