A day in the life of me, today.
-Wake up at 11am. Feel too lazy to get up. Set alarm for 11:30.
-Wake back up at 11:29, shut off alarm before it goes off. Turn on computer.
-Brush teeth, get dressed, check weather online.
-Eat breakfast, consisting of a nearly-brown banana spread with Nutella and oatmeal and brown sugar for the first time in at least 2 months(YES, I finally found granular brown sugar and not cubes!)
-Read email and fiddle on computer until 1pm
-Walk to school. Sweat more than humanly possible while wearing only a long sleeve shirt in 58 degree F weather.
-Get to UPV (Universidad del Pais Vasco) 20 minutes early.
-Chat with Cecilia about where to buy Rollerblades. Get new map since old one is nearly unreadable.
-Go to bathroom and finally remove backpack. Observe enormous and embarrassing sweat stain on upper back. Find salvation in being able to cover it with my long hair.
-Go to Grammar class, listen to unconventional lecture on Spanish Civil War. Get RyanAir receipts to get refund on unnecessary fees from Barcelona trip from Natalia.
-Listen to Cecilia get frustrated with the fact that RyanAir overcharged us for what she believes to be no reason at all.
-Ask Cecilia if previous students have gone to DisneyLand Paris before. It's a negative.
-Run into Tiffany, Jill, and Kelly in bathroom, discuss Spring Break plans. Conclude that I still have zero plans for an entire 2 week period, and discover that no one will be around San Sebastion.
-Walk partway home, stop to eat some packed Nutella/Peanut Butter covered crackers and apple juice in park with fountain while sitting near a Spaniard Charles Manson lookalike who asks me if I have rolling papers, then stares at me while I do homework for 45 minutes.
-Walk through Queen's summer home and gardens on the way home, passing by a group of students doing a clothing photo shoot. Realize that they probably aren't students.
-Get rejected by an ATM that tells me I have gone over my withdrawl limit. Get rejected again. And again. And just once more for luck, again.
-Get accepted by different ATM, but only for withdrawing 1/3 of original intended amount. Stuff excess cash in shirt for extra safety.
-Walk to Gros to find second hand shop. Realize directions to shop either fell out of back pocket or were stolen by someone who thought it was bank related by my world ATM tour.
-Find second hand store. Ask man if he has "patillas." Get corrected by man, ask for "patines." Realize that I asked the man for sideburns.
-Purchase used rollerblades for 29 euros. Put on rollerblades and ride home. Nearly fall over on bumpy "blind-person notifier" concrete by stoplights. Along way, realize why not many people rollerblade on the tiled pedestrian walkways: it feels like a minor epileptic seizure without shock absorption.
-Roll along smooth bike paths. Realize I won't have to chip my teeth after all. But I will have to sweat profusely.
-Get to apartment in 1/839475 the amount of time that it would take to walk.
-Get to apartment, tell host parents I bought sideburns (patillas). No, shoes with knees (zapatos con rodillas). No, skates.
-Take much-needed shower.
-Rock out to some Lily Allen and KC and the Sunshine Band while writing a blog entry...
Showing posts with label Lost in translation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost in translation. Show all posts
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Mistranslation?
I just love Cecilia, who works for the USAC office here. She is probably only in her late 20's, and she is just the cutest thing! She is a Spaniard, so when she speaks English (which is very fluently) she has an accent and sometimes words/phrases things strangely. Sometimes she can't find the correct word in English and will repeat the sentence over and over up until the point where the word is missing, until you help her out.
I think I find her so entertaining b/c I know this is probably how we USAC students come off to other Spaniards: trying to find the right word, ordering the phrases differently, not conjugating stuff, etc etc.
She is so nice and her personality is so meek but at the same time very eager to help you and it is just really fun to go talk to her about the simplest of things.
Occasionally the USAC office sends out emails to inform us about activities coming up, weather occurences, etc, etc.
There are a few people who write these things in the office, because there is Patricia, Tito, and Cecilia as well as about 2 or 3 other women who work in the office. Patricia, Tito and Cecilia are the ones we usually chat with, the others are just the red shirts.
