My Clothes Disasters in Spanish (part I)

One of the first things I had to pick up when I was in Ecuador to learn Spanish was how to ask for wellies. As I was going to do voluntary work in the rainforest I was told to buy a pair from a shop in Quito before heading out to the jungle.
This first experience of buying clothes or accessories in South America went surprisingly well but unfortunately things didn’t carry on that way for long.

Jeans with a View

There is an amazing market in Otavalo, Ecuador. If you are ever in that part of the world you can buy some great stuff such as ponchos, carvings and chess sets from the stalls which line the streets on a Saturday. However, if you want jeans can I humbly suggest that you stick to a shop. I needed some new trousers and as I was keen to prove that I had learned that pantalon is singular and not plural I went to find some. The problem was that I had no idea what size I was in local measurements and after 3 months of a bean and rice diet. The kind lady suggested I try them on. I had a look at her stall and the small kitchen towel hanging from the roof and asked where I could do such a thing. She pointed to the kitchen towel of course. If you once saw a pair of pale, skinny legs trying to get into a tiny pair of jeans behind a kitchen towel in Otavalo then you now know the full story.