Spanish Cultural Faux Pas

[Kurt5280]

I 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?

 

[Anniesantiago]

NO TOCA LA FRUTA EN ESPAÑA!

 

[mspath]

Don't touch the fruit or vegs in France either unless it is in a
self-serve market!

 

[Pong]

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!

 

[t2andreo]

Thank you for the lesson.

Memo to self...ALWAYS point out what and how many you want, and allow the proprietor to do the splitting...

This will help me.

 

[peregrina2000]

And if you happen to be in a store where you do pick your own fruit (usually that's the case in the chain stores), make sure to put on the plastic gloves that are dispensed near the plastic bags. Not wearing them is likely to launch a disapproving senora into a little lecture.

But I think that by far the biggest faux pas that those of us from the US make is to go into a store and just ask for what we want. The "get right down to business" approach to commerce is not the way you do it in Spain, unless you want to offend. A few pleasantries, just a buenos dias and a smile if you don't speak Spanish, are the expected starters. 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

 

[Gailsie]

Also don't break apart the 4 packs of yogurt when you only want 1. That is a no no. I didn't but was in a tinda when someone else did. Luckily I leared from their experience.

 

[Anniesantiago]

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!

Yes. I learned that the hard way also. We're so used to poking and prodding.
The thing is, in those tiny tiendas, they can't afford to lose fruit by people bruising them, like large corporations can.

Another thing I learned is that in all my years on the Camino and "not touching the fruit," I've never had a bad piece of fruit.
It's always ripe and sweet.

 

[LesBrass]

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

After 8 years here I still smile when I'm in a shop or any kind of waiting room and every person that comes in will say good day and good bye... bonjour messieurs, dames... I think it's such a nice custom... kind of breaks the ice and brings a smile

 

[movinmaggie]

I learned this lesson as well. I had self-selected a few oranges and brought them to the checkout counter in one of the grocery stores. A woman approached me with rolling eyes. ( I just couldn't understand what I had done wrong). My few 'lo sientos' seemed to help. She pointed out that any produce needs to be weighed first, then you put the labeled price on the items. So always best to make friendly approach beforehand.

 

[Chacharm]

There are a million books out there on French/American/English cultural differences that I find interesting and often highly entertaining - but I don't find them for Spanish/American cultural differences. I absolutely adore stuff like this and the explanations. Thank you!

 

[HeidiL]

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.

 

[tominrm]

I was in a market (upscale) in Madrid to get a couple of avocados to make California rolls. In order to make California rolls, avocados should be firm, but not hard. They cost like 2.50 Euro each, and the clerk would not let me touch let alone feel (gently squeeze) them. I had to explain to the clerk in my beginner's Spanish what kind I wanted in order to get them. I thought I was not allowed to touch avocados because they were expensive.

 

[mary flo]

This is so good to know! I would have totally picked up fruit

 

[Seabird]

I have not found an edible peach in my NH USA supermarkets in years.

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.

 

[Urban Trekker]

I 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 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

 

[Angie94]

This is so good to know! I would have totally picked up fruit

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...

 

[Anemone del Camino]

No se toca la fruta, or no toques la fruta.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

While Oviedo, queing to ask for a piece of empanada, the local "missus" thought she was going to cut in front of me only to be told off by the store lady. Loved her.

 

[Anniesantiago]

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!

 

[Anemone del Camino]

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!

It has nothing to do with a language, as Guillena means zip, nothing... Nothing at all, other than a village's name.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

NO TOCA LA FRUTA EN ESPAÑA!

YUP, NOPE, "NO se TOCA.... "

 

[JillGat]

It has nothing to do with a language, as Guillena means zip, nothing... Nothing at all, other than a village's name.

"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?"

 

[Kurt5280]

"Do all Indians eat meat with their hands?"

I was in Iceland with my wife at the Texas Burger Bar and this young kid at the next table was watching us eat our hamburgers...he smiled and picked up his hamburger to eat it like us and his mother scolded him in Islandic so I did not know what she said...but I looked around the restaurant and all the Islanders were eating their hamburgers with knives and forks and trying not to notice that we were using our hands...it reminded me of the Seinfeld show with the Snickers bar.

 

[Bajaracer]

Be on the lookout for the white Mercedes Sprinter vans with the loud horns, some of them sell bread, seafood, produce, and cleaning supplies for the smaller towns that have no stores, I bought my first kilo of cherries from one on the way out of Roncevalles, If I heard the loud horn, I checked out what they had for sale and almost always bought fruit from them and it wasn't marked up at all.

 

[Camino Ky]

Yes I remember in Barcelona I was scolded for selecting fruit from the market display. Now I will know why.

