Let me tell you the story about the time when the Spanish 'in-laws' came to the Land of the Scots..
*Imagine Western music in the background*
Before you sit back and relax as I begin my tale, I would like to inform the reader that this post is about some of the interesting things that happened while my 'in-laws' from Spain were visiting.. They are wonderful people and I think that Spanish is a beautiful language which I yearn to know, BUT in the last week I did get a bit frustrated at times, which will probably show in my writing and I want to stress that I do not mean to reflect badly on anyone during my frustration :)
It all started in the month of May which shall henceforth be known as Mayo! The language closest to my ear would be Spanish and as I only know a wee bit more than a hand full of words it proved to be ten very interesting days.. In mostly good ways of course!
As the in-laws arrived around midnight on a Friday there was only basic chatting on the first night, where my novio (novio=boyfriend) did all the translation. On Saturday and Sunday everything went smoothly for most of the time as my novio was always there to translate! Indeed I found that I could sometimes follow the conversation if I knew what the subject was, as I could pinpoint some words and in the context could imagine what they were saying :) This was all good and well and we had a good weekend with sightseeing and the likes! I did find out though, that if they said something to me while Francisco was not around, it could have been about anything and it was very difficult to understand what they meant, unless I could catch some words.. One day papá did a hand gesture and said the word "puerta" (puerta=door) I was like aaaahhh he wants me to shut the door.. Hehe
But then Monday came... Francisco had to go to work and I was left alone with the whole language-barrier standing between me and the in-laws...
I completely understand the whole thing about there being different dialects in different regions of a country, I even know that from my own little country, but it's really frustrating when I'm trying to say the words like "from the book" and they do not understand me! I mean, is my pronunciation that bad? Okay okay, I was warned that in the South of Spain, where they are from, there are some letters that are not pronounced, but I really did not expect that it was to this extent..
When I said "perro" or "bebe" (perro=dog, bebe=drink) they were just looking at me like "what are you trying to say?" But when they say "guta" instead of "gusta" and "cansa" instead of "cansada" (gusta=like, cansada=tired) I'm just supposed to know what it means??
The whole time they were here, I heard mamá say "tambien" ALL the time! Or at least that's what I thought she said... (tambien=also) I was just scratching my head and wondering why she constantly said that word because I didn't understand it in the context.. BUT after like 9 days I realised that she wasn't saying "tambien" at all, but was indeed saying "esta bien" but pronounced it "ta bien".. Huff!
The whole time they were here, I heard mamá say "tambien" ALL the time! Or at least that's what I thought she said... (tambien=also) I was just scratching my head and wondering why she constantly said that word because I didn't understand it in the context.. BUT after like 9 days I realised that she wasn't saying "tambien" at all, but was indeed saying "esta bien" but pronounced it "ta bien".. Huff!
The other day I came home after doing some grocery shopping, I was really and I mean REALLY taking my time putting everything away in the kitchen, and mamá came into the kitchen and asked me something... I just stood there looking silly with an expression on my face which must have been funny,, I tried to figure out what she was trying to say, and I was waaaay off.. Finally I just had to say "no entiendo" (I don't understand) and she just went back to watching a movie... I felt soooo lost, but luckily 5 mins later Francisco came home and I have never been happier to see him! Awww I'm so glad you're home, you're mum was trying to tell me something and I have NO idea what.. He then asked her, and she only wanted to offer her help.. Haha! A lovely gesture by her which was completely lost on me! Oh well..
On important thing that happened on Sunday though, was that because the weather was lovely, we went to Portobello beach! Papá loves going to the beach so he insisted, and although the weather was a bit changeable he still wanted to check what the water was like.. He took off his shoes, rolled up his trousers and went running for the water.. I got cold just watching him but he said that it wasn't too bad.. Sure sure! He was just trying to be tough, cause later in the evening he was Skyping with some relatives in Spain and I heard him telling them about what he did, and then he went "Frío! Brrrr" (frío=cold) Ha! I knew it! I told him it would be cold, but he insisted hehe :p That same day we also went up to Calton Hill, so it was a long day mostly spent outside...
Testing the waters...
Tuesday came and papá started getting a cold (I wonder why), and Wednesday he spent the whole day completely plonked on the sofa.. Poor guy! :( But luckily he was all better on Thursday! However, on Thursday evening just after dinner I started feeling a bit off; heavy head and tired.. By every hour I got worse and by the end of day it was I who was plonked on the sofa.. On Friday I was completely out of it,, I could barely function.. I just sat on the sofa until after Francisco's siesta and then I went straight to bed - which I stayed in for at least 4 hours.. The way I get better is to sleep it off!
