Ordering shrimps
In my early days while living in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, I called out to the waiter in a busy cafe: Camarón, venga acá. It worked and he did respond by coming over to our table. My date pointed out to me that what I had said was 'Shrimp, come over here'. I had mistakenly used the word ³¦²¹³¾²¹°ùó²Ô, shrimp, instead of camarero, waiter.Funny thing was that the waiter was a very short fellow.
Sent by: Derek
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I'm sure it was embarrassing at the time, but that really made me laugh, thank you!!!
This happened many years ago, while I was with some foreign friends. An Australian guy asked me to translate for him: 'I want a glass of water'. I said to him the following words in Spanish: agua y un vaso, por favor. However, when ordering his water, he got confused and said: Give me agua y un beso, por favor. He asked for water and a kiss!
Also you could avoid using an imperative. You could have added por favor or put it as a request rather than an order: Camarero, ¿puede acercarse un momento?.
On a trip to Spain when I was 17, I saw a young woman collapse to the floor at a disco. I ran into the kitchen and demanded of the staff, ¡Denme un vaso de leche! They froze and stared, of course - not the most common request at a disco. One of them started to say something and I insisted ¡Denme un vaso de leche! Una mujer allá está enferma. Finally, one of them brought me what I asked for ... a glass of milk. I spluttered and stomped and as I remembered that agua, water, was actually what I wanted. PS: the woman came to on her own - hadn't eaten all day and then went partying. Idiot. I should have given her the milk!
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