The Europe Trip - Funny Moments

[gusl]

Background: Mario is a linguist from Napoli (a dirty southern city), and was my housemate for the ESSLLI conference in Trento, which is in the north.
We are sitting on the curb waiting for a ride to a party on the Alps. I am reflecting on the strange experience of being in a foreign country, so I tell Mario: "you know, I can't believe I'm right here in Italy"
He grins and replies: "me too!"
(it was much funnier then)


In Barcelona, an Irish dude wakes me up early in the morning (like 7am) with his snoring. I want him to stop, so I start humming loudly at the same pitch. Up hearing the strange unison, everybody in the room, except for the snorer-sleeper laughs. We decide the democratic thing to do was to wake him up. Problem solved. Now you know a way to find out if you're in the majority, should you ever find yourself in such a situation.


After arriving in Portugal, I was happy that I understood everything people said.... or so I thought. I go into a pastry shop and ask:
ME: "Esse pastel é de quê"? ("What is this pastry made of?")
CLERK: [shkulát] ("Chocolate")
ME: "O que é [shkulát]?" ("What is chocolate?")