By Friday we were kinda in a routine with preparing breakfast, then me putting something on the TV for them to watch, Francisco coming home for siesta, Francisco going back to work and them going for a walk and I would either stay home and enjoy the quiet or go run some errands.. But still there were some communication issues... Mamá was preparing something for dinner and she needed garlic,, the problem was that I didn't know the Spanish word for garlic - and being ill really didn't help.. So I just looked at her with a blank expression,, I then went for a pen and paper and had her write it down, "Ajo" Aaaahhh you mean garlic?
To be honest, the whole thing about pronouncing "j" like a "h" is a bit lost on me, so all I heard her say was "ahu", which I tried to Google translate but obviously came up with nothing.. Yeah yeah I know, I should have known better,, but in the moment my mind just goes blank!!
Saturday I spent at home as well while they all went on a sightseeing trip with the Hairy Coo :) Francisco and I have been with the Hairy Coo before and although it's a looong trip, it's really good and I would recommend it to anyone coming to Edinburgh for a visit! :)
I have to admit that it was great to have most of the Saturday all to myself, cause a) I was still ill and needed one more day to get better, and b) I just wanted to totally relax in an empty flat!
Well, the flat was not completely empty, a friend came over to pick up a jumper which she had started to knit, but which I finished for her (I knitted the sleeves and put it all together) :)
Well,, after the relaxing Saturday I was feeling a lot better and was up for a Sunday filled with walking around the National Museum followed by Primark!
Mamá y papá were VERY impressed by the Museum and indeed I have to say that the hours which were spent walking around the museum were almost the funniest hours of the whole ten days!
Walking past a statue of James Watt.
Mamá: Was this man a writer or something?
Francisco: No, he improved the steam-engine.
Mamá: The time-machine?
Looking at this big old machine.
Papá: What's this?
Francisco: I think it's an old version of a machine to accelerate atoms.
Papá: What's an atom?
Seeing an Antelope.
Mamá: Is that a Unicorn?
FUNNY!
After the museum they got to go to McDonald's for the first time EVER, and then on a shopping spree at Primark..
It has all definitely been a multicultural experience.. On one of the days we had Haggis with neeps and tortilla (Spanish omelet) and another day we were watching Braveheart dubbed in Spanish, with no English subtitles,, basically the only word I understood was LIBERTAAAAAAD (FREEDOOOOOOM)!!
The breakfast has been Spanish jamón y queso almost every day (jamón=ham, queso=cheese) and I can honestly say that I looooove jamón y queso! But towards day 10 I was getting a wee bit tired of it... Hehe
Also they were able to try some Faroese cuisine - dried fish, dried whale and blubber - which they kinda liked :p
The truth is, that even if I didn't want to learn Spanish I still would, as everything has been in Spanish for 10 days!
One time I even made a sound after a big sneeze, which I am not used to making, I have no idea where that specific sound came from, but it had everyone looking at me! Francisco was like "did you say that on purpose?" I got very confused cause I just made any sounds really, and I thought "Oh shit, have I said a Spanish bad word or something??" no, luckily it wasn't that, but I had made a sound like "wow" or something like that which apparently is common to say after a big sneeze in Spain.. Okay? So I am starting to make sounds that are common in a different country, without even knowing it?? Francisco just looked at me with a big smile "that was your first Spanish interjection, you're getting integrated" Hehehe, at least I think this is a sign, that if I move to Spain or something I might indeed end up being kinda fluent in words and sounds.. Can you imagine? Me! Very pale living in Spain,,, I'd probably have to stay inside most of the day cause even with tons of sun lotion I would still get burnt! Hahaha
Indeed they were praising Spain to the skies! Francisco was even saying that he thought they were doing it so much that there had to be a reason... So we came to the conclusion that they are trying to make me want to move there,, or Francisco and me in a few years I guess.. The most popular phrase was "After being in Spain you won't want to come back to Edinburgh because it's so cold here".. That may be, but the truth is that I don't really mind the cold that much, I'm kinda used to it and I know that the only thing you have to do to get warm is put on a jumper or turn on the heating :p
So I told my dad their "plan", and he just laughed and said to just let them praise Spain, cause we're not gonna move there anyway... OH? That's something I didn't know.. So I suspect that my dad will also praise the Faroes when Francisco comes to visit, trying to persuade him to move there (he has even pointed out some houses that are for sale at the moment, one of them even being next door to his') HAHA! So that's what you think dad?!
I'm sure that Spain is lovely and I know that the Faroes are, but when the time comes we will have to make the decision on our own - we can't make everyone happy! And who knows, we might end up in Switzerland or something! Hehe
I can only imagine how tough the 10 days would have been if I didn't understand a single word of Spanish, cause at least I was able to get by with the little amount of words I knew at the beginning!
I have been writing down most of the new words I've been learning and I am quite satisfied with the amount, so I can't really complain about anything, because my vocabulary has increased by a good amount of words, which will come in handy when I'm going to Spain to visit around Easter next year!
All in all it was 10 great days, and although I need a wee break from Spanish at the moment I'm feeling a lot more motivated to learn it now! :)
