Long Sleeves in the Carribean?

Okay, so you hear all of the funny stories about "language misunderstandings" and how a person accidentally changes one letter in a word and suddenly it takes on a whole new meaning...

I officially have one.

Awhile back, Mark and I ventured up to the roof of our office building where there's an open air eating area. We brought our lunches with us. We thought it might be a good idea to meet some more people from our building and we knew we needed a break from our white-walled cubicles.

After introducing ourselves, one of the girls at our table began to ask me how my Spanish classes were coming along and if I'd met any fascinating people since I'd been studying there for five months. Interestingly enough, there was a group of Japanese peace-core-type workers there studying at the same time as me... and I was explaining to her how amazed I was at the degree to which these Japanese students protected themselves from the hot Carribean sun. I put on some moisturizing lotion each morning, but they had quite a routine. I informed her I was so impressed that the Japanese students I'd met carried umbrellas everywhere they went, wore wide-brimmed hats... and had "nalgas largas".

I was trying to say that the Japanese students wore long sleeved shirts... (mangas largas)

but instead I said that the Japanese students have long buttcheeks.

Oops.

The girls at that table have remembered my name ever since.