Cait and I have now completed 2 days (8 hours) of our Spanish course. Woo hoo! Perhaps I should wait a full week for that kind of enthusiasm, but it really is fun, and it's nice to have some structure to our days. It's also the one thing we do apart, since we were placed at different levels and hence, different classes. To shed a little light on our level differences, Cait can actually communicate with our super, while I usually just smile and say "si" or "gracias". I am doing a little better after our 2 classes, but look forward to the 9 more weeks of class!
Today in my small class of beginners, my neighbor Dave started a conversation:
Dave: How do you say cone - cucaracha?
Teacher: Huh? I don't know that word.
Dave: You know, ice cream cone - cucaracha?
Teacher: Hmm ...
Dave: Like an ice cream cone [he air-draws one out]
Teacher: Oh!! [lightbulb on - she draws one on the board] You asked for it "en cucaracha"??
Dave: Isn't that what it is?
Teacher: Ha! Cucaracha means cockroach! You asked for ice cream in a cockroach!
Dave: No wonder the man looked at me funny.
Teacher: Next time ask for "Helado de chocolate en cucurucho." :)
Along the same lines, Caitlin's teacher taught her class a notable "falsa amiga" (i.e. a Spanish word we might think means what it sounds like in English, but it really means something entirely different):
"Embarazada" does not mean embarrassed (it means pregnant)
Note to self: Pay attention to detail.
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When I was in college I told my professor in Spanish that I was embarazada not realizing it didn't mean what I had intended. He laughed hysterically. Imagine if I really had been..how would he have excused his faux pas?
ReplyDeleteyou guys should change the default language on the blog to espanol for more street cred
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