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I can't wait to not touch the fruit in Spain! On a month long trip to Italy and France in 2014, I ate fresh fruit, mostly peaches, every day. I have not found an edible peach in my NH USA supermarkets in years. I won't touch the fruit, but I may not be able to help drooling a bit!
I remember being in France decades ago and thinking -- wow, the shopkeepers are rude. Well, turns out they were just being rude in response to my unintended rudeness.
Buen camino, Laurie
You need to do a pilgrimage to the South! I gorge on Virginia peaches every year..... And I know my southern cousins from Georgia and South Carolina will pitch their delicious peaches as well.I have not found an edible peach in my NH USA supermarkets in years.
You committed a European faux pasI went into a small grocery store in the Meseta and there was a ripe bunch of six bananas...so I picked up the bananas and broke the bunch in two to only buy three bananas...immediately the shopkeeper ran up to me and started talking very quickly in Spanish...the only Spanish words I was able to understand was she called me a "banana molester"...so never...never...never...touch any fruit in a grocery store in Spain without asking first.
Later I told this story to a Spanish Albergue Hospitalero and got the same reaction.
So do you have any similar cultural faux pas stories?
you are so right that this is good to know. I, too, had no idea that is was a no-no! Wow, I am grateful to have come across this thread...This is so good to know! I would have totally picked up fruit
It has nothing to do with a language, as Guillena means zip, nothing... Nothing at all, other than a village's name.When you are learning Spanish funny things can happen too.
The hardest I ever saw a Spanish grandma laugh was when I was at Guillena on the Via de la Plata.
I called it Gallina (chicken) and she cracked up!
Every time she saw me after that, she'd cluck!
YUP, NOPE, "NO se TOCA.... "NO TOCA LA FRUTA EN ESPAÑA!
It has nothing to do with a language, as Guillena means zip, nothing... Nothing at all, other than a village's name.
"Do all Indians eat meat with their hands?"
Place names can be fun. On the Camino Frances, El Acebo means The Holly Tree, and El Ganso means The Goose, although I have been told that Ganso is also a slang name for a Lazy Man.It has nothing to do with a language, as Guillena means zip, nothing... Nothing at all, other than a village's name.
YUP, NOPE, "NO se TOCA.... "
The sign should have then said " No tocar la fruta".See??? It's hard. Spanish has all these little extra words like "se."and I never know when to use them
Then there's por vs para. That one gives me a headache.
The sign I saw said "No toca la fruta!" Perhaps the vendor was illiterate.
I believe both are correct. "No toca" is a command "Don't touch" but "No se toca" is used to mean "One doesn't touch".The sign I saw said "No toca la fruta!" Perhaps the vendor was illiterate.
If they put a little dish of olives and a couple of slices of cheese on a plate in front of you in Spain, it's free. If they do this in Portugal, ask for the price.
One mistake you never want to make, at least in Mexico, is to ask for eggs in the store by asking the shopkeeper, "Tienes huevos?" It means something very different...
I don't know if this is still true in Spain but when I was there some decades ago, even on picnics, few foods were eaten with hands. Even bananas were eaten with a knife and fork
The sign I saw said "No toca la fruta!" Perhaps the vendor was illiterate.
I believe both are correct. "No toca" is a command "Don't touch" but "No se toca" means "One doesn't touch".
Or, the sign was intended for Pilgrims, like me, with little knowledge of Spanish grammar. But I do understand the directive to NOT TOUCH THE FRUIT!
Is there some way we could get word to the shopkeeper to get them to correct the grammar on the sign? I don't want any misunderstanding over their obvious mistake.The sign should have then said " No tocar la fruta".
As long as you didn't write DO NOT TOUCH THE FRUIT'S, I am happy.::laughing:: I actually WROTE him a sign in English saying just that!
That was over 10 years ago.Is there some way we could get word to the shopkeeper to get them to correct the grammar on the sign? I don't want any misunderstanding over their obvious mistake.
No doubt he wasn't a forum member…...And when in that small tienda do not expect to be able to pay with credit card. I actually saw a pilgrim trying that when he purchased something for 7€.
The shoplady kept her cool when the pilgrim started a lecture about " customer service ". Deeply shocking to observe that kind of behaviour. Deep sigh indeed.
Well, if the Camino has been able to come up with a "no human pooping" sign I am sure that one showing a large hand reaching for a fruit with a large red diagonal line is in the works.
OMG, I love this…….The molestation of fruit brought us to this .................
