I have had some of my biggest laughs exchanging stories with those who have had the most unusual experiences as either visitors or expats in Italy. Many of these are language related, but sometimes it snafus or disconnects caused by unknown cultural mores or traditions. I'm going to share one of mine and welcome you to share yours.
I had just checked in to a family-run hotel in southern Italy (Puglia). A housekeeper knocked on my door to welcome me with a huge basket of fruits from which to pick my favorites. I was on this kick with fresh figs and since the young lady spoke no English, I thought I had asked her if she had some figs for me. She looked stunned and I varied the sentence somewhat but still used a word that obviously offended or confused her. She abruptly left my door and I apparently forfeited my right to any fruit. It wasn't until later in the day when I met up with my friends in Martina Franca and I told my story. They were on the gound in tears laughing. It seems that the word for fig 'fico' when made feminine plural is quite a different word used to describe an area of the female anatomy. I was SO embarrassed!! To this day I go into a stuttering state when I try to call up the proper forms for 'fig'.
What's your humorous story??
Tom
I had just checked in to a family-run hotel in southern Italy (Puglia). A housekeeper knocked on my door to welcome me with a huge basket of fruits from which to pick my favorites. I was on this kick with fresh figs and since the young lady spoke no English, I thought I had asked her if she had some figs for me. She looked stunned and I varied the sentence somewhat but still used a word that obviously offended or confused her. She abruptly left my door and I apparently forfeited my right to any fruit. It wasn't until later in the day when I met up with my friends in Martina Franca and I told my story. They were on the gound in tears laughing. It seems that the word for fig 'fico' when made feminine plural is quite a different word used to describe an area of the female anatomy. I was SO embarrassed!! To this day I go into a stuttering state when I try to call up the proper forms for 'fig'.
What's your humorous story??
Tom
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