You usually can tell when Cecilia writes these emails because of the use of "interesting" and "curious" in the completely wrong contexts. One time Katie went to the office to ask her about a local gym, and she said it was "curious" and the price was "interesting." We were like, "Umm, so...expensive?" And she just nodded her head with a serious face, then began shaking it to say no, then said "no, it is to say...no expensive." LOVES IT.
Some people haven't had enough "curious" encounters with Cecilia to understand what her exact usage of this word means (I don't really either, I guess), so, like Cassi did today, they say "huh?" and cock their head to the side.
Anyway, here is an email with what I am talking about...
Hello everyone!
On Saturday, March 21st the Club Vasco de Camping has organized a curious, different and entertaining hike.
They will meet at 9:30 a.m. and go to Polipaso in “Monte Igeldo” to plant trees!
If you’re interested in helping them, please, stop by the Club Vasco de Camping to sign up and get more information.
Take pictures if you go and send them to us. “A tree is forever”: it will be there when you return to San Sebastián in a year, in ten…
Well, this has been interesting. I will post something curious soon!
I think I find her so entertaining b/c I know this is probably how we USAC students come off to other Spaniards: trying to find the right word, ordering the phrases differently, not conjugating stuff, etc etc.
She is so nice and her personality is so meek but at the same time very eager to help you and it is just really fun to go talk to her about the simplest of things.
Occasionally the USAC office sends out emails to inform us about activities coming up, weather occurences, etc, etc.
There are a few people who write these things in the office, because there is Patricia, Tito, and Cecilia as well as about 2 or 3 other women who work in the office. Patricia, Tito and Cecilia are the ones we usually chat with, the others are just the red shirts.
You usually can tell when Cecilia writes these emails because of the use of "interesting" and "curious" in the completely wrong contexts. One time Katie went to the office to ask her about a local gym, and she said it was "curious" and the price was "interesting." We were like, "Umm, so...expensive?" And she just nodded her head with a serious face, then began shaking it to say no, then said "no, it is to say...no expensive." LOVES IT.
Some people haven't had enough "curious" encounters with Cecilia to understand what her exact usage of this word means (I don't really either, I guess), so, like Cassi did today, they say "huh?" and cock their head to the side.
Anyway, here is an email with what I am talking about...
Hello everyone!
On Saturday, March 21st the Club Vasco de Camping has organized a curious, different and entertaining hike.
They will meet at 9:30 a.m. and go to Polipaso in “Monte Igeldo” to plant trees!
If you’re interested in helping them, please, stop by the Club Vasco de Camping to sign up and get more information.
Take pictures if you go and send them to us. “A tree is forever”: it will be there when you return to San Sebastián in a year, in ten…
Well, this has been interesting. I will post something curious soon!
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Lost in Translation pt 1
I knew this was bound to happen during my stay here...
I came home from hanging out at a friends place around 11pm. The door was closed to Andrea's room and the light looked like it was off. I went to my room and was on my computer for about an hour, then I went into the hallway to walk towards the bathroom. I then noticed Andrea's light was on and she was on her computer. I was confused, because I thought she was sleeping, but now she was clearly awake. I went into the room and asked her if she was sleeping before. She just stared at me, confused.
Then I realized that I asked "Were you sleeping?" IN ENGLISH.
She knows an itty bit of English, I believe (she had to read the entire book A Christmas Carol for school), and she waited for a moment to process it, and then replied "Estoy dibujando" (I am drawing).
I responded in Spanish, telling her that I only just realized that I spoke in English, and I wasn't even thinking.
I don't know how to describe that moment, only that it felt weird.
I came home from hanging out at a friends place around 11pm. The door was closed to Andrea's room and the light looked like it was off. I went to my room and was on my computer for about an hour, then I went into the hallway to walk towards the bathroom. I then noticed Andrea's light was on and she was on her computer. I was confused, because I thought she was sleeping, but now she was clearly awake. I went into the room and asked her if she was sleeping before. She just stared at me, confused.
Then I realized that I asked "Were you sleeping?" IN ENGLISH.
She knows an itty bit of English, I believe (she had to read the entire book A Christmas Carol for school), and she waited for a moment to process it, and then replied "Estoy dibujando" (I am drawing).
I responded in Spanish, telling her that I only just realized that I spoke in English, and I wasn't even thinking.
I don't know how to describe that moment, only that it felt weird.
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