Just so you know (going back about ten posts), "Tienes huevos?" in any context in Mexico means, "Do you have testicles?" Of course Mexicans love to look for alternate, embarrassing meanings for everything. Speaking of which, "Estoy embarazada" does not mean "I am embarrassed." It means, "I am pregnant."
Certainly not meaning in any disrespect to anyone…..If I said "Estoy embarazada", I would have to follow up with (in Spanish) "There must be another star in the East".
Speaking of which, "Estoy embarazada" does not mean "I am embarrassed." It means, "I am pregnant."
Spanish/Portuguese difference:
If they put a little dish of olives and a couple of slices of cheese on a plate in front of you in Spain, it's free. If they do this in Portugal, ask for the price. We have been given cheese and olives as a "starter" that cost more than our three-course lunch.
A law? I eat out in Lisbon with my Portuguese colleagues at least three times a year, and it happens every single time, though the majority of people at the table are Portuguese...
This is called "couvert", and there have been cases of restaurants in Portugal that tried to rip off tourists with this practice, so much that apparently a few years a law was passed banning it. (I must say that this never happened to me when I was at Lisbon). More info here:
https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20100506-01/?p=14123/
A law? I eat out in Lisbon with my Portuguese colleagues at least three times a year, and it happens every single time, though the majority of people at the table are Portuguese...
Pity it doesn't work like the advertised price policy here at home: if price advertised is off you get 10$ back if the item in under 10$ and the item for free if it's over 10$.Wow, my reaction was much like Heidi's. I spend 2-3 weeks in Lisbon every year and have always had the couverts brought to my table, whether I'm alone, with my husband, or with a bunch of Portuguese friends. But a little bit of investigation (yes, Caminofácil, I was skeptical) on google shows that yes indeed, it is prohibited. As of March, 2015, with a 300 € fine possible. Maximum fine 180,000 €!. I will report back on whether I notice a difference in April of this year! The article also states that consumers can do what they wish with little plates they have not requested, but they don't have to pay for them. Very interesting.
http://economico.sapo.pt/noticias/r...obrar-couvert-que-nao-seja-pedido_229675.html
You could name him Isaac or John . . .If I said "Estoy embarazada", I would have to follow up with (in Spanish) "There must be another star in the East".
I could never get it right. Is the emphasis on the first i or the second i?? for next time:>)I received directions and a Spanish lesson. In my defense, in Mexico I always heard 'baño' not 'servicio'.
The first i (second syllable).I could never get it right. Is the emphasis on the first i or the second i?? for next time:>)
Yes, which I have just realised must mean an exception to the stress rules I know. Isn't it supposed to be the penultimate on words ending in vowels, n or s? And there's no accent to indicate otherwise in servicio. Now that I think of it, commisaría does have an accent, where you would not think it was needed, whilst pharmacia doesn't, yet it's stressed on the 2nd a, the ante penultimate syllable. But then correo has the stress on the e, where you would expect it. So perhaps ix dipthongs are counted as a single vowel for the purposes of the stress rule. Calling Castiliano...The first i (second syllable).
Yes, which I have just realised must mean an exception to the stress rules I know. Isn't it supposed to be the penultimate on words ending in vowels, n or s? And there's no accent to indicate otherwise in servicio. Now that I think of it, commisaría does have an accent, where you would not think it was needed, whilst pharmacia doesn't, yet it's stressed on the 2nd a, the ante penultimate syllable. But then correo has the stress on the e, where you would expect it. So perhaps ix dipthongs are counted as a single vowel for the purposes of the stress rule. Calling Castiliano...
huh??Yes, which I have just realised must mean an exception to the stress rules I know. Isn't it supposed to be the penultimate on words ending in vowels, n or s? And there's no accent to indicate otherwise in servicio. Now that I think of it, commisaría does have an accent, where you would not think it was needed, whilst pharmacia doesn't, yet it's stressed on the 2nd a, the ante penultimate syllable. But then correo has the stress on the e, where you would expect it. So perhaps ix dipthongs are counted as a single vowel for the purposes of the stress rule. Calling Castiliano...
Although I was quite sure of how to say "servicio", my Spanish is far from perfect. In fact I was recently thinking about this very matter! I found the following explanation. Note that the "eo" in "correo" is not included in the first sentence, so it isn't a diphthong and follows the general rule with stress on the e as the second last syllable.Yes, which I have just realised must mean an exception to the stress rules I know. Isn't it supposed to be the penultimate on words ending in vowels, n or s? And there's no accent to indicate otherwise in servicio. Now that I think of it, commisaría does have an accent, where you would not think it was needed, whilst pharmacia doesn't, yet it's stressed on the 2nd a, the ante penultimate syllable. But then correo has the stress on the e, where you would expect it. So perhaps ix dipthongs are counted as a single vowel for the purposes of the stress rule. Calling Castiliano...
