Speaking Spanish: Fun . . . or Just Funny?

I started writing this as a short reflection about something "important" that I've learned here for the unstructured portion of my reflection I have to do for IU. But it became this LONG entry and it's pretty funny!

One of the most important things I have learned in my time here is how much I absolutely love speaking Spanish with other people. It is often very difficult. Sometimes I even feel lonely and left out because of all the Spanish around me that I don’t understand. But whenever I have a conversation with someone in Spanish, I just feel so invigorated. I feel cultured. I feel like I am doing something special. The longer I’m here, and the more I study the language, the easier it gets to converse with people, and the better I feel about it. On top of this, there have been a few times where I have actually translated what people have said in Spanish so people who only speak English can understand it. This made me feel very good about my ability.
I just relish every time I speak Spanish. Even the smallest things like “¿Cómo está?” [How are you?] and “¡Qué calor!” [It’s so hot!] are fun to say. Even the most mundane conversations are enjoyable. For example, today I went into a store to look for new sandals, since mine are falling apart. I had a short conversation with the salesperson about how they didn’t have my size and asked if there were any other stores with sandals. She didn’t know. But, just being able to talk like this made me feel great. At times it can be scary to go out into the world of a foreign language, but it’s worth it for the times that you really are able to converse with another person, even if it’s in jumbled language.

One more thing: it’s amazing how important pronunciation and accent is. As I have said before, accent is very important. It’s amazing the confusion pronunciation and accent can cause, even if all the right words are there. I’ll give one or two examples from each side of the language barrier.

From my side of the language barrier:

There was a fútbol game this Wednesday between Costa Rica and El Salvador. A few days before, I asked one of the brothers, Max, in my host family if El Salvador was playing (since I wasn’t sure at the time). He responded by saying, “No, está al Miercoles” [It’s on Wednesday]. I was VERY confused as to why he said this. We went back and forth a few times until I finally realized what the problem was. He thought I said “Sábado” [Saturday] when I said “El Salvador” because I didn’t pronounce the country’s name quite right.

Another example happened the same night. Max asked me, “¿Por qué la bola rueda?” I had ABSOLUTELY no idea what he asked me. But then he said, “Porque está sucia,” which I know means “Because it is dirty.” But I didn’t understand the question at all so I asked him to repeat himself. He did. I still didn’t know what he asked me. So I asked him to repeat it again. I STILL didn’t know. This went on for about five to ten minutes. I felt very embarrassed that I didn’t know what he said, but he was mumbling the words so much! When I realized what he was actually saying, I STILL didn’t understand because I didn’t know what “rueda” meant. But finally, I realized a few things. First of all, it was a JOKE that he was telling me. Second, mumbling was actually important part of the joke. Third, I realized it was a joke because of a double meaning. Now, this was just so difficult for me to understand because I didn’t even know ONE meaning, let alone TWO. After much breaking down of the sentence and awkward, difficult explanation in Spanglish and Engspan, I FINALLY understood. The original question means, “Why does a ball roll?” The funny part is that in the lazy drawl of a mumbling Costa Rican, the question also sounds like, “¿Por qué lavo la rueda?” which means “Why do I wash the wheel?” to which the answer, “Because it is dirty” makes sense. YES! And then, after about fifteen minutes of analysis and awkward discussion, I laughed at my first official Costa Rican joke. Man, that’s gotta be one of the longest delayed reactions to a joke that short on record.

From the Spanish side of the language barrier:

A few nights ago, I was watching Die Hard 2 with Max. We were watching for a while when suddenly, Max said something that sort of sounded like, “Very junk.” I didn’t understand why he said this, so I asked “Junk?” He tried to clarify it by saying, “He is very junk.” I was still confused but I thought perhaps Max didn’t like Bruce Willis as an actor. I asked again and he accentuated the word and I finally realized what he meant: “He is very young,” to which I replied, “Oh! Yes he DOES look young in this movie.”

