Los ninos

Que tal?

Despite the frustration of understanding one out of ten words in my Spanish class, the past couple of days have been really relaxing and enjoyable. Actually, I talked to Senora Moody today and told her that I have trouble understanding in class. She told me that I should expose myself to more Spanish through the radio and television. She also said that I could ask her as many questions as I needed before and after class. Although she still has her moments, I’ll just refer to her as Senora now.

Yesterday I woke up early again to read in the park, and then I sat through four hours of embarrassment. After class we went back to the house, and Paqui was there to greet us. After lunch, I went to the API office to talk to Juan. He assured me that I’ll catch on to the language soon, and that the literature class, which I’m taking the second session, won’t be too difficult. I can read better than I can listen anyway. After talking to Juan, I met everyone down on la Playa de la Caleta, and we sat on the beach for a few hours. I can now say that I’ve done my homework on the beach before. Our friend, Claire, from class came with us, and our other classmate, Lisa, stopped by to say hi. Claire is from Texas, and Lisa is from Vienna. She and I talked (en espanol y ingles) about Vienna how wonderful it is. Later I talked to Claire, and she was helping me with my Spanish. She actually teaches Spanish to first graders in Texas. She lived in Nicaragua in eight months, so her Spanish if very good. She said that she’ll be glad to help me out whenever I need it. Then after dinner (Paqui made swordfish), Las Tres Amigas (Saira, Bethany, and myself) went to get ice cream in one of the plazas. That seems to be the routine now.

Today class was a lot better. I actually understood the last hour because I’m a syntax nerd. When I explained passive tense to my classmates for once (instead of them explaining it to me), my confidence went way up. I’m ready for tomorrow’s class now. It’s funny how that works. I also talk to Nicholas, the British guy, and we were discussing the differences between British and American English. He teaches English in Cadiz, so I was asking him about teaching abroad. He also prefers to teach high schoolers. The British accent (and the fact that he speaks six languages) was intimidating, so I dropped a few “big” words in the conversation.

When we came home, we ate lunch (I don’t really like fish egg sacks, I’ve decided). Then Paqui’s family came over, including her two grandchildren. Ana, 6, and Felix, almost 3, are siblings, and they brought their friend Christina, 5. Today I decided to speak Spanish again, and this time they laughed at me and corrected my pronunciation. I’ve been carrying a little notebook with me and writing down new words (especially at dinner…Paqui writes down the names of the dishes and the ingredients). So I got my notebook, and the three of them started to draw in it and write words in Spanish. I got the other two Amigas, and we received a lesson in Spanish. It’s funny because they correct us when we say “se-roh” for “cero” (0) because they pronounce it “the-ro.” They understand that we speak another language, but they don’t quite understand the dialectal differences. It’s very interesting. Then they started to brush our hair, and then they found the make-up… Bethany and I received a free spa treatment. I’ll post pictures as soon as I can.

The little boy is adorable. He has blue eyes too. One of the first things Ana said to be was, “Your eyes are like my brother’s.” Not too many people have blue eyes around here. Whenever he walks by, I pick him up and say “avion” (airplane)…my Spanish vocabulary is very limited—it’s probably the same size as his. Then I start to swing him around. Now I want to learn phrases like, “I’m going to tickle you.” Or “You’re flying!”

So upon playing with Ana, Felx, and Christina, I finally made friends from Cadiz, which is very hard to do. The college students here just stare at us, laugh, and mock us right in front of us when we try to speak to them or others around us. I think it’s mainly because we’re Americans. I think I’ll learn the most Spanish at home.

More Random Facts:

Paqui greets us by saying, “Hola, guapas!” (Hello, good-looking). She always feeds us way too much food, but I love it. She told me that her goal is to fatten me up. She referred to me as the “patatera” (potato woman) because I asked for more steak fries last night. I’m to the point now where I’m catching onto her jokes.

She also feeds an injured pigeon on her patio. Only one, thank goodness. She told me yesterday that it sits on the ledge and poops on her neighbor’s patio. Paqui is quite the character.

Bethany’s name changes every day. One minute Paqui calls her “Katy,” “Betani,” or “Betty.” Saira and I enjoy this mucho.

Making eye contact with guys is considered flirting. Our American friends say not to look at guys at all. Now I’ve noticed that not even women make eye contact with us. I don’t know if it’s because we’re American or just because they don’t do that here. It’s strange to walk down the street and not look at anyone because in Morgantown we say hi to complete strangers all the time. I feel rude not making eye contact here, but I guess no one is perceiving it as being rude.

Now the kids walk into our room every five seconds. They ask me to get them sweets out of the fridge. I think they’re using me.

Tonight we’re going back the Moroccan restaurant; there’s live belly dancing tonight. Que divertido!

Adios.