Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Telling Stories

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??)

2 comments:

  1. It would be more accurate if you told them that your dad is a cokeologist, that you lived in a house of ice...cream, and you had a parakeet growing up. Ohoh, looks like Abby the "penguin" winkwink needs to go for a walk.

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  2. A-hah! You did learn something from that map! I wonder if I still have that somewhere downstairs..........
    It sounds like your communications are going as well as can be expected. At least you don't have to act everything out. Gotta go now feed the penguins. Bye
    Love, Mom

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