This next story actually has more to do with grammar than accent, but it’s still funny. I was sitting in the living room with one of the other brothers of the family, Javier. Most of the time, I am wearing my flip-flops (99% of the time, actually). However, this night was a rare occasion where I was actually chilly, so I had my sneakers on. Javier looked at me, pointed at my shoes and said, “I like his shoes.” I thought this was a little strange, but thought that maybe mine were similar to Max’s, who was in the other room. Or maybe he didn’t really mean to point at my shoes. But I asked him what he meant and he pointed at my shoes again and said the same thing again! Here’s a basic rundown of what was said (it’s like a Costa Rican version of the “Who’s on first?” routine):

Javier (pointing at my shoes): I like his shoes.
Me: Huh?
Javier (pointing again at my shoes): I like his shoes.
Me: Whose shoes?
Javier: Huh?
Me: Whose shoes do you like?
Javier: I like his shoes.
Me: You like Max’s shoes?
Javier (pointing at my shoes with a bit more force): No, I like HIS shoes.
Me: OH! You like MY shoes!!! Thanks!

After that encounter, I explained that he should have said, “I like your shoes.” All the confusion was fixed and we laughed about it. I realized the problem: in Spanish, “sus zapatos” can mean either “your shoes,” “his shoes,” or “her shoes.” He probably just got this mixed up and as a result, said “his” instead of “your.” Man, I love all the funny confusing stories. The best thing is that they happen on both sides of the language barrier, so it doesn’t make me feel really stupid. The most important thing is to laugh about it!

Tico Talk

I had SO MUCH FUN tonight. Finally, this is exactly what I have been looking and hoping for this whole time.

I was actually kind of feeling sort of depressed earlier in the day. I had a good time watching the fúbol game: it was fun to watch even though Mexico destroyed Costa Rica. However, I have just been having a hard time connecting with the family because of the language barrier. When they're all together, they all talk really fast and it's so hard for me to connect and understand what they're saying. As the night went on, it got better and better though. I talked with Max more, as well as Iris, about random stuff in my life, like family and friends and things. I had a good time. We talked more than usual.

However, around 9, when I didn't think there was anything left to do, I got offered to go with Iris to hang out with some "crazy nephews and nieces." I was like, sure. Why not? I don't really do anything at night anyway. I WANT to do stuff and I get so bored just sitting at home all the time. So I went. We walked for about a minute (that's how close these people live). Pretty much the whole family lives right near each other.

We got to the house and I instantly knew why they were called "crazy." Some of them were smoking, there was loud music, and they were all drinking. But they were all just hanging out, talking. I was a little timid at first, since I didn't know anyone and was scared I wouldn't be able to connect with anyone, but quickly, that changed. This couple immediately brought me into the group. They started talking to me and really acted interested in me. I just really haven't gotten that much here. The girl didn't really know much English at all but she REALLY enunciated every word, so she was VERY easy to understand in relation to a lot of other people around here. And the guy apparently had lived in Oregon for a year, so his English was really good. We spoke in Spanish 80% to 90% of the time, and I used him for translation or if there was something I just couldn't figure out how to say in Spanish.

Seriously, though, it was SO AMAZINGLY FUN. Although I've had some good experiences talking with people in Spanish, this is the first time I've really felt comfortable with it. By no means is my Spanish perfect. But with their great enunciation, their understanding of needing to talk kind of slowly, and their ability to translate when needed all mixed together and became a really really cool night. Even though there was some language barrier stuff, it was fun to deal with instead of feeling like a burden, like it does a lot of the time. It just felt like we were friends, hanging out, drinking some beers. Sometimes, I even forgot that I was speaking/listening to Spanish, which is a REALLY good sign. I just hope I can hang out with them some more because it's EXACTLY what I've been wanting. I've been wanting some people/friends with whom I can hang out who I can regularly speak Spanish with. And I can actually really understand them! The family I live with is great but they're VERY hard to understand. Once I get a little better and more fluent, it will be easier, but they're lazy with their words and most of the time I have no idea what they're saying. Tonight, the Spanish was more on the backburner than usual. We were just hanging out, talking, albeit in Spanish. There were other people there and I talked with them a little bit, but most of all, I talked to the couple.

