I am learning Spanish one phrase at a time. My goal is to learn a phrase per day. Lazy, no? I am not anticipating being fluent anytime soon. I'm cool with it.
So how does one pursue the Spanish language if one is jo? There are two avenues:
1) Stephanie, the Ecuadorian who lives with me, is wonderfully patient and kind and willing to teach me. Almost everyday, I will ask her to translate something into Spanish so that I can learn it and forcibly insert it into my day to day rhetoric. This technique ensures me that the phrases I am learning are ones that I would actually use on a day to day basis.
2) I am addicted to the local Spanish radio station. I listen to "Rumba! Ciento Cuatro Punto Cinco!" all the time. It is difficult to follow everything that they are saying as my vocabulary is very limited, but I love it anyway. And though the phrases I pick up from the DJs' banter and stations IDs are not nearly as applicable as those I learn from my live-in mentor, I still find plenty of oppurtunities to say them with all of the Latin bravado I can muster.
So here's what I have so far. See if you can tell which ones I learned from Steph and which I picked up from Rumba 104.5:
Mi piel está muy secca y mis labios están muy partidos.
My skin is very dry and my lips are very chapped.
Me puedes traer salsa de tomate, por favor.
Please bring me the ketchup.
Y muchos más!
And much more!
Santo Dios, es mucho dinero!
Good Lord, that's a lot of money!
Más musica, menos comerciales
More music, fewer commercials
Mucho gusto.
Pleased to meet you.
Señor Perro, para perros pequeños.
Mister Dog, for small yappy-type dogs.
Orgullo Latino!
Latin Pride!
There are so many more still to come! I am well on my way to being bilingual. Look out, world!
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5 comments:
LMAO.
Well, lemme see. I'm guessing you learned "More music, fewer commercials" from Steph. Am I right? LOL
Thanks for your comment over at my blog. I feel that I am soul sisters with anyone who loves the movie Clue so much that they have lines memorized! You rock, sista!
Very clever post. But you stumped me. I just can't guess which ones are from the radio and which are from Stephanie. Your post reminds me of a very funny story by David Sedaris, a Christmas letter in which the mother explains about her husband's Vietnamese love child, whose best English is lines from TV shows.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it!
Mommy-- thrilled to see you here! you can be sure I'll be a regular over at your place!
gem-- I love a woman who can find similarities in a DAvid Sedaris essay!
Hey,
Saw ur page-link at l'esprit de l'escalier. So dropped by:)
Nice blog:)!
I d say ur spanish is great for starters:)! I am much more lazy... I got myself a huge Spanish learning CD collection, the last time i was in US and I havent learnt a word from it. Except probably 'muchos gracias'..hhehe:))
Best Regards,
Anuja:)
Excellent! Mucho Nacho!
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