My language mistake is, I think, a bit more respectable. We were driving in Northern Finland and I kept checking the map to find a town called Ruotsi. Finally asked fella bilong missus flodnak, “Uh… Ruotsi isn’t a town, is it?” It’s Finnish for - Sweden! Gosh, that was blinking obvious…
GM and another american were on the Russian fishing boat Sulak in 1989. Spent 6 weeks on board doing fisheries management work. We had brought a few food items with us in case the food wasn’t to our liking (peanut butter, tang, vodka). So one day we’re munching on peanut butter crackers when the translator stopped by our cabin.
Sergei “Hi guys. How is your day?”
GM “Fine. Just having some peanut butter crackers. Want some?”
Sergei “Peanut butter? What is that? We don’t have that in Russia.”
Ugly American disuguised as biologist sounds incredulous “You don’t have peanut butter!? What kind of country do you live in!”
GM considers swimming home…
For some odd reason all English speakers visiting Sweden find the two words infart and utfart (entrace to and exit from a road, yard etc) extremely funny, not to mention fatöl (draught beer).
Woops, I forgot fartkontroll (speed check). 
And now back to the OP. I wasn’t present at the time, but I have heard of a friend of mine (Swedish) who asked someone in his company “Haven’t we been at this station before?” when he saw a sign with the word salida at a station in the Madrid underground.
A few weeks ago, I got the chance to go back to the Louvre - always a double-edged experience, with all the masses of humanity and all. So I was up in Greco-Roman bronzes, often a very lonely place (although not quite as lonely as Coptic Egypt, which I highly reccomend). It’s a great big hall that was particularly empty this day - maybe six people in it, counting me. And in walk these two American women, evidently mother and daughter, lost on their way to the Venus de Milo. Because, and I quote, “It’s in the book”. The daughter asked “What do you think all this (waves hand at lovely works of classical art) is?” Mother: “I don’t think it really matters - it’s not in the book.” So I’m standing there with my mouth open, so shocked that I almost went over there to try to interest them in “all this”, when here comes the kicker - the mother looks around disdainfully and says “And I don’t see why they’re all naked, either. It’s indecent.” Well, what on earth do you say to that?! I didn’t know how to get my little brain around that one.
A minor little one on me - my brain got so scrambled hunting for my high school French on this last trip that it started supplying me with answers in the wrong language - for some reason, I kept answering the phone “Moshi moshi?” and asking for things “por favor”, although I’ve never taken Japanese (although I watch a hell of a lot of anime) or Spanish in my life. And then I came home and ordered “plus de (du?) vin, s’il vous plait” at a restaurant here and had no idea it hadn’t been in English.
This is an American in Australia story, so doesn’t quite fit with the OP, but I won’t let that stop me.
Just a few weeks ago I was recovering in hospital after some surgery. One day, I was sitting in the patient’s lounge talking to another girl and an American tourist who’d had appendicitis.
The conversation somehow got onto our high school sporting acheivements. So we’re just talking about the sports we’ve played and how well we did and stuff when visiting american guy comes out with this pearler, which nearly made me bust my stitches open with laughter!
** “oh. I feel a little left out. I didn’t play sport in high school. The closest I came to that was rooting on the sidelines.” **
Must have been free and easy at his school, I would have got expelled for that!
It might have been helpful if you’d explained in advance that “rooting” is Australian slang for “shagging”, 'cause I’ll bet not one American in one hundred knows that.
Thanks, ruadh. I must’ve read that line a dozen times trying to figure out some subtlety I missed. 
Haha, I knew that.
Perhaps we should also explain, for our Australian friends, that one of the meanings of rooting in North America is supporting or cheering for a sports team.
Thus, “I’m rooting for the Rangers” means “I’m cheering for [or “I’m supporting”] the Rangers.”
Actually, I made the same mistake that happylittlevegemite’s American friend did: I was in Australia shortly after the NFL game between the Denver Broncos and (gah, I can’t remember) that took place in Sydney in September of 1999. My business contact in Sydney had gone to the game, and we were talking about it in the car when he picked me up from the airport.
“So, who did you root for?” I innocently asked.
After he cracked up (and nearly cracked up the car), he explained the meaning of the term. I made a mental note that while I was in Australia, I’d be glad to discuss sports, but only as one who cheered for or supported a team. I’d have to wait until I got back to Canada before I could root for them again.
Sounds similar to what I saw on the TV not too long ago.
An English reporter was going to Australia for a story on young English people going on holiday there. He was wondering if it was accepted if women were coming on to the men.
“So,” he started, “what do the men in Australia think if are being pulled by women?”
After some wide eyes and loud snickering, the men replied: “well, I bet they wouldn’t object at all.”
[somewhat off topic, sorry]
I have to ask: did you notice the Canadian Olympic team during the opening ceremonies at Sydney? With their uniforms designed by the “Roots” clothing company? That must have raised a chuckle or two in the host city.
A long time ago a friend of my sister hosted an Australian exchange student who was on a visit to Canada. This exchange student walked into a clothing store one day, saw a rack of sweatshirts with the “Roots” logo in large letters across the chest, and nearly fell over laughing…
…and isn’t this the real reason the Roots Air went under?
…and isn’t this the real reason that Roots Air went under?
I can’t wait to go back and read all of these later. Pardon me if I jumped to the front of the line–I think this one will take the prize for stupidest thing to say (more like ignorant, I guess).
We were on a tour of Germany, Austria, etc., during my senior year. We were taking a tour of a concentration camp (which had been turned, of course, into a museum remembering those who had died there). It was quite a somber experience, as you can imagine, until one of the adults (a parent of one of the students, mind you) uttered the most inappropriate thing I’ve ever heard someone say (pardon the spelling): “Sig Heil.” It was one of those times when you are embarrassed to be human, never mind American.
German is my native language and Swiss German is hard to understand for me but it is still the same language, sometimes when people who speak Swiss-German are interviewed they put subtitles though… German like English sounds very diffrent in every country it is spoken in. Just like Australien, British and American English…
My geography knowledge is not very good either so I shouldnt make fun of this but I get this one repeatedly:
"So you are form Austria? Say something in Austrian!"
Doh… if I spoke that language I would…
dodgy
Just a supermarket chain… I am the girl who was surprised when she saw that they also have them in England… (Austrian the dodgy one is)
Darlin’, if you’re rooting for the Texas Rangers right now, there’s not much difference between the American and Australian terms…
Either way, you’re getting fucked.
Jesus. What I want to know is this: how many people kicked his ass??
[hijack]
quick lesson in Oz English…
I’d reckon 99% of the population realise this, mainly through media influence, but it’s just too damn funny to ignore when someone uses it “incorrectly” (from my point of view). Incidentally, in Australia you would be “barracking” for your team.
Which is why the Canadian Olympic team had me in stitches, as does the courier company “Rapid Rooter”. They may as well have called it “Fast Fucker” or “Premature Ejaculator”
[/hijack]