Yes, which I have just realised must mean an exception to the stress rules I know. Isn't it supposed to be the penultimate on words ending in vowels, n or s? And there's no accent to indicate otherwise in servicio. Now that I think of it, commisaría does have an accent, where you would not think it was needed, whilst pharmacia doesn't, yet it's stressed on the 2nd a, the ante penultimate syllable. But then correo has the stress on the e, where you would expect it. So perhaps ix dipthongs are counted as a single vowel for the purposes of the stress rule. Calling Castiliano...
I could never get it right. Is the emphasis on the first i or the second i?? for next time:>)
Annie --- My Spanish is a bit rusty . . . Did you just say that pistachios make you go to the bathroom?ser-VEE-cio like pi-STA-cio
Hahaha!Annie --- My Spanish is a bit rusty . . . Did you just say that pistachios make you go to the bathroom?
"Gallina" means live chicken in Spanish, at least where I come from.
One mistake you never want to make, at least in Mexico, is to ask for eggs in the store by asking the shopkeeper, "Tienes huevos?" It means something very different...
Re. touching fruit, I don't know if this is still true in Spain but when I was there some decades ago, even on picnics, few foods were eaten with hands. Even bananas were eaten with a knife and fork. My traveling companion, a Native American woman, picked up a chicken drumstick to eat and one of the Spanish guys we were with asked me quietly, "Do all Indians eat meat with their hands?"
Wow, my reaction was much like Heidi's. I spend 2-3 weeks in Lisbon every year and have always had the couverts brought to my table, whether I'm alone, with my husband, or with a bunch of Portuguese friends. But a little bit of investigation (yes, Caminofácil, I was skeptical) on google shows that yes indeed, it is prohibited. As of March, 2015, with a 300 € fine possible. Maximum fine 180,000 €!. I will report back on whether I notice a difference in April of this year! The article also states that consumers can do what they wish with little plates they have not requested, but they don't have to pay for them. Very interesting.
http://economico.sapo.pt/noticias/r...obrar-couvert-que-nao-seja-pedido_229675.html
I'm off to Lisbon on Monday (via Palencia and Salamanca)... we've printed off this sheet and I hope we'll have no problems.
p.s. I may have a little drive around the Portuguese Camino whilst we're there, as I'm still so undecided about my 2016 walk
Have a great trip, LesBrass! I've posted a walking tour of Lisbon that I think is pretty good -- here's the link just in case you are interested. Others have added some suggestions to it so it is pretty comprehensive, I think, if you're interested in walking around.
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/my-walking-tour-of-lisbon.7257/#post-288257
Just so you know (going back about ten posts), "Tienes huevos?" in any context in Mexico means, "Do you have testicles?" Of course Mexicans love to look for alternate, embarrassing meanings for everything. Speaking of which, "Estoy embarazada" does not mean "I am embarrassed." It means, "I am pregnant."
Ten or fifteen years ago in Salamanca I was given the "stink eye" when I asked, ¿Donde esta el baño?, inside a nice restaurant. I received directions and a Spanish lesson. In my defense, in Mexico I always heard 'baño' not 'servicio'.
The other thing I messed up was not really Camino relevant, but does seem like a cultural norm in Spain, so hopefully it will be helpful. If you plan to give a gift avoid things with corporate logos. Those nice promo gifts that your company has will not be nearly as well received as you think.
Yes, which I have just realised must mean an exception to the stress rules I know. Isn't it supposed to be the penultimate on words ending in vowels, n or s? And there's no accent to indicate otherwise in servicio. Now that I think of it, commisaría does have an accent, where you would not think it was needed, whilst pharmacia doesn't, yet it's stressed on the 2nd a, the ante penultimate syllable. But then correo has the stress on the e, where you would expect it. So perhaps ix dipthongs are counted as a single vowel for the purposes of the stress rule. Calling Castiliano...
The same goes for beer jug glasses. In some parts they are called "harra", "pinta" etc.
We learnt the "do not touch the fruit" early on and had got used to pointing at what we'd like.
Then in one shop, after pointing at some tangerines ( or some such variety of small oranges )
the shop keeper shook his head and in a furtive manner led us to the back of the shop where
he unveiled a box of individually wrapped tangerines. He then launched into a long spiel which
we guessed was related to the superiority of these fruit over the others. We left with six of them.
