Spanglish

Its no big secret that learning a second language takes a lot of work.  It requires an absurd amount of dedication and an even larger capacity for humility.  My ´primary assignment´ as a Peace Corps volunteer is to co-teach English in 2 elementary schools.  Yet I do way more learning than I do teaching on any given day.  I may have been living in a Latin American country for almost 2 years, but I still make rediculous mistakes in Spanish on a daily basis.  It´s easy and idealistic to think that total language immersion will miraculously result in language fluency.  It doesn´t.  I still have to study Spanish and while I´ve improved drastically since I´ve been here, I know that I have a lot more to learn.  I´m patient with my students who are learning English and they are patient with me as I learn Spanish.  The best coping mechinism for realizing my mistakes is humor.  I try and laugh it off, and its not that hard because my mistakes are generally hilarious. The following is a list of my recent blunders with the Spanish language:

(1) A few days ago I woke up early after a late night to travel back to my community. I had gotten only a few hours of sleep, was feeling pretty groggy, and took a taxi to the bus stop.  The taxi driver was cute and we were flirting a bit.  As I get out of the car to leave he tells me that he thinks I am beautiful, and I respond with "you, too, are a very beautiful woman."

(2) I like to get my students candies as prizes for class activities.  A few weeks ago I had planned a bingo activity as a review for the big test.  I wanted to get some lollipops for prizes.  Lollipop in Costa Rican Spanish is ´popi´ I asked the store owner (my host dad) if he wouldn´t mind selling me six ´pompis´ (a coloquial word for butts)

(3) I was running some errands with a friend, we needed to get 26 party bags for a school party.  As we were in the car I was counting the cookies we had got for the party bags and realized we only had 14.  I turned to my friend and told her in a concerned voice that we would have to go back to the store because we had only picked up ´diecicuatro´cookies.  Ugh.  Then she looked at me funny and I started cracking up. The Spanish word for 14 is catorce.  I had made a mistake that kids made in Spanish 101 the first week of class.

(4) **This one isn´t mine but my best PCV friend Kelsey´s, yet its a mistake I could have easily made**  She went to the store looking for ´jugo de pera´ (pear juice) and asks the cashier if they have any ´jugo de perra´(bitch juice)

(5) **Kels forgive me, but I have to share this one, too!** Kelsey goes into the store and starts chatting it up with the cute cashier.  She wanted to get some hand towells so she batts her eyes and flirtatiously asks him if he could help her pick out some `toallas` (sanitary napkins). 


And thats just a taste of the awkwardly funny things I get to say everyday.  What can I do but laugh at myself and keep on keeping on?