Embarrassed or pregnant in Costa Rica

[Ronny]

Feeling quite confident about my ability to speak spanish after taking a few night courses, I thought that I could get by quite easily when first visiting Costa Rica.
After all, I speak fluent french and the language is quite similar.

” Ahorrar, esta chupado”
With my smug attitude, and having already mastered the language , it was time to impress the locals and my friends during an evening at a seafood restaurant.
Anyone need a vaso de agua? Did they forget to bring your cubiertos? Not a problem…I’ll gladly take care of all your translation needs mi amigos.

I suppose that I should have paid closer attention to the menu, particularly to the different shrimp options and the correct spelling.

Of course I was the first to dazzle the waiter with my new language and perfect accent.

“Yo quiero los maricons con mantequilla y ajo.”

WTF?…what’s up with the stunned look from the waiter? Did they run out of shrimp ? What kind of seafood restaurant runs out of shrimp?

The waiter , with a big smile , said that i might prefer the mariscos. I could hear laughter from the kitchen as I felt the heat from my face flushing .
Er…la cuenta por favor…

[Andrew]

Very funny! “Yo quiero los maricons con mantequilla y ajo.”

For those of you who don’t have a smattering of Spanish, what he asks for here is: “I want the gay men (maricones – although some might use a less flattering English word) with butter and garlic” instead of mariscos (seafood) or camarones (shrimp).

Scott

[costaricafinca]

My friend a Canadian who had just married a [i]Tico[/i] had told us her first major ‘faux pas’ when she asked for ‘[i]viagra[/i] for her husband instead of [i]vinagre[/i](vinegar)
Of course, I can’t remember mine, since there has been too many….:roll:

[kevin.smith]

I grew up in south texas,I feel your pain.:D

[sprite]

Even once you become proficient in Spanish and even if Spanish is your primary language, there will be “incidents” which can range from comical to tragic and these will happen due to colloquialisms.

As I was once entering a car wherein sat several ladies; a Cuban, a Dominican and a Puerto Rican, a wasp came in with me. One of the ladies shouted “Quitame ese bicho!” referring to the removal of the insect. The other two ladies broke into laughter. “Bicho” usually means “bug” but in the street language of one country, it can also refer to the anatomical part of a male.

One of the things to remember when learning a language is to NOT be self conscious about speaking it. Have fun with it.

[stevezim]

I remember when I was learning spanish I was introduced to a lovely baby and got some strange looks when I said Que Rico! instead of Que Linda!

And the time at the Farmacia I said I wanted some pascinas instead of pastillas.

[Author]

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