I just felt so good because earlier in the day I was really feeling crappy. I was feeling like my Spanish wasn't very good at all and that I would never get very good at it. But when I hung out with them, I was really talking and it felt SO good. And they were complimenting me on it a lot and saying that my Spanish is very good (which made me feel SO cool).

They live in San Jose and they said they would be happy to bring me there and show me around (because it's not really a good idea to go alone, since it's pretty unsafe and I don't know the language well enough to do that). I just hope I can hang out with them sometimes because they're so cool and I really have been hoping for some actual Tico friends. I have WANTED that. More than anything. Truly. I want Tico friends who I can hang out with and speak Spanish with on a regular basis.

FINALLY.

I just had a great time and I hope to do it again!!!

Milestone

I feel like I've hit another milestone in Spanish speaking. Already, the Rosetta Stone has helped me a LOT. Most of the stuff that I've been doing with it has actually just been review, but it's been really good to just solidify things and relearn the basics. Because it's the basics that you need the most. Now I am certain of how to say "the dog is behind the car" or "the fat man is in front of the store" or "the eviscerated colon is to the side of the dilapidated hemoglobin." Okay, maybe not that last one. And it didn't even make sense anyway. But. There are a lot of things like that that I have been reviewing and that have really helped (another example, "it's cloudy" which I heard and used today).

But on top of that, some things are just clicking. I was getting pretty frustrated for awhile that I couldn't understand my host family very well. But I think I've figured out why. They are very lazy with their words and don't enunciate very well. I bet I'd be really hard to understand in English if I didn't enunciate, but I try to when I'm talking to foreigners. I think Iris is starting to get it though 'cause she now pronounces the words a lot more clearly.

In fact, she just came in and said "Whit [Weet], voy a salir; llego a las siete" (Whit, I'm going out; I'll be back at seven) which was very easy to understand, compared to when she's talking very fast and not enunciating and it sounds like, "Whit [Weet], voaslee; llegoalasete." And a lot of people talk like that. Which I know is one thing that everyone learning a new language has a hard time with.

The great thing about Sandra, the secretary, is that she realllly enunciates every word. Probably has to do with the fact that she is also learning English. But I think it's just also the way she talks. So we talk a lot and it's fun and cool (and she compliments my Spanish a lot and I feel VERY cool)! It's awesome though because she will say things like, "Is the . . . band . . . today?" or something, unsure if she said it right, and if she did, I'll give her a thumbs up and say "yes!" and she'll be so happy and give a little cheer. And if she didn't say it totally right, I'll correct her. And the same goes the other way around. So we help each other and learn a lot.

Today I went to a fútbol game that the kids were playing (sorry, I can't let myself call it soccer here; it's offensive). It was a lot of fun. There were probably three or four games. But there was a lot of time just sitting on the side lines while a bunch of kids hit the balls around ("a bunch of kids hit the balls around" sounds like a really messed up adult film). There were some other schools there and they totally pwned our kids.

The soccer field was way up on a hill and all around were beautiful hills and stuff. We were at a high altitude. On a clear day, you can apparently see the Pacific from it but unfortunately, "estaba nublado."

There was a building to the side of the field and there were a bunch of people with snacks and cooking meals and stuff and it was great 'cause you could just go in there and buy food. But it was actually home made food for the most part, which is cool. And everything was CHEAP. I got so much stuff, including a few chocolate bars, a few caramel empanadas, a cheese empanada, some potato picodillo (just a bunch of mixed up stuff that was good), some Pepsi, some Coke (Coca) and some other stuff, and I only spent about the equivalent of $3.

I "played" a little bit, just on the sidelines with some of the kids, for about five minutes. We made a makeshift "goal" out of sticks and grass and I tried to be goalie. Trying to get a ball past me as goalie is like trying to hit a golf ball into the grand canyon. Oh MAN. Especially against these kids who have been playing all their lives. It was nothing to them. All the kids were so talented.