 

[Devon Mike]

It has nothing to do with a language, as Guillena means zip, nothing... Nothing at all, other than a village's name.

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.

 

[Anniesantiago]

YUP, NOPE, "NO se TOCA.... "

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.

 

[SabsP]

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.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

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.

The sign should have then said " No tocar la fruta".

 

[t2andreo]

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!

 

[C clearly]

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".

 

[Anemone del Camino]

No toca is not the command, no toques or no toquen is the command. No toca is the present tense at the third person: ella no toca la fruta / she does not touch the fruit.

 

[Castilian]

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.

Be careful. In Spain, it's usually free but not always. It's true that it's rare to be charged but... better safe than sorry.

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...

In Spain, in the context you provided, ¿tienes huevos? is perfectly fine. Out of a clear context it can arise problems but when the context is clear (like in a food shop), it doesn't arise them.

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

It's true few foods are eaten with hands. In picnics, at home or within family in informal contexts rules are (a bit) more relaxed but, still, there are few foods that are eaten with hands. OTOH, I never ate a banana with knife and fork out of a restaurant.

The sign I saw said "No toca la fruta!" Perhaps the vendor was illiterate.

I think he forgot a /r/. No tocar la fruta was likely what he wanted to write.

I believe both are correct. "No toca" is a command "Don't touch" but "No se toca" means "One doesn't touch".

Both are (gramatically) correct but they have different meanings.

No toca=it's not the time for
No tocar=Don't touch
No se toca=It isn't touched. In the case of no se toca la fruta=Fruit isn't touched.

 

[Anniesantiago]

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!

::laughing:: I actually WROTE him a sign in English saying just that!

 

[t2andreo]

In the end, whatever works...WORKS...

 

[MichaelSG]

The sign should have then said " No tocar la fruta".

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.

 

[C clearly]

::laughing:: I actually WROTE him a sign in English saying just that!

As long as you didn't write DO NOT TOUCH THE FRUIT'S, I am happy.

 

[Anniesantiago]

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.

That was over 10 years ago.
I doubt it. lol!

 

[movinmaggie]

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.

No doubt he wasn't a forum member…...

 

[Kanga]

This is hilarious. Thanks folks, made my morning.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

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.

 

[jumpingin2014]

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.

The molestation of fruit brought us to this .................

 

[JillGat]

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."

 

[movinmaggie]

The molestation of fruit brought us to this .................

OMG, I love this…….

 

[movinmaggie]

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."

If I said "Estoy embarazada", I would have to follow up with (in Spanish) "There must be another star in the East".

 

[movinmaggie]

If I said "Estoy embarazada", I would have to follow up with (in Spanish) "There must be another star in the East".

Certainly not meaning in any disrespect to anyone…..

 

[Caminofácil]

Speaking of which, "Estoy embarazada" does not mean "I am embarrassed." It means, "I am pregnant."

Similar anecdote: spaniards who are learning English are told that, when going abroad and trying to get cold medicine in a pharmacy, they don't say "I am constipated". ("Constipado" is a colloquial way to talk about a cold in spanish).

 

[Caminofácil]

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.

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/

 

[HeidiL]

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...

 

[Introibo]

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.

 

[Caminofácil]

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...

In the link I posted, there are some portuguese people commenting about it. They say that it's currently not allowed to charge for something unless the customer ordered it, but that it's so ingrained in the culture that most restaurants still do it, and some of them do try to rip off unsuspecting tourists.

 

[peregrina2000]

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...

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

 

[Anemone del Camino]

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

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$.

 

[koilife]

If I said "Estoy embarazada", I would have to follow up with (in Spanish) "There must be another star in the East".

You could name him Isaac or John . . .

 

[jbear]

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.

In my experience, if you want to be welcomed back, before leaving home bake American style chocolate chip cookies (I use the Nestle Toll House recipe). They have always been well received by my hosts. It's best to wrap them in packs of 3-4 to give as gifts. If you put them in one big tin the first time you pull them out that person gets the entire batch.

 

[movinmaggie]

I received directions and a Spanish lesson. In my defense, in Mexico I always heard 'baño' not 'servicio'.

I could never get it right. Is the emphasis on the first i or the second i?? for next time:>)

 

[C clearly]

I could never get it right. Is the emphasis on the first i or the second i?? for next time:>)

The first i (second syllable).

 

[Lachance]

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...

 

[movinmaggie]

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...

huh??

 

[Lachance]

Sorry! Comisaría. The doubled consonants are a hard habit to break.
And OMG pharmacia. Disculpe, estoy cansada. I will never learn Spanish properly.
Edited in shame.

 

[Kurt5280]

huh??

