So, story telling is fun, right? Normally you kind of have to set everything up right to have a good punchline or ending or whatever, but the story still usually flows.
In Spanish, this apparently causing me some trouble. I want to make sure all the pieces are there before I get to the ending so it all makes sense, but maybe I build up to it a tad too slowly...? Por ejemplo, I was at a pub crawl a few nights ago and met a couple Brazilian guys. We did the whole what's your name?/where are you from?/what are you doing here?/how long are you staying here? shabang. When they said they were from Rio de Janiero, I said, "Ooooo the capital.... WAIT!!! NO!!! Brasilia! Brasilia is the capital!" And they were impressed. They said no one ever knows Brasilia is the capital of Brazil and asked where I learned it.
Well...
Here's what could have happened:
Me: "So, the shower. Showers have curtains. When I was little my mom bought a shower curtain that was the map of the world. And when I took showers, I looked at the map."
Brazilians: "Neat!"
What actually happened:
Me: "So, the shower."
Brazilians: "Hahaha! Why are you talking about the shower?"
Me: "Hold on, just let me tell you! So, the shower-"
Brazilians: "Tehehehe." *pantomiming taking a shower*
Me: "Yeah, so showers have curtains."
Brazilians: "Yeah, showers have curtains. But why are you talking about the shower?? Hahaha."
Me: "Just wait, let me tell you! When I was little my mom bought a shower curtain that was the map of the world."
Brazilians: "Whhaaatt?!?!? Hahahaha Shower curtains don't have maps!"
Me: "Well my mom bought one. So when I took showers, I looked at the map!"
Brazilians: "Hahaha no way!"
Me and Brazilians: *pantomiming taking a shower and studying a map*
(And then we cheersed to Patty for furthering my education of global geography. ¡Salud!)
Other times, it seems like whoever I'm talking too is trying to guess what I'm trying to say instead of just listening. Yes, perhaps I paused, but maybe it was a comma. Maybe I just needed an extra second to look up the world in my brain's dictionary. Gosh!
Otro ejemplo (this one may be TMI for los chicos). A valid question moving into a new apartment that isn't exactly the newest place is if the plumbing is legit. So, I wanted to ask if you could flush certain feminine products down the toilet. I asked the only girl who lived here last year, who happens to be Spanish.
Again, the conversation could have been simple:
Me: "I have kind of a personal question. Do you use these? *Holds up tampon*
La española: "Yes."
Me: "Can I put them in the toilet or do I have to throw them in the trash?"
La española: "You have to throw them in the trash because the pipes are old."
Instead:
Me: "I have kind of a personal question. Do you use these? *Holds up tampon*
La española: "Yes, but mine are green."
Me: "Oh. Okay..."
La española: "Is there a wrapper on the floor in the bathroom?"
Me: "What?"
La española: "Did I leave a green tampon wrapper on the floor?"
Me: "No... umm... okay, come here." *Drags her to the bathroom, thinking perhaps the visual aid of a toilet would help*
Me: "Can I put them in the toilet or do I have to throw them in the trash?"
La española: "You have to throw them in the trash because the pipes are old."
Ahhh la vida. Good thing I'm planning some intercambios so I can practice my Spanish!!! And Spanish story-telling!!! (Although I did successfully convince some locals I was from Antarctica... because my parents are scientists... and I live in a house of ice and have lots of penguins... So my Spanish can't be all that bad, right??)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
The Crosswalks are Alive with the Sound of Birdies
So, fun fact. In Madrid (perhaps in all of Spain?), when you are allowed to cross the street at a crosswalk - like when the man lights up green - it sounds like birds are chirping!
I just wanted to share that with you. Anywho, I´m in Madrid, yo! I was super dee duper tired after my day of delayed flights which involved lots of running through airports, crying, waiting, praying, asking for moral support from innocent bystanders, and ultimately ended with literally running on the plane to Madrid. I was legit the last one on. But just my luck, I couldn´t sleep (and the Filipina women next to me didn´t seem to even want to sleep... and they were apparently talking about a lot of funny things). So, I got to Madrid around 10ish Monday morning (4am Michigan time - super!) and I met up with another girl to take a bus into the city. It was actually a pretty easy trip, besides for my suitcase being a kajillion pounds and the final metro stop stop didn´t have an escalator. My hostel was a half-block from the metro station, and I was soooo ready to sleep in a nice wam comfy bed, but my room wasn´t ready yet. All the couches in the common room were being used, so I did what any good girl does and slept at a kitchen table. I slept a little more in my actual bed and then when out to have my first beer and tapas in Madrid! Wooooo!
