Spanglish

I don't know what it is that makes perfect strangers come up to me and try their best at speaking English. Yes, I am white. Yes, English is my first language. That doesn't necessarily mean I want to speak it with all of the native Spanish speakers in town. I can walk down the street at any time of the day and hear someone look at me and say "Hello" or "Goodbye" or my personal favorite "I love you." Seeing my face is a chance for any Guatemalan to practice the three words they know of the english language. Granted it is usually children who are yelling at me from across the street, but sometimes adults do it too. I was in a tienda today and the owner spoke to me in English. When I responded in Spanish, he asked me to speak in English. So crazy. Of course, most people usually assume I don't know a lick of Spanish so it is fun to see the look on their faces when I respond with "Buenas Noches" or "Que Tal?"

The other day, Kurt and I went to one of our schools and the kids automatically started greeting us in English. They said "Good evening."...even though it was ten o'clock in the morning. It was still cute. You can't really understand how amusing it is to hear Guatemalans speak English. I can imagine they get just as many kicks out of my Spanish pronunciation as I do when I'm trying to get them to say the "-ur" or "-er" sound. They just can't do it. It is almost physically impossible for their mouths to make those noises. Overall, Spanish is much easier than English to speak in the correct form. There are so many strange rules in the English language. I before E except after C. Blah blah. Spanish is pretty straight forward. Well other than irregular verbs...but we aren't going to get into that. I loathe those irregular verbs.

So our language has now become a game. When Kurt and I are walking down the street and a child says "How are you?" in perfect English, we respond in English and they look up at us with those big eyes and have no clue what to say. It is adorable. Another thing I have noticed is that people are slowly starting to recognize me. Being referred to as "the gringa" is now turning into "Cati". Hallelujah. It is so strange to walk past a child and hear them yell my name. We visit so many schools and there are so many kids that there is no way I will be able to keep track. But I always respond with a "Hola! Como estas?" They giggle, then I giggle and it is a great time. I think my favorite is when a small child says "Good morning English teacher." Makes me smile.

Language is still a constant battle but it is getting better. I am able to understand most things and when I don't, it is usually a technical term I am not familiar with. Being forced into a place where you have no other choice but to speak Spanish is quite an effective way to learn. Not to mention my host family corrects every sentence that comes out of my mouth. Hopefully, after two years I will have mastered a good portion of it. Vamos a ver.