I took pictures all day. I took over 150 pictures of kids playing fútbol, trying to get a bunch of action shots, and a few of the environment and stuff. But it will be great and I can't wait to go through them all and pick out the good ones.

One of the best parts of the day, though, relates back to the title of this blog post. I talked for about 10-15 minutes with Edgar, the coach/gym teacher guy. He knows about .0023% English. Basically nothing. And we talked a lot and I understood probably 75% of what he said and I spoke pretty well. It just felt SO good and cool. Especially because Ashley (one of the West Virginia girls) was standing nearby and I could translate some of what he was saying to her. I felt bad that I kind of left her out of the conversation but it's tough when neither of them speak at ALL each other's language. And I really wanted to get some practice in. It just felt so good. We were talking about how he went to Cleveland with the students one year to do some tournament thing. And how this January, he had planned to go to Disney World with his family, but they couldn't get the visas because he's retired, or something like that. He was annoyed because he worked for more than 30 years! And he's STILL working, just not full time or something. But he'll figure it out and go eventually, maybe next year, he'll just have to start preparing more in advance.

I just love Edgar. He's so NICE and really doesn't mind helping me out if I don't understand something. And he also asks how to say things, which is always fun to help with.

I also had my band for the second time today. I've been focusing on teaching the kids the common clave rhythm in a lot of Latin American music (dotted eighth/dotted eighth/eighth/eighth rest/eighth/quarter). I thought that they might be naturally good at it since they're from Latin America . . . NO. They were just as bad at it as any American kid would be. Now don't get me wrong, it's a very tough rhythm, especially for kids. The biggest difficulty for them is always the eighth rest. They always speed right through it and don't give it its full value. So I made up this thing where they say "1, 2, 3-YA!-4-5". The "YA!" is where the eighth rest is and it gives the rest an actual length. The kids got really into it last week and I reviewed it this week. Actually, last week, it was awesome, 'cause after the class was over, I was in a different area, but I heard in the distance, "1, 2, 3-YA!-4-5", which made me feel good. Oh, and I also LOVE their accents. It sounds like "one, too, tree-YA!-for, fie". So cute and awesome.

But the kids were sounding better today overall. They have a tendency to smash the HELL out of their drums, but I've been making them tone it down constantly ("más suave" and "muy muy suave" . . . someday I should say "suave tigre"). Now they can play a clave rhythm 75%-80% correct in piano, mezzo-piano, mezzo-forte, and forte. That's pretty good for two rehearsals!

There are some kids who talk a lot and play when they're not supposed to. Today I took like three drum sticks from kids. It's always satisfying to do. I just walk over and pull it out of their hands (while the rest of the students laugh). The more they get on my nerves, the longer I'll keep the sticks for. And a few times I just walked right up to a kid and said, "STOP talking." Now, I'm not sure if he totally understands what I said, but I'm sure he got the essence. And either way, just to be sure, I said "No hable." Haha. So I think he knows to shut up. At least there are also a bunch of the kids in the class who go "shhhhh" and say "callase" (basically "shut up") when everyone else is talking. So I think the kids like it overall and they're having a good time.

Speaking of "shhhhh", a small interesting fact: the "shhhhh" sound here is a bit different than in the States. It's more of a "sssssss".

Man, didn't think I would write this much. But I'm glad I did! I always hate thinking of the daunting task before me when I sit down to write an entry, but I'm always happy after I do.

Hasta luego (or as most pronounce it, "haluego")

Weet

Comida

The food isn't bad here. I'm not complaining. It usually consists of rice, which is in pretty much EVERY dish. Really. It's VERY rare not to have rice. Usually there is also some variety of beans, which I actually have surprisingly liked with it, especially in gallo pinto, a rice and bean dish, haha. The only bean thing I really haven't liked was a refried bean thing they often have. It just tasted very weird to me. And there is usually some sort of fried meat. Often, the meat isn't the best and the way they fry it doesn't taste too amazing, but overall, it's really not bad. I'd say I have enjoyed more meals than not.

