Embarrassing moment when talking to someone from another country

[Anonymous]

Have you ever had one?

I'll share mine:

Once upon a time (long long time ago) I was an AP (from Brazil). It was my first Thanksgiving and my HF took me to NY to spend the holiday with extended family.
We're all sitting around the table enjoying the meal (I still remember the feeling... everything was exactly like I saw in the movies, it was wonderful!) when grandpa tried to make some conversation. He asked me: How do you say "Happy Thanksgiving" in Spanish? His wife "elbowled" him and he looked at her saying: What? She answered: In Brazil they speak Portuguese! and we all laughed with him; but grandpa was not done yet. He proceed with the questioning and the next was: So you guys were colonized by Portugal? I said: Yes sir! among other immigration waves and invasions we had through out the years. He was so happy with the answer and asked the last one: So how far exactly is Brazil from Portugal driving? How long does the drive would take? By then grandma was about to choke him. She stood up and grabbed the laptop computer and pulled out a worldmap from google to show grandpa where Portugal is and where Brazil is.
Today, years later, I'm still very close to the family and we still laugh together remembering embarrassing moments from both sides.

Now it's your turn, tell us a funny one.

[Anonymous]

I was visiting my husband's family in their home country, when we were engaged, and it was the first time I met them. They handed me some seeds to eat as a snack. I put a few in my mouth like I would shelled sunflower seeds (that's what they looked like). Nope. Not shelled. Very embarassing.

[Anonymous]

I was an exchange student in Paris discussing American versus French made bread with my high born aristocratic host family. I wanted to say that in the US bread can be loaded with preservatives and last a long time and I used the false cognate "preservatifs" for preservatives. The host family stared at me with great horror and I thought it was so cute that Frenchies could get worked up about bread. Later it was with my own horror that I learned that "preservatif" means CONDOM in French, not preservative. I'd told them that Americans eat bread loaded with condoms.

[Anonymous]

I was a teen in Germany. Went to a Kiosk to purchase gummi bears. Asked for Guummis in my new german language (guummis bitte) and was given a package of condoms. I bought them and left without my candy bears.

[Anonymous]

Not a huge embarrassment but I poured cream into Arabic coffee -- a big no no. My host was amused. Years later when I met his daughter I told her this story and she told me later that he remembered the incident.

[Anonymous]

Greeted some friends in Switzerland in a big group, but missed the Euro-cheek kisses in the hubbub. Meant to say, "no one wants to kiss me?" but instead said, "no one wants to fuck me?

[Anonymous]

I sat around the dinner table with my new Dutch speaking family who overfed me on a regular basis. I finally learned the Dutch for "I am full"- though the dictionaries don't always reveal the nuances and slang.
I sat back with a satiated grin one evening, hand rubbing belly and confidently stated the equivalent of "I am knocked up."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Greeted some friends in Switzerland in a big group, but missed the Euro-cheek kisses in the hubbub. Meant to say, "no one wants to kiss me?" but instead said, "no one wants to fuck me?

OMG! I'm dying!

[Anonymous]

Dancing with DH at dance club, who was accompanied by his mom and her old friend (all of them from Latin America). Meant to ask my MIL's friend if she needed a partner to dance with, but I asked her if she needed a man who masturbated.

DH and MIL fell to the floor laughing. Old friend's jaw dropped to her knees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was an exchange student in Paris discussing American versus French made bread with my high born aristocratic host family. I wanted to say that in the US bread can be loaded with preservatives and last a long time and I used the false cognate "preservatifs" for preservatives. The host family stared at me with great horror and I thought it was so cute that Frenchies could get worked up about bread. Later it was with my own horror that I learned that "preservatif" means CONDOM in French, not preservative. I'd told them that Americans eat bread loaded with condoms.

I know a few folks who've made that mistake.

[Anonymous]

I did the preservatives/ condoms gaffe in French too!

Also, I once said at a swanky dinner party that I was full... except that it turns out "je suis pleine" means "I'm shitfaced".

A fellow exchange student wanted to tell an obnoxious guy in a club to let her go-- "lache moi!" But she mispronounced it and said "lick me".

Finally, a British exchange student living with my family here in the States once innocently asked a classmate if he had a rubber. He did, and was thrilled to produce it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not a huge embarrassment but I poured cream into Arabic coffee -- a big no no. My host was amused. Years later when I met his daughter I told her this story and she told me later that he remembered the incident.

What is the reason it is a no-no? Just curious.

[Anonymous]

It isn't as bad as some of these other ones -- mostly just made me look like a jerk, but..

I was getting on a van to school in Switzerland, I was 13 or 14, and a few guys in the van started speaking in French about my "nice ass" as I got on. I told them to fuck off, but it turned out that they were complementing my new haircut and I'd misunderstood.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in a terrible school system and we didn't really have much in the way of geography classes...

in college, I asked a guy I had met who told me he was from TOKYO "really? Are there any big cities near where you grew up?"

ARHGHGH

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not a huge embarrassment but I poured cream into Arabic coffee -- a big no no. My host was amused. Years later when I met his daughter I told her this story and she told me later that he remembered the incident.

What is the reason it is a no-no? Just curious.

I don't know. Arabic coffee is quite sweet already. I guess people just don't add cream to it. Have never seen anyone do that since. I'm no expert on this but I don't recall seeing a lot of dairy products in Middle Eastern food so maybe it's just not a part of the diet.