Now you know why when I was asked if I speak Spanish in Pamplona while requesting directions...I just smiled and responded, "Dos cervezas frias por favor."...and his friend responded, "I like his Spanish!"

 

[C clearly]

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.

Diphthongs occur when an unstressed "i", "u", or "y-ending" appears next to another vowel in the same syllable. Their vowel sounds do not change, but they blend together to form a single syllable.
One such vowel combination, "io", is pronounced like the "eo" in the English word "video," except that it is a somewhat shorter sound. Note that when there is a written accent over the letter "i", the diphthong is "broken" and the two vowels are pronounced separately.

 

[peregrina2000]

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...

Hi, Lachance, you answered your own question. Dipthongs (two vowels in a row in case that's a new word to some readers) are treated as one syllable, elided into a "ya" or a "ye" or a "yo" or "yu." If you want to stress the first vowel of the dipthong you have to put an accent mark on it.

So, as written, servicio has the accent on the second syllable, no accent needed, because the last syllable is "yo" and the next to last syllable is where the normal accent falls.

If the word were to be pronounced with a stress on the "i" you would have to put a written accent. That explains why words like cafetería or comisaría are prounced with the accent on the i, but farmacia is pronounced with the accent on the "a".

 

[Anniesantiago]

I could never get it right. Is the emphasis on the first i or the second i?? for next time:>)

ser-VEE-cio like pi-STA-cio

 

[koilife]

ser-VEE-cio like pi-STA-cio

Annie --- My Spanish is a bit rusty . . . Did you just say that pistachios make you go to the bathroom?

 

[Anniesantiago]

Annie --- My Spanish is a bit rusty . . . Did you just say that pistachios make you go to the bathroom?

Hahaha!
No, but they almost DID make me poop my pants when I saw the same pistachios, grown in California, costing me 4 times less than IN California.
It's almost worth a trip to Spain to buy California pistachios so cheap!

 

[Pelegrin]

"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?"

Yes, this custom of eating the fruit with a knife and a fork is still true in Spain (unless in Madrid).
I'm glad to know that it is not a custom in the anglosaxon world.
Because I am from rural Galicia (and lack of interest) I never learnt to eat fruit this way and sometimes I have felt a little bit embarrased for eating apples with my hands in a restaurant.

 

[LesBrass]

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

 

[peregrina2000]

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

 

[LesBrass]

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

Thank you so much! We've got 8 nights in Lisbon, we have rented an apartment in Caxias just outisde the city and we're driving from home. We're keen to see as much of the city as we can, so a walking tour sounds perfect! And we're keen to visit the area around Lisbon, maybe Coimbra too? There are just so many places to see and not enough time! And as I'm toying with the Portuguese route it's a good chance to get a feel for the area.

 

[Castilian]

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."

I'm not too familiar with Mexican Spanish so I don't know if ¿Tienes huevos? has always the meaning of Do you have testicles? or if, like in Castilian Spanish, it's ok to use it on a context like the one you quote (asking if there are eggs -on sale- on a food shop). I recall reading a Mexican text that used ¿tienes huevos? but it added after huevos the name of the animal (i.e.: ¿tienes huevos de ... (name of the animal)?) and that can make a difference... Anyway, if you want to play it safe ask ¿Vendes huevos? and you'll be fine.

Mexicans aren't the only ones who love to look for alternate, embarrasing meanings for everything. In Spain, it isn't rare either. It's part of the fun. BTW, estoy embarazada means I'm pregnant in all Spanish speaking countries so no alternate/embarrasing meaning there.

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'.

I'm not fully sure which one (servicio or baño) is more used in Spain -both of them are common- but, anyway, your question was perfectly fine. Baño and servicio are synonymous on that context so it's fine to use any of them as well as to use aseo would have been fine too (although it doesn't have exactly the same meaning than the other two). Any of the three words I used could have been used by a native Spanish speaker from Spain. Sometimes people should recall there's more Spanish than the one you usually speak. There are things that have several names and all of them are fine and neither of them is more correct than the other ones. Personally, each person, usually uses one name more than the rest of the names (or even just one of the names) but it doesn't mean s/he has to correct or to put a rare/bad face or whatever when someone uses any of the other names that are as right and as fine as the one you usually use. Only if the other person doesn't know the name you are using, s/he may put a strange face or ask you what's that? But definitely, that's not the case in the example you quoted because everyone in Spain knows what's baño, servicio and aseo... although some people, like the one you found, may forget (or unknow) that a baño doesn't have to include necessarily a shower or a bathtub.

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.

That's because people thinks you got them for free and when receiving a gift they hope/like you to spend some money on it.