However, there are some things I miss. It's weird, it's like they have everything here, but it's just not the same. I had that burger at Denny's, and it just didn't taste American (although the fries were AMAZING). However, the Denny's fries were the only ones that were really good. The rest of the fries I have had here have been overly greasy/mushy and have come with this weird sauce that's kind of like sweet and sour and sometimes with mayo. I want my ketchup! I have had pizza here and it was really very good but it was more in the Italian restaurant style, not the greasy, fatty, college student style.

Food is definitely one thing I am going to be very happy to return to. When I get back I'm going to pig out for awhile. Go to Scotty's and get a total American burger and fries. Then go to Mad Mushroom and get an insanely big, greasy, goodness-all-over pizza with some cheese bread. Then go to Chipotle (I know I know, this sounds VERY hypocritical, but I still miss it). Then I'll just make myself a good damn sandwich. Mmm. They don't really eat sandwiches here that often. I want one. Oh, and Coldstone (although I've gotten these orange popsicles a few times here that is made by a local woman and they're SO SO GOOD and refreshing).

Bosetta Slone

The school uses a very popular language learning tool, let's just call it . . . Bosetta Slone. It's so good. The kids use it to learn English and it really helps with vocab, speaking, listening, grammar, etc. I have REALLY been wanting to use it to learn Spanish. Mirthala's husband apparently got the copies for the school. So I've been talking with her and even talked to him about it on the phone. Turns out the version he had was only PC, and on top of that, the funniest thing is that he acquired it in not the most legal way, haha. So I attempted to get a mac version off of a certain website and it worked. Now I have it. It. I. I am so excited. I have levels 1, 2, and 3 for Latin American Spanish. I can't believe it! Now I can not only talk to real Spanish-speaking people but hone my skills and practice the tough things I've forgotten from high school on my own computer. YES. I think that will be the best way to learn. Studying and speaking at the same time.

Insectos

Insects abound at night.

Every night here it's like a reunion of bugs. It's SO sick. You kind of just have to live with it, I've realized, because parts of the house are always open. The living room area with the TV, dinner table, a couch, and some chairs doesn't even have a solid door to the outside. One wall is completely not there, save for a gate that can be shut at night. That combined with the oldness of the house and the food that is sometimes left out, the bugs just have a field day.

Mainly, the bugs consist of ants and cockroaches. Now, I'm not normally annoyed by ants, but last night, it was really sick. I turned on the light in the kitchen (which is always a scary thing, because often, you'll hear scattering noises) and I was thirsty, so I went to the sink. The first thing I see is a bunch of ants crawling in and around the sink. Ugh. But whatever, it's not too bad. I then pick up a glass that I'm thinking about cleaning and drinking from (I wasn't sure if it was mine before so I was just going to clean it to make sure). So I pick it up and look in. I see at least thirty, maybe fifty ants in there, crawling ALL over it. AGH. It freaked me out so I quickly put it down and succumbed to the calling of the straight-from-the-faucet water in the bathroom.

The same night, as I'm in the kitchen, I saw a few cockroaches. One was on this little plastic cup thing, just hanging out. I tried to reach out and pick up the plastic cup so I could bring it to the toilet to flush him. But he knew I was coming and VERY quickly scattered to another side of the cup, then off the cup, then into the shadows that cockroaches thrive on. Then I turn around and see one on a banana that they had lying out. At first I think it might be just sitting there, but I look closer and I see that he's kind of pulsating and his head is sort of buried in the banana. He was literally SUCKING it out. SICK. So I just turned off the light and went to my room.

The sickest thing about that banana-cockroach thing is that this morning, I looked at the banana again, and it had a hole in it about a centimeter in diameter. Oh man he went to town. And I looked inside and it was all hollow where the whole was. That just really grosses me out. It's like he ate the entrails.