The next two days I completely devoted to finding a piso (apartment), and that´s when I realized the crosswalks are cute and that they chirp to tell you to cross. The first time I heard it, I looked up expecting a flock of small colorful birds to descend upon my head, but alas, no birds.
The piso search was exhausting - I was using several different websites to find something - and after calling and emailing 30ish and visiting five (two were extremely dirty, one included an extremely pregnant lady, one was being offered to a good twenty-some people, and one was cute and pink), I decided to call it quits and signed a contract for 9 months! Eek! I´ll be living with a Spanish girl, an Italian girl, and another girl from the U.S., but I haven´t actually met them yet. But I honestly was about to poke my eyeballs out looking for a piso. So I´m happy with my decision. It´s in the neighborhood of Madrid called Salamanca and it´s near a big park called El Retiro, so I´m pretty pumped about it. I wasn´t supposed to move in until Oct. 1, but my landlady Maria Luisa says I can come Sunday and she´ll set up a bed for me. Yay!
Let´s see. Ooo! I´m staying at a hostel here and I´ve met quite a few people who are doing my program, but I´ve also met a lot of people who are just traveling through! People from England, Ireland, Portgual, Argentina, Chi-chi-chi-le-le-le!, Australia, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada!!! TWO Canadians!! The English ones said I have a good accent (I was practicing, of course). AND they even said that they would have guessed I was English if they hadn´t heard me talking with my American accent!!! BAAHHHAHAHA! I´ve also learned lots of Irish and Australian terms, many of which I suppose I shouldn´t write. Especially the Irish ones. Sheesh, they can bloody tear someone apart!
In celebration of finding a piso, I went out last night for a few soda pops with some kids from the hostel (this was after a kid from the Netherlands made us 8 different tapas!! Soooo good!!). Times flies when you´re having fun I suppose, because suddenly all the stores were closed, so we went to la Puerta del Sol, a plaza near our hostel. And there you can just buy more soda pop from men walking around with plastic bags full of cold soda pop! Shweet!!! Naturally we were attracted by a group of people with a guitar and so we joined their band of brothers. More Irish people and also some Americans and Scottish people. And Spaniards. And a Mexican guy named Edwin and his Cuban friend. Much fun was had and we made it back to the hostel around 5.... so I think I´m officially on a Spanish schedule. Woo!!
My goals for the next week before I start teaching is to open a bank account (halfway done), get a metro pass, and visit my schools. Like, totally so doable. Like, yeah.
One more thing I encontered today - sometimes instead of birds, the crosswalks sound like little toy guns!!! *pew! pew! pew! pew! pew!*. Ahh, sound effects make the world a better place. God bless the Spaniards!
I just wanted to share that with you. Anywho, I´m in Madrid, yo! I was super dee duper tired after my day of delayed flights which involved lots of running through airports, crying, waiting, praying, asking for moral support from innocent bystanders, and ultimately ended with literally running on the plane to Madrid. I was legit the last one on. But just my luck, I couldn´t sleep (and the Filipina women next to me didn´t seem to even want to sleep... and they were apparently talking about a lot of funny things). So, I got to Madrid around 10ish Monday morning (4am Michigan time - super!) and I met up with another girl to take a bus into the city. It was actually a pretty easy trip, besides for my suitcase being a kajillion pounds and the final metro stop stop didn´t have an escalator. My hostel was a half-block from the metro station, and I was soooo ready to sleep in a nice wam comfy bed, but my room wasn´t ready yet. All the couches in the common room were being used, so I did what any good girl does and slept at a kitchen table. I slept a little more in my actual bed and then when out to have my first beer and tapas in Madrid! Wooooo!
