Language 2

To continue with my travails in trying to communicate, I was sent to Spain to work.
Arriving in Madrid, I was met by the American rep for GE who said he was going to send me North in a taxi cab,to where I was going to work. I was to work with American GE field reps installing a large steam turbine-generator. I asked why I could not rent a car and drive up there. He said an American GE salesman did that, and going through a small town, with very narrow streets, which were laid out before the age of automobiles, he hit a young girl and killed her. This caused a big problem, but not as big a problem as it would have caused if it had been a boy. {Equality of the sexes had not reached there yet,}

So I went North to the mountain region near the North coast of Spain in the back seat of a taxi. Getting there and meeting the three GE men, they took me to an apartment house where I was to stay. And they told me to arrange for a maid to cook my meals. These guys were not very civil, which was surprising to me, as most GE men were very friendly.

They cautioned me, that if I was invited to someone's house for dinner, You did not peel an orange with your fingers, you had to use a knife and fork. I decided then and there. if the occasion arose I would forgo the orange.

Easter was in my second week there, and we GE men went down to Madrid for the holiday. The lead GE field rep had a rented car and we rode down in it.

Sightseeing included a visit to the bull fights, where no Matadors were killed, only the bulls. Actually the fights are very one sided against the bulls. After all the Matadors run the show, not the bulls. This was on Saturday, we were cautioned not to order steak on Sunday. Since it was Saturday we ordered steak that night. The consume was made at the table. They brought a silver plated duck press to the table. Into which they put a large piece of meat and squeezed out the juices which was then warmed over an alcohol burner.

In Spain, I learned that bread was "pan" and butter was "mantequilla."

The next week I was sent to Palermo, Sicilly, to assist in inspecting a large steam turbo-generator, which John Dubille had installed years before. He was the first GE field rep I had worked with. So I was redilly accepted. I got a room at the Pont Hotel. the first evening I went down to the restraunt in the basement. The high priced restraunt was on the Ground floor.

Picking up and opening the meneu, which was in Italian and French, on the left was "Antipasto," no problem. The first entre was "Salami e burro."

My heart sank, what was I letting my self in for. It was three day's later I learned this was "salami and butter." Burro, the animal, in Italian is assinna.