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...

Castilian to rescue... Well, people has already made a nice job explaining diphthongs but let's explain it in more detail.

A diphthong in Spanish is the union of a vocal abierta with a vocal cerrada or the union of two different vocales cerradas. Union means both vowels are pronounced on a single syllable. Union doesn't mean a new sound is created as a result; i.e.: each of the vowels has within the diphthong the same pronounciation that each one of them would have out of a diphthong.

Vocales abiertas are:

• A
• E
• O

Vocales cerradas are:

• I
• U

Y at the end of a word works for practical purposes like the vowel i. The same is true for y within a word when it's followed by a consonant but that's rare.
So these pairs of vowels form diphthongs in Spanish:

• ai
• ei
• oi
• au
• eu
• ou
• iu
• ui
• ia
• ie
• io
• ua
• ue
• uo

In addition: ay, ey, oy and uy are diphthongs too when they happen to be at the end of a word (or before a consonant althought this one is very rare).

Note: as h isn't pronounced in Spanish, if there's an h between the vowels of any of the pairs I quoted above, it's considered a diphthong too. (e.g.: "ahi" in ahijado -godson- forms a single syllable; i.e.: a diphthong)

Any other combination of vowels doesn't from a diphthong (i.e.: a single syllable) but a hiatus (i.e.: two different syllables; ending the first syllable with the first vowel of the hiatus and starting the second syllable with the second vowel of the hiatus -or the h if there was one between the vowels of the hiatus- ).

When the stressed vowel of a word is the vocal cerrada of either:

• a pair of vocal cerrada plus vocal abierta
• a pair of vocal abierta plus vocal cerrada

there isn't a diphthong anymore but a hiatus (i.e.: it isn't pronounced in a single syllable but in two different ones). In those cases, the vocal cerrada has always an acute accent even if the general rules to write acute accents say otherwise. For example, the stress on the word comisaría is on the last i, that makes of ria not a diphthong (one syllable) but a hiatus (two syllables: ri and a). Following the general rules to write acute accents ri shouldn't have one because is the penultimate syllable of a word ending in a vowel but as the stress is on a vocal cerrada of a pair of vowels formed by a vocal cerrada (in this case, i) plus a vocal abierta (in this case, a), you have to put an acute accent on the vocal cerrada so you have to write rí.

Otherwise, diphthongs follow the general rules to write acute accents that you already knew. Some more info: If the acute accent happens to be on the syllable with the diphthong follow these two rules:

• If there's a vocal abierta on that diphthong, that's the one where you should put the acute accent. For example: adiós.
• If there isn't a vocal abierta on that diphthong, the acute accent is written always in the second vocal cerrada of the diphthong. For example: (vosotros or vosotras) construís (you build).

P.S.: Don't forget y never has an acute accent. And don't forget either the /u/ in gue and gui isn't pronounced so it doesn't form a diphthong (in a diphthong both vowels must be pronounced) being gue and gui single syllables but without a diphthong. OTOH, in güe and in güi the /u/ is pronounced so it forms a diphthong.

 

[KinkyOne]

I received some funny looks also when asking for servicios or aseos. But I thought it was because of different parts of Spain. So, thank you @Castilian for explanation.

The same goes for beer jug glasses. In some parts they are called "harra", "pinta" etc. Never knew how to order so now I go for a bottle

 

[GettingThere]

I think sometimes the funny looks you can get are because your audience can't make out what word(s) you are struggling to pronounce correctly (just speaking from personal experience you understand! ) That one-eye-closed-other-one-squinting expression, forehead scrunched up, mouth turned up on one side... Possibly followed by the desperate glance around for the English-speaking staff member who was there just a moment ago....

 

[C clearly]

Thanks @Castilian. I always appreciate your explanations. For anyone who shakes their head and says that Spanish is too complicated, you should realize that we could not even come close to such a simple explanation of English pronunciation!

 

[Castilian]

The same goes for beer jug glasses. In some parts they are called "harra", "pinta" etc.

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.

 

[Anniesantiago]

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'm in the California desert right now, and we are far from any city.
Every Saturday, we go to a tiny fruit market set up by some Mexican folks in a parking lot.
The produce is very inexpensive.
For example, I pay $2 for a large head of cauliflower that would cost me $7 in the supermarket.
The produce is also beautiful - exceptionally good.
And, guess what? It is all wrapped individually.
When I was 13, my first job off the farm was in a packing house.
When I tell my kids I drove to work in the family car, with no driver's license, at age 13
they think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

I loved that job! We worked so hard, but had a lot of fun!
(except when we did peaches - man, talk about itching!)
Fruit would roll by on a conveyer belt.
The people in front of us would inspect the fruit for damage or other problems.
WE would grab the fruit, wrap it quickly in tissue, and pack it in boxes.
We got paid by the number of boxes we packed.

