Okay, so a short time ago I posted a little thing in Euskara, or Basque. Now I have time to translate.
The assignment was to write a jounral of monday and tuesday, as well as a future journal of what we were doing that weekend. I will translate line by line.
Astelehena= Monday
Gaur goizean ni jