Daily Hits of Happy: August 13, 2020 - 335

Dazed and Confused-glish

The good news is: Sometimes, lately, I've been dreaming in Spanish!

The bad news: It's really bad Spanish.

This is super depressing. It's not even my own actual level of bad Spanish. It's really really, really bad-beyond-bad Spanish. It's, basically, 'tourist who's never studied Spanish and just got off the plane' Spanish. It's the phase where you just trying saying everything in a bad accent and adding an 'o' on the end, hoping someone might understand you.

Example: Last night in my dream I was at the grocery store and picked up a jar of strawberry jam.

I looked at the label and it said:

Strowberrio

I actually woke myself up with that bit of bad Spanish. I sat up in bed, suddenly wide awake thinking:

'Strowberrio? Really?! Strowberrio? The most annoying part is that this is a word I've known for years and years.

Hello?!: Ice cream carts show up on the streets here regularly. There is drum after drum of home-churned, full-fat, fresh-off-the-vine, deliciousness. Obviously, I learned to say fresa almost immediately. a girl's gotta be prepared for just such emergencies.

One Step Forward - Many Steps Back

Some days I feel like I'm doing well. I find myself asking for things or making comments to locals without having to even think about it.

But then I'll be in a situation where I understand nothing, and can remember nothing.

Examples:

-The other day at McDonald's I made my order and had no idea what question the woman asked me in response. (Usually in a place like that, because you kind of know what they'll ask you can figure it out.) But she spoke so fast, and she had on a mask, and I didn't catch a single word. I asked her to please speak more slowly. (Which she really didn't do.). I still got nothing out of it. So I just ventured: Uh....Coca? I caught something about papas and Michael said he thought she wanted to know what size so I got out 'Medio?'

-We went to pick up some things a friend brought down from Texas for us in his truck. I wanted to tell his housekeeper that one of the items in the pile wasn't ours. ...and I suddenly drew a complete blank on the word for "ours": nos? nuestros?

So I copped out and said it's not "mine."

It's times like these I think: Dang! After all this time and all this study and I know zero Spanish! Ugh!!

Total Lack-of Recall

The problem is partly that I still only know a percentage of the vocabulary and grammar I need to really speak the language. But, there's a lot that I do know...but I have a problem retrieving the information in the heat of the moment.

Suddenly all the words in the entire language seem the same. None right. None wrong. Just a big old ball of words, with none that communicate what the heck I mean to say.

Still Learning

Oh well. I'm learning a bit more every day and tomorrow is a Tutoring Day. Hopefully I have better luck with the Skype technology the lessons take. Fingers crossed.

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A Funny Thing Happened...

I didn't tell Michael about my dream. I try to let him read stuff I post with everyone else, so it's not just a retread of something I already bored him with.

This afternoon, to celebrate our New-Refrigerator Owners status, Michael went to pick up a few groceries. Here's one of his purchases...

Though I already know the word for strawberry (the real one), I learned the word for "chunks" from this label. It's "Trozos.: That's a cute word. I'll have to remember that one. I'm going to be on the lookout for an opportunity to use 'chunks' at every possible moment.

Now it's for happy hour on the roof. I hope the rain holds off. I'm off to toss a trozo of lime in my gin and tonic. Hasta mañana!