Never before or since have I seen individually wrapped tangerines.
I couldn't agree more....I can't remember the last time I ate a "sweet" strawberry. uggghhhhh.... guess I will have to start growing my own.This means really pretty fruit with absolutely no flavor.
Like Kanga I was really enjoying this post - that was until someone (with all the best intentions) launched off into a Spanish grammar lesson. I have enough trouble reading it, let alone correctly pronouncing it. But thanks to all for the laughs this morning. Cheers
Castilian to rescue... Well, people has already made a nice job explaining diphthongs but let's explain it in more detail.[\QUOTE]
Fenomenal! I will study this. Muchas gracias for explaining in so much detail. FYI, 'people' in English is treated as a plural noun, unlike gente in Spanish.
When you say you point to the fruits and veggies you want, do you get to point to the very ones you would like to have, or you just point to the pile of the type of fruit you want and they choose them for you?You committed a European faux pas. With few exceptions you point to the fruit or veggies you want and the owner or counter person will bag it for you. Some big stores, especially in France, require you to select and bag you fruits and veggies then weigh and tag them before you checkout. I screwed up the weigh and tag part seems to hold up the line at checkout . I've also followed a GPS to a gravel pit trying to get to a camp ground and the wrong way on a one way street. Tried to drive a RV through a pass only kiosk on a toll road in Italy. Backing up to get to the right kiosk was interesting. Oh and what ever you do, NEVER EVER walk in the bicycle lanes in France!!!!! ever. Buen Camino
Happy Trails
When you say you point to the fruits and veggies you want, do you get to point to the very ones you would like to have, or you just point to the pile of the type of fruit you want and they choose them for you?
I've always pointed to the ones I want. Never had a problem. Buen CaminoWhen you say you point to the fruits and veggies you want, do you get to point to the very ones you would like to have, or you just point to the pile of the type of fruit you want and they choose them for you?
Would love to see you pointing to green beansI've always pointed to the ones I want. Never had a problem. Buen Camino
I was actually referring to fruit. Cherries and berries you take your chances.Would love to see you pointing to green beans
Y at the end of a word works for practical purposes like the vowel i.
Wondering why you refer to tildes i.e. " ~ " as stress marks? The diacritic used in Spanish for stress as in e.g. inglés is called an acute accent in English. Apologies to all anti-grammariansI forgot to say that's for pronounciation purposes. For written stresses (aka tildes) purposes, y at the end of a word is considered a consonant. That's why, for example, estoy, jersey or convoy don't have a written stress.
Not a stress mark, just a different letter that sounds the same as "gn" in Frech. Same as the "Ll", which youds like the "y"... well, almost ....Wondering why you refer to tildes i.e. " ~ " as stress marks? The diacritic used in Spanish for stress as in e.g. inglés is called an acute accent in English. Apologies to all anti-grammarians.
Wondering why you refer to tildes i.e. " ~ " as stress marks?
The diacritic used in Spanish for stress as in e.g. inglés is called an acute accent in English.
I thought the answer must be in translation but a perfunctory check in Google translate returned 'tilde' as Spanish for 'tilde' English. Which as you have explained, is not actually incorrect, merely incomplete. When you reverse the translation, sure enough, it comes back with 'accent mark' in English as translation of 'tilde' in Spanish. The lesson is - ask Castilian, not Google! Thank you.A tilde is any sign written over a letter to distingish it from another letter (i.e.: it doesn't matter if it's written to show a stress mark or for any other reason).
...
I had no idea about it but I'm going to edit my previous posts right now to use the right term. Thank you for letting me know!
I thought the answer must be in translation but a perfunctory check in Google translate returned 'tilde' as Spanish for 'tilde' English. Which as you have explained, is not actually incorrect, merely incomplete.
Found this handy graphic for what different beer quantities are called....Yes, tons of names for different beer quantities, containers, mixes with other beverages... depending on where you are, speaker habits and so on. Sometimes, those names are regionalisms/localisms that aren't know by speakers from other areas of the country who are unfamiliar with the area where they are used. Other times they are colloquialisms that may be unknown for people not used to drink beer... And other times the terms are vague enough as to have different meanings depending on where you are. That makes a difference with the case of baño/servicio/aseo because baño/servicio/aseo is formal speech within Spain and, as I said above, everybody is familiar with each of those words.
P.S.: Jarra. Don't forget h isn't pronounced in Spanish.
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