Spinney
Bimbleur extraordinaire
- Location
- Back up north
...and then back again!
Laughing at stupid foreigners.
- Thread starter Globalti
- Start date
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Archie_tect
De Skieven Architek... aka Penfold + Horace
- Location
- Northumberland
Favourite is still Friockheim... [which is [was] in Angus, in Scotland... pronounced Freek'am] . Given a note to deliver some drawings there when I worked in St Andrews, I thought it was in Germany... so disappointed.
I like Toaster... where the racecourse is.
I like Toaster... where the racecourse is.
OP
OP
Globalti
Legendary Member
At college we had a Spanish assistant named Fermin (everybody called him Vermin) who, on almost his first day in England, got roped in to going around the houses collecting for a jumble sale. At the end of the first day he came home completely empty-handed so on the second day somebody went along with him. Now anybody who speaks Spanish will know that it is spoken as it is written and the the J is not pronounced "dje" but a guttural "h". So at the first house they came to, poor Fermin knocked on the door and brightly asked the good lady: "Ple-as Misses, 'ave ju got eny clo-thes for de humblay salay?"
I bought a ticket to Des Moynes at a Greyhound bus station, it took a few tannoy announcements for the penny to drop and my face to redden.
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shouldbeinbed
Rollin' along
- Location
- Manchester way
closer to home, when Indian restaurants were still a bit of a novelty and I went out with football pals.
Order taken, beer drunk, the waiter asks if we'd like some poppadoms. The reply in all seriousness, Nah but gerrus some of them big crisp things will ya pal.
Order taken, beer drunk, the waiter asks if we'd like some poppadoms. The reply in all seriousness, Nah but gerrus some of them big crisp things will ya pal.
My wife and I were having a meal in a Benihana in Chigaco, and we got chatting to a family who's daughter had just graduated.
Where are you from? says she
England, we are on holiday, says I.
Did you drive here? Says she.
Think I can beat that.
In the USA, daughter of a couple was fascinated that we were English, asked us if people in England live in houses.
Des Moines, Iowa.
Dayvo
just passin' through
- Location
- 59° 50′ 5.55″ N, 10° 47′ 41.89″ E
Hitching around Germany when I was a young lad, I was amazed to see so many signs for, what I thought must have been, a very large city (which I'd never heard of.
Miles of hours of driving and still the sign for 'Ausfahrt' kept on appearing.
Ooh, what glee! I just found this image on google:
Miles of hours of driving and still the sign for 'Ausfahrt' kept on appearing.
Ooh, what glee! I just found this image on google:
Attachments
Profpointy
Legendary Member
Not quite a funny-foreigner, but a foreigner (me) put in his place.
Had a job interview day-trip to Frankfurt. Making my way back to the airport, not knowing any German, I'd worked out from road-signs that "Airport" was "Flughaven", so got the train station and asked the lady in the ticket booth "flughaven bitte" - feeling rather pleased with myself. She replied in perfect English "to go to the airport, you need to buy a ticket from the machine over there. You will need 5 marks in change. Would you like some change?"
Fair play ! Our railways could learn such customer service and helpfulness.
Had a job interview day-trip to Frankfurt. Making my way back to the airport, not knowing any German, I'd worked out from road-signs that "Airport" was "Flughaven", so got the train station and asked the lady in the ticket booth "flughaven bitte" - feeling rather pleased with myself. She replied in perfect English "to go to the airport, you need to buy a ticket from the machine over there. You will need 5 marks in change. Would you like some change?"
Fair play ! Our railways could learn such customer service and helpfulness.
[QUOTE 3139501, member: 259"]Try learning to speak Dutch in the Netherlands. Everybody, from policemen to popstars, to beggars in the train station, speaks perfect English and launches into it as soon as they hear a hint of an English accent.[/QUOTE]
The worst part is their English is better than most I hear when back in the UK!
The worst part is their English is better than most I hear when back in the UK!
martinclive
Über Member
- Location
- Fens, Cambridge
Sorry - Americans again.............
Following 2 elderly Americans from the gate at heathrow down a ramp to board flight to US - as they herded us onto a bus to take us out to the plane - the man was clearly panicked and turned round to everyone and said.....but we are meant to be getting on an airplane...........I did my best to reassure him and saved the giggles till later
Following 2 elderly Americans from the gate at heathrow down a ramp to board flight to US - as they herded us onto a bus to take us out to the plane - the man was clearly panicked and turned round to everyone and said.....but we are meant to be getting on an airplane...........I did my best to reassure him and saved the giggles till later
EltonFrog
Legendary Member
You win!
[QUOTE 3139501, member: 259"]Try learning to speak Dutch in the Netherlands. Everybody, from policemen to popstars, to beggars in the train station, speaks perfect English and launches into it as soon as they hear a hint of an English accent.[/QUOTE]
I found this out when we went to Amsterdam for adirty romantic weekend.
I threw the Dutch phrasebook away after the first day - no point.
I found this out when we went to Amsterdam for a
I threw the Dutch phrasebook away after the first day - no point.
