3 New Things I Learned about Spanish...

Hola! This past Saturday, Dr. Sarah Harmon, PhD (my friend and former Spanish professor) led a Spanish Workshop for our group. The entire group was not able to attend, but those that were there, Sue, Anne, Katerina, Lauren, Vivian, and later Chris and Victorina learned a lot about the Spanish language and Ecuadorian culture.

First, we began with the alphabet and practiced how to pronounce the Spanish sounds and learned that there are 29 letters in their alphabet (vs. our 26). Spanish words are pronounced exactly as they look - no dropped consonants or tricky vowel sounds.

Second, we also learned that A LOT of English words are almost the same as their Spanish equivalents (these are called "cognates" or "cognatos"). For instance: El hotel, el restaurante, la bicicleta, el museo, el oceano, etc. There are also many words that we already know simply because we live in this part of California which is blessed by its rich immigrant communities and so many of our place names derive from Spanish. With what we learned, we practiced some conversation in the group - basic questions and responses so that we can try to converse with the people we are going to meet.

And third, we learned that we should never begin a Spanish conversation with "I'm sorry" or an excuse of any type about how we don't know the language well. As soon as we open our mouths and begin in Spanish it will become apparent immediately to our listeners that we are not Spanish speakers and they will have mercy on us and probably even try to help us out! Phrases such as "como se dice _____ fill in the English word here?" (How do you say _____?) and "Que es esto?" (What is that?) will become our stock phrases in a pinch! Other phrases that will be our friends include: "mas despacio, por favor" and "repeta, por favor" (speak slower, please) and (repeat, please).

We also learned that there are certain foods that only men should order in a restaurant - can you guess which ones?

After the workshop, we were joined by parishioners, Mildred, Adeyma and Carmen for lunch and conversation. For the next hour, we enjoyed the delicious dishes prepared by these wonderful ladies and we all tried to keep our conversation in Spanish. We talked about our summer plans, movies, La Copa Mundial (World Cup), restaurants, and places in the world we have lived or worked. We was a lot of fun!

After that, we followed up with paperwork, all the forms that we need to sign for the chaperones, behavior contracts, medical forms, etc. We talked about what to pack and how we would get to the airport the day we leave. Our next meeting will be June 20th after the 10:30 am Mass.