Got Milk?

Moving to a new country or even city can present plenty of communication problems, but even when you think you're getting the grip of the local language, some situations can still throw you off balance.

I've broken the 'made up conversations' rule already because this exchange did actually happen, although I've embellished it somewhat. When one of the five random women standing around talking approached me, here's how it went...

Yo: Hola.
La mujer: Hola.
Yo: ¿Tienes leche?
La mujer: silencio
Yo: Erm...
La mujer: Dime.
Yo: ¿Tienes leche?
La mujer: ¿Que?
Yo: Leche. ¿Tienes?
Otra mujer: Ah, LECHE. (Como lo he dicho)
La primera mujer: Ah, vale. Toma...

At this point I didn't even check what type of milk it was (i.e. I took the risk of buying skimmed) and just paid, so I could get out of the shop and home to a well-earned cup of tea.

Now, you might suggest that maybe my pronounciation isn't up to scratch but I've since been told it's fine, so I have no idea what it was all about.

p.s. If you trust my Spanish translation, here it is in English:

Me: Hi.
Woman: Hi.
Me: Do you have any milk please?
Woman: silence
Me: Erm...
Woman: Tell me what you want.
Me: Do you have milk?
Woman: What?
Me: Milk. Do you have any?
Another woman: Ah, MILK. (How I said it)
First woman: Ah, ok. Here you go...