A bigger update (with pictures! and maybe... video...) will follow, but for now:
1) Why do children put bowls of soup on their heads and then look to you as if to say (or maybe actually say in spanish) 'this hurts, why would you let this happen?'
2) I have made some spanish speaking mistakes, and I have received a few blank looks. A couple of examples:
- Being shown a child's drawing, or seeing a child's new earing and saying 'Es muy cara!' thinking that means 'that's very pretty!' when in fact it mean's 'that's very face!' (I was thinking of 'es muy bonita' or 'guapa' or any number of other words).
- Telling the children that 'I juice this' = 'Jugo esto', when I want to say 'I play this' ('Juego esto').
A related story:
At the school they have these cards with pictures on them, like of a cow, or a horse etc. So I take advantage of those children's minds by making a game of it - whoever names the picture (correctly) and first, wins! (in spanish, 'you win' is 'ganas!'). It's going real well, I'm learning stuff left and right, but the kids just think they're playing a game! But I do know some words, like 'cow' - 'vaca', and 'fish' - 'pescado', and I think I know more words but I'm frequently wrong. The child held up a photo of a hammer and nails. Nails is(pronounced) 'clabo', but I thought this was keys (which is actually pronounced 'clabes' in ecuador). so the child sees the nails, yells 'clabo!' and I say 'No. Tu no ganas', to the greater than normal disappointment to the child.
Is it possible to un-teach things? I think I'm doing that.
3) The Bulls are the bomb and Derrick Rose is a hero.
4) If I'm any representative of Cubs' fans, we're already thinking about the 2012 season. The chance of the Cubs' winning the next three World Series' AND Soriano topping Barry Bond's walk record of 212 is HIGHER than Pena's batting average. I wish I had been a fly on the wall when Hendry said, out loud, 'This signing is a great idea'.
5) Thanks for reading! Hope you're well!
1) Why do children put bowls of soup on their heads and then look to you as if to say (or maybe actually say in spanish) 'this hurts, why would you let this happen?'
2) I have made some spanish speaking mistakes, and I have received a few blank looks. A couple of examples:
- Being shown a child's drawing, or seeing a child's new earing and saying 'Es muy cara!' thinking that means 'that's very pretty!' when in fact it mean's 'that's very face!' (I was thinking of 'es muy bonita' or 'guapa' or any number of other words).
- Telling the children that 'I juice this' = 'Jugo esto', when I want to say 'I play this' ('Juego esto').
A related story:
At the school they have these cards with pictures on them, like of a cow, or a horse etc. So I take advantage of those children's minds by making a game of it - whoever names the picture (correctly) and first, wins! (in spanish, 'you win' is 'ganas!'). It's going real well, I'm learning stuff left and right, but the kids just think they're playing a game! But I do know some words, like 'cow' - 'vaca', and 'fish' - 'pescado', and I think I know more words but I'm frequently wrong. The child held up a photo of a hammer and nails. Nails is(pronounced) 'clabo', but I thought this was keys (which is actually pronounced 'clabes' in ecuador). so the child sees the nails, yells 'clabo!' and I say 'No. Tu no ganas', to the greater than normal disappointment to the child.
Is it possible to un-teach things? I think I'm doing that.
3) The Bulls are the bomb and Derrick Rose is a hero.
4) If I'm any representative of Cubs' fans, we're already thinking about the 2012 season. The chance of the Cubs' winning the next three World Series' AND Soriano topping Barry Bond's walk record of 212 is HIGHER than Pena's batting average. I wish I had been a fly on the wall when Hendry said, out loud, 'This signing is a great idea'.
5) Thanks for reading! Hope you're well!
Still waiting for photos but still tremendously enjoying your lovely descriptions. I can just imagine you with the children! I'm sure the fun they have at hearing your mistakes more than makes up for the occasional disappointment when you wrongly tell them they "no ganas"!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to more updates...can comment on the Bulls or Cubs.
All well here. Just spent day cycling for our Windsor Castle to Cardiff Castle fundraiser challenge. Did 37miles in the rather steep hills of the Vale!
Love you!