Luckily, there have only been a few bad bug cases in my room. Most often, it's in the kitchen. Or wherever food is. So one day I had a few candies and left the wrappers out on my bedside table. That must have been what attracted them, because that was the first night I saw bugs in my room. It was later at night, when I turned the light back on, that I heard the distinctive scattering noise, paired with a flash of black running across the floor to hide in the shadows of something near the wall. Fortunately, there isn't really a great place to hide in the room. So I found the cockroach and smashed him with my shoe, followed by a satisfying toilet flush. A little later, I was trying to open the blinds to let the air in, and as I start to pull them open, a cockroach literally FALLS from the top of the blinds directly onto my bed. I try to quickly get him off, but then I lose him. OH GOD. WHERE IS HE. I do NOT want him in my bed. Fortunately, a second later, I see him fall to the ground and run under my bed. I move the bed away from the wall and at first can't see him. AGH. I guess he got away. But no, with a little closer look, I see him hiding under some wires. I try to get him but again, he runs behind some other shadowy stuff. I keep coaxing him out of the shadows until I finally get him too. Oh man, this guy had a pus pocket expel from his body as soon as I crushed him. It wasn't liquidy and didn't spill on the ground. It looked like a bubble of pus that was just connected to his body. So it was easy to clean up and bring to the toilet, fortunately.

The only other bug story in my actual room so far was last night. I had left a cup in there from which I had previously drunk some sweetened iced tea. Just that sweet film left on the inside of the cup was enough. When I picked it up later, I looked in and there were these TINY bugs crawling inside. HUNDREDS of them. I quickly brought it to the sink and washed the hell out of that cup. A person couldn't have even survived the flood that I made that cup go through. Then I drank out of it.

Lesson learned: don't EVER leave food out in my room (reminds me of the time I had Fast Break bars in my room in Bloomington and I woke up to the sound of mice eating them).

Improving My Spanish

I've been feeling kind of upset about the way things have been going with the family here. Not like we're negative with each other or anything, but I just haven't really felt like we have clicked yet. 

With two of the brothers, I have felt pretty good, and we have talked a good amount, alternating between Spanish and English usually. They're great and they really try to talk to me, it seems, which is great and has given me good practice.

The hard thing is that the mom doesn't speak ANY English. And it's great because that's what I originally wanted so I would learn more. But it's been tough because I have just felt so awkward with her because I will see her all the time but never know what to say, and even if I do, I won't know HOW to say it. I say little things to her, and she does to me, but it's always with lots of pauses and misunderstandings. And it's embarrassing not to ever know what someone is saying.

But, tonight, when I got home, I thought to myself that I really am just going to try to have a conversation with her. So I just walked up to her in the kitchen and asked "Ha estado a Arenal?" (Have you been to Arenal [the volcano that I'm going to see over spring break]?) And she said she had and talked a little bit about it. Then, since travel came up, she brought up the fact that you always have to be careful in the city here. Any city. You can't ever carry anything with you. Once, when she was in San José, someone ran up to her and pulled her necklace to steal it. She quickly grabbed the pendant so he couldn't take it but he broke the chain. Another time, the necklace was too strong to take so it sort of choked her for a second, but I guess that guy just gave up and ran away. She also told me that sometimes people will just run up to girls and literally pull their earrings out, which most often will rip the ears. Then she told me she was once held up at gunpoint in one of the grocery stores here! She had a gun put up to her head as well as her sister's, they tied their arms up and took everything. And she also told me that she knew about the guy from Indiana who I have talked to who was walking around with his laptop and passport and stuff and it was all stolen. And she told me about how her son was just randomly punched one day so hard when he was playing basketball that he has a hole in his forehead bone (you can see the skin dip in where there isn't bone.) And she told me someone put a bag with a nice camera in the storage area above them in a bus and how it was stolen. It's just nuts; JESUS. So yeah, I've gotta be careful around here for myself as well as my property. I knew this coming down here and I have always been really careful, but still, to see and hear it is actually happening is just crazy.

But overall, I just felt REALLY good that I had a real conversation with her. Yes, to be honest, there were a LOT of gestures flying around, and I had to use my dictionary a few times, and she was talking slowly, but overall, we really did converse and it was so much fun. Her personality is cool and it's the first time I've really been able to see that because I just really haven't had a way to converse.

I LOVE speaking in Spanish. I want to get better and better.

Hasta luego,

Whit