When I visited Egypt, one of the first things I needed to learn in Arabic was "No, thank you" (La, Shukran). "No, sorry" also comes in handy depending on the situation.

The shopkeepers in Spain are not quite as assertive as those in Egypt, but we´ve still needed to figure out how to deal with beggars and other people on the street approaching us.

Yesterday morning I didn´t have it quite figured out yet.

A small older Spanish lady grabbed me by the hand as I loitered outside the cathedral. She started babbling quite quickly and shoved a sprig of rosemary into my grasp. I began protesting, but not being armed with the right phrase yet, she managed to dismiss what I was trying to say.

She tried to trace her fingers over my palms. I didn´t let her, but she somehow managed to figure out my fortune anyway. She spoke really fast, but I managed to pick up "vida larga" and "dos bambinos". Once she got to the asking for money part, I continued to say "No" as before, and finally thought of adding "No habla espaniol".

Disgusted by my reluctance to give her 2 Euro, she snatched back her rosemary and let me on my way.