Speaking and comprehending Spanish is mentally exhausting. It really takes so much energy to formulate coherent sentences and attempt to understand everyone around you. I'm so thankful for this opportunity to become fluent, but wow is it hard! Not only is it hard to express your personality and gratitude, but its also so hard to get things done! Whether it's adding minutes to my movistar phone (which looks like it was made in the year 2000... my brothers and their friends call it my iPhone5), trying to buy books at the bookstore, or explaining directions to a taxi driver in a city I have lived in for less than two weeks... it is a process and a half to say the least. The other gringos and I have learned to laugh at how much we struggle with the language barrier on a day to day basis. Here are a few of my favorite "Lost In Translation" stories that have occurred thus far.
Lost in Translation: The Tale of 19 Gringos in Ecuador
1.) One gringa learned the hard way that telling your hostmom that you are "embarazada" does not mean that you are embarrassed... it instead means that you are in fact pregnant.
2.) A few gringas went out to the cine (movie theater) to see an American movie that would remind them of home. They were excited when they saw a movie titled, La Ultima Noche (The Last Night), because they assumed this was the new movie, New Year's Eve starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Biel, and Ashton Kutcher. Since New Year's Eve is the last night of the year, they assumed that the translation was fitting. They found themselves in a horror moving, involving a bloody woman with large breasts and the end of the world. Who would've figured?
3.) I was about to a shower and Myra told me that we had no hot water because she turned on a key in the kitchen to use the stove. I thought she was telling me to bring my house key upstairs to the kitchen, so I got dressed, rushed upstairs with my purse and handed her my key... she was very confused.
4.) Understanding Spanish when you first wake up is a struggle. My hostmom Lily told me at breakfast that I was going somewhere with my hostbrother, but I had no clue where. I figured we were going to the store or to pick something up. When she told me to wear a winter jacket, I was very confused, but I figured I'd just put one on and jump in the car. In the car, I learned that I was going to the TelefériQo- which is 4,100 meters high and entails venturing up the slope of Volcan Pinchicha in a gondola and exploring the landscape at the top. I was thrilled, but so embarrassed that I had no clue where we were going. I was also wearing heeled boots as I hiked up the steep hills at the top... whoops!
5.) Our program coordinator Amanda tells us to speak Spanish to each other when we are on the bus so we appear to be more experienced and knowledgeable. A few of us grinas were reflecting on this aspect of our days and realized how ridiculous we must sound. Sometimes we make up words and false cognates, forming our own form of Spanglish that only gringos would understand. Conjugating verbs can also be a challenge, so we'll often find ourselves exclaiming phrases such as, "Tengo un buen día!, which translates to "I have a good day!" instead of "Tenga un buen día!"meaning "Have a good day!".
6.) Those awkward moments when you nod your head, smile, and say Si! when everyone at the table is expecting you to answer an open ended question that you did not understand one word of.
7.) Not only is our Spanish a struggle, but now our English is becoming intertwined with our Spanish in perplexing and embarrasing ways. Instead of saying her son or Marys house, I find myself saying the son of Myra and the house of Mary. I asked MacKenna which one of my shirts looked "more better" the other day. My friend Mary and I often find ourselves speaking English in our attempt at a Spanish accent. I think our minds are exhausted from translating and focusing on language. Hopefully this epidemic dissipates once we get more accustomed to the influx of Spanish!
Ahaha you have to laugh at yourself sometimes! Stay tuned for more stories of Lost in Translation! :)
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