The next two days I completely devoted to finding a piso (apartment), and that´s when I realized the crosswalks are cute and that they chirp to tell you to cross. The first time I heard it, I looked up expecting a flock of small colorful birds to descend upon my head, but alas, no birds.
The piso search was exhausting - I was using several different websites to find something - and after calling and emailing 30ish and visiting five (two were extremely dirty, one included an extremely pregnant lady, one was being offered to a good twenty-some people, and one was cute and pink), I decided to call it quits and signed a contract for 9 months! Eek! I´ll be living with a Spanish girl, an Italian girl, and another girl from the U.S., but I haven´t actually met them yet. But I honestly was about to poke my eyeballs out looking for a piso. So I´m happy with my decision. It´s in the neighborhood of Madrid called Salamanca and it´s near a big park called El Retiro, so I´m pretty pumped about it. I wasn´t supposed to move in until Oct. 1, but my landlady Maria Luisa says I can come Sunday and she´ll set up a bed for me. Yay!
Let´s see. Ooo! I´m staying at a hostel here and I´ve met quite a few people who are doing my program, but I´ve also met a lot of people who are just traveling through! People from England, Ireland, Portgual, Argentina, Chi-chi-chi-le-le-le!, Australia, Denmark, Austria, the Netherlands, and Canada!!! TWO Canadians!! The English ones said I have a good accent (I was practicing, of course). AND they even said that they would have guessed I was English if they hadn´t heard me talking with my American accent!!! BAAHHHAHAHA! I´ve also learned lots of Irish and Australian terms, many of which I suppose I shouldn´t write. Especially the Irish ones. Sheesh, they can bloody tear someone apart!
In celebration of finding a piso, I went out last night for a few soda pops with some kids from the hostel (this was after a kid from the Netherlands made us 8 different tapas!! Soooo good!!). Times flies when you´re having fun I suppose, because suddenly all the stores were closed, so we went to la Puerta del Sol, a plaza near our hostel. And there you can just buy more soda pop from men walking around with plastic bags full of cold soda pop! Shweet!!! Naturally we were attracted by a group of people with a guitar and so we joined their band of brothers. More Irish people and also some Americans and Scottish people. And Spaniards. And a Mexican guy named Edwin and his Cuban friend. Much fun was had and we made it back to the hostel around 5.... so I think I´m officially on a Spanish schedule. Woo!!
My goals for the next week before I start teaching is to open a bank account (halfway done), get a metro pass, and visit my schools. Like, totally so doable. Like, yeah.
One more thing I encontered today - sometimes instead of birds, the crosswalks sound like little toy guns!!! *pew! pew! pew! pew! pew!*. Ahh, sound effects make the world a better place. God bless the Spaniards!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Ah'os
Back to school. Back to school, to prove to Dad that I'm not a fool.
I got my suitcase packed up, my shoes tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight.
Ohhhh, back to school. Back to school. Back to school.
Well, here goes nothing.
My flight leaves in 5ish hours from Grand Rapids! Wooo!!! I'm traveling from GR to Chicago to Newark, and then off to Madrid, finally landing at 10:05am tomorrow. Yay!!
Ah'os amigos!
 |
| mom: "Oh shoooot!! The frosting melted! It used to say 'Adios'. Now it says...'Ah'os'." |
My flight leaves in 5ish hours from Grand Rapids! Wooo!!! I'm traveling from GR to Chicago to Newark, and then off to Madrid, finally landing at 10:05am tomorrow. Yay!!
Ah'os amigos!
Friday, September 2, 2011
The First Goodbyes
Okay, so some people have calmed me down about the Madrid metro (THANK YOU GUYS!!) and they said it's not as hard as it looks. So I'm putting my trust in them!!
In other news, since I quit my teaching job kind of later in the summer, I've been at school helping the new teacher get situated. A couple days ago, I saw some of last year's 7th graders and they just kept saying how much they were going to miss me! And then the teachers had a good-bye meeting for me and they said seriously some of the nicest things anyone has ever told me. I FEEL SO LOVED!!! I mean, the support of my family and friends means the world to me, but to have colleagues saying that they're proud of you for what you're doing - oh my goodness!
So the countdown is at 17 days! Eek! I just can't wait to get there!!
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