Did I Really Say That? (Part II)

Not So Sweet Potatoes

This one has a reasonable explanation, I think. Sweet potatoes are called camotes in some countries and batatas in other places, while the similar sounding patatas are potatoes, which are called papas by people where I went to take Spanish lessons. I went to the market one day and saw a big bag of camotes / batatas next to a big bag of patatas / papas. When I was asked what I wanted I hadn’t yet made up my mind and blurted out something like “batapapapotes”.

Where Are My Shoes?

I’ve just remembered this one and it’s a bit of a long story. It happened when I was in Ecuador to learn Spanish with a group of other Brits. We had arranged to meet in a bar and I went alone even though my knowledge of the Quito street layout was a bit sketchy. Anyway, I ended up in the wrong bar and when I went in all of the old men who were sitting talking about the weather turned round to stare at me. This kind of unsettled me and when one of them asked me who I was looking for I rather inexplicably said I was looking for a pair of shoes. I had shoes on my mind because I was desperately hunting for a pair of boots I could take into the rainforest with me. They all looked at me with rather puzzled expressions and then quite sensibly decided that turning their back on me and continuing their conversation was by far the best option.