Help!!!! Stuck in Spain

[Joey Shabadoo]

I really enjoy trying to speak Spanish and, using an app, I'll practice and practice what I want to say - like asking for three return tickets to Alicante for example - but if what I say isn't understood through my thick accent I panic and my High School French kicks in. The waitress in Zaragoza said in exasperated (but perfect) English - just pick a language and stick to it!

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

Sounds familiar.

My French is considerably more proficient, than my Spanish.

So will often revert to French when struggling.. Like that helps..

I've introduced a newish word into the Spanish lexicon tho

'Fantastico'

... Said no Spanish person practically ever.

I think they got the joke, that I know it's not really a proper word, but is an expression of my delight at the meal / service etc proffered.

So if you come across such an expletive when travelling there next, you'll know who started it

We did a jeep safari near Guadalest a few years ago and our Spanish guide revealed the Spanish term for a bad driver in one particularly tense moment - "Fukkeeeeng eediot!".

 

[mudsticks]

We did a jeep safari near Guadalest a few years ago and our Spanish guide revealed the Spanish term for a bad driver in one particularly tense moment - "Fukkeeeeng eediot!".

How apt...

 

[Joey Shabadoo]

What's the terrain like for cycling in NW Spain? Around the Costa Blanca it's hellishly hilly and I'm in absolute awe of the men and women I see cycling in the mountains.

 

[mudsticks]

What's the terrain like for cycling in NW Spain? Around the Costa Blanca it's hellishly hilly and I'm in absolute awe of the men and women I see cycling in the mountains.

Pretty hilly yes, but I'm used to Devon,

They seem to have reasonable gradients
and lots of switchbacks, so it's long sometimes, but not usually ridiculously steep.

Others on here will have done far more than me, it's the first time I've cycled there so probs best asking more widely

 

[Milkfloat]

I've introduced a newish word into the Spanish lexicon tho

'Fantastico'

Huh, I thought it was Spanish and Italian and Portuguese? Have I got it wrong all these years?

 

[mudsticks]

Huh, I thought it was Spanish and Italian and Portuguese? Have I got it wrong all these years?

Well I was told by a Spanish person that it wasn't really a proper word, and that no one sensible would say it.

But I don't think it matters anyhow.

The meaning is pretty clear

 

[C R]

Sounds familiar.

Bet she felt a proper @ss..

My French is considerably more proficient, than my Spanish.

So will often revert to French when struggling.. Like that helps..

I've introduced a newish word into the Spanish lexicon tho

'Fantastico'

... Said no Spanish person practically ever.

I think they got the joke, that I know it's not really a proper word, but is an expression of my delight at the meal / service etc proffered.

So if you come across such an expletive when travelling there next, you'll know who started it

Fantástico is a Galician and Spanish word, with the same meaning as in English. Galician people are even fonder of sarcasm (retranca) than British people, so using Fantastico in a sarky sense would fit right in.

 

[tribanjules]

Felicidades señor

 

[C R]

Fantástico is a Galician and Spanish word, with the same meaning as in English. Galician people are even fonder of sarcasm (retranca) than British people, so using Fantastico in a sarky sense would fit right in.

I should clarify, it would fit right in in Galicia. Spanish people tend to struggle with Galician sarcasm, not being able to tell when it is for real. They say about this that with Galician people they can never tell if we are going up or down the stairs.

 

[mudsticks]

Fantástico is a Galician and Spanish word, with the same meaning as in English. Galician people are even fonder of sarcasm (retranca) than British people, so using Fantastico in a sarky sense would fit right in.

Good,

Glad we've cleared that one up...

That would why be why I felt so at home there..

I was also told that instead of
the usual standard Spanish greeting of 'que tal' .. 'how's it going? ' 'what's up? ' etc.

The Galicians will enquire "who's died? '

A suitably dark, quasi Celtic touch there 😊

 

[C R]

Good,

Glad we've cleared that one up...

That would why be why I felt so at home there..

I was also told that instead of
the usual standard Spanish greeting of 'que tal' .. 'how's it going? ' 'what's up? ' etc.

The Galicians will enquire "who's died? '

A suitably dark, quasi Celtic touch there 😊

They may have been pulling your leg slightly, but not too much.

 

[Globalti]

We have a French friend who speaks some Spanish. She once was telling us the story of how dangerous false friends are, by relating how she had asked for some burra for her toast in Madrid. Beurre is butter in French, but burra is a female donkey in Spanish, while butter is mantequilla.

A fellow languages student had the same problem when she transferred from her five months in France to her five months in Spain and went into a cake shop to buy something sweet and sticky. Gateau being the French for cake she pointed and asked in Spanish for "un gato". Un gato being a cat in Spanish, she caused a moment of consternation behind the counter.

 

[mudsticks]

They may have been pulling your leg slightly, but not too much.

I hope so..

Being let in on the locals jokes is always an honour..