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You Say Choclo, I Say Jojoto

The language barrier doesn't stop at different languages. You can speak the same language and still not have any idea what the person just said. You know that whole "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" saying? Well, that's a familiar feeling when you're speaking the same language with somebody from a different country. I believe that is one of the hardest things to grasp about a language: the local influence.

My fiance was born and raised in Ecuador and I was born and raised in Venezuela. Although we have both lived in the USA for more than a decade we mostly speak Spanish among ourselves. I feel very comfortable with the language and dread the thought of loosing my intimacy with it. But it can be tricky to communicate in the same language with a native from a different country. And let me tell you, I have had some embarrassing moments... laughable, but embarrassing.

There are those little words that mean something to you and have a completely different meaning to somebody else... you know those words... the "do you have a fag?" or the "get the suitcase from the boot" words. My fiance and I run into those little incidents frequently. If he tells me ahorita I know he means later... but when I tell him ahorita he knows I mean right now! Or maybe is the tone of voice combined with that look that translates it for him. Either way, we always find a way to communicate and celebrate our bilingual world!

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Charades

Have you ever put two people that speak different languages in a room? It's bound to be loud, frustrating and above all, fun! I love how my friends have helped me cope with my ESL moments. We all just sit there after a second or two of silence and then laugh.

My early conversations were an ongoing game of Charades. I'd be in the middle of a sentence and then... oooh I know that word... it starts with... and then I'd just venture into describing it: it's that little worm that carries its house on top. My friends would all be looking at me like a puppy right before getting a treat... fingers snapping... oh oh... a snail! Yessss, a snail!!! And then the conversation would go on as if nothing ever happened.

That's my game of Charades!

Image by Ali Spagnola

Lost in Translation... and then found again

Throughout the years I have had the opportunity to translate various documents from Spanish to English and vice versa. The range is wide: college applications, resumes, technical documents, letters, songs, etc. It evolved naturally. Most people that know me are aware of my bilingual skills, so naturally they come to me with their translation needs. That's how it started: "hey, could you help me with this paragraph over here? I'm trying to write to a company about a job position."

In the midst of going between English and Spanish I have learned so much about both languages and cultures. There is often that enlightenment moment of "aha! I just found the perfect translation for that!" It is amazing how much you can learn while helping others communicate. At first I was lost in English. It just sounded like one long sentence to me. "What do I do about rolling my Rs?" I used to think. "My tongue doesn't know how to lightly caress that letter." "Did you say run-on sentence? But that's the beauty of Spanish. You can write and write and just let it flow!" And then little by little I found myself, both in English and in Spanish. I understood the root of each language. I understood how to be passionate, in very different ways, as I expressed my thoughts and ideas.

And that is how I found myself again. Translating: in my head, in writing, on the phone, as I sang, interpreting.