With jam on...
On holiday in Tenerife with some friends, we stopped at a cafe. After looking at the menu, one of my friends decided she wanted a croissant and saw the filling advertised as mermelada. Thinking this meant "marmalade", when the waiter came over, she asked him in English if she could have one with jam on instead because she didn't like marmalade. He nodded, and walked off. A few minutes later, he returned with a rather flat-looking croissant stuffed with meat - it was only a few minutes later that I realised that he must have thought she'd been saying that she didn't like mermelada (jam), and could she have one with Âá²¹³¾Ã³²Ô (ham)...
Ed's note: It's not a rarity in Spain to have a croissant as a savoury pastry, sliced in two and filled in with ham or ham and cheese.
Sent by: Jeff
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A Spanish friend of mine ordered a take-away pizza with ham on it in South Africa. He was puzzled when they made him repeat ham several times, "Are you sure you want ham?" they said. Only when the pizza arrived covered in apricot jam did he realise his pronunciation was at fault. He had said "jham" with the spanish jota, as in Âá²¹³¾Ã³²Ô. Hilarious. they had to eat it, scraping off the offending ingredient!
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