This was right on the edge of when this type of work was ALL done by machine.
In fact, my grandfather still hired laborers to chop and pick cotton at that time - no machines yet.
Now, human hands rarely touch the fruit, and as a result of this industrialization that is supposedly 'better,'
everyone pays much higher prices and eats fruit that has been picked green, then gassed to ripen.
This means really pretty fruit with absolutely no flavor.

I have to think that each piece of fruit in those tiny tiendas in Spain
is grown on a smaller family ranch,
and is inspected and wrapped by human hands.
As a result, it is superior to the bulk items you buy in the market.
I imagine that was what the vendor was trying to tell you.

Seems no matter what fruit I bought from a small vendor,
just pointing got me a luscious treat!

Sorry to ramble... it was a trip down memory lane for me - half a century ago.
Wow.
I'm old as dirt!

 

[Angie94]

This means really pretty fruit with absolutely no flavor.

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.

 

[Saint Mike II]

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

 

[Albertagirl]

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

Saint Mike II
I can see why you would find this pronunciation lesson boring. I, on the other hand, have stolen it for my own purposes, that is to help me learn to speak Spanish. It is exactly what I needed to help me with important aspects of pronunciation and accentuation, for which I am very grateful. It is carefully hidden on my laptop and I shall have to bring it out to gloat over until I can get it thoroughly into my tiny head. (I did attribute it to Castilian). I love the language, but am a slow learner.

 

[Lachance]

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.

 

[Kanga]

@Lachance If having trouble with formatting a post, try the little box at the top right of the message box. It shows the details of formatting, and allows you to delete or change the format "tags".

 

[camster]

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?

 

[movinmaggie]

You point to the ones that appeal to you.....at least that is what I understood the lady in the Tienda to be saying. But I,m sure it' S different in different locations in Spain.

 

[Castilian]

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?

It depends on who's attending you. Some people is nice enough as to let you tell them I want this apple, that one and that other one while others don't let you (I mean they refuse your request politely -or not (so) politely, depends on the person- ) or just ignore your request and give you whatever apples they want. BTW, don't forget to check the weight you are given is more or less similar to the weight you requested because some attendants tend to put a bit more every time but sometimes that bit isn't so much a bit but (much) more so don't be shy to tell them to take away the extra part of the weight if it's too much (more).

 

[Urban Trekker]

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 Camino

 

[Anemone del Camino]

I've always pointed to the ones I want. Never had a problem. Buen Camino

Would love to see you pointing to green beans

 

[Urban Trekker]

Would love to see you pointing to green beans

I was actually referring to fruit. Cherries and berries you take your chances.

 

[Castilian]

Y at the end of a word works for practical purposes like the vowel i.

I forgot to say that's for pronounciation purposes. In order to know if you have to write an acute accent, y at the end of a word is considered a consonant. That's why, for example, estoy, jersey or convoy don't have an acute accent.

 

[Lachance]

I 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.

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.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

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.

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 ....

It used to be said that there were 29 letters in the Spanish alphabet, the English letters plus the ch, the ll and the n with the tilde. Now only the n with the tilde is recognised as the extra letter, but the other two sounds, and s'elling, still being used the same as before.

 

[Castilian]

Wondering why you refer to tildes i.e. " ~ " as stress marks?

A tilde, in Spanish (as I was using it), 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). So the symbol you wrote is a tilde as well as acute accents are tildes and some other signs are tildes too. However, the average citizen usually uses tilde just to refer to an acute accent. The symbol you wrote would be named virgulilla (although, as well as tilde, virgulilla can be used for several symbols, many/most times is used to refer just to the one on the ñ). The ¨ symbol would be named diéresis and so on.

The diacritic used in Spanish for stress as in e.g. inglés is called an acute accent in English.

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!

 

[Lachance]

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. 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.

 

[Castilian]

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.

Live to learn! I had no idea that tilde existed as an English word... I used it in Spanish and I made it just in case my self-made translation to English was obscure to native English speakers. Once you provided me the right term in English (acute accent), I edited my posts to make them clearer by using just the right term in English so no confusion now (or so I hope). Now I have to edit my previous post (the only one where I still use tilde) to specify that I'm using tilde in Spanish and we'll be done (by now).

 

[SioCamino]

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.

Found this handy graphic for what different beer quantities are called....

 

[Anniesantiago]

Wow... this is an old post! lol! How in the world do people find these?
Anyway... "No toca la fruta!" is one of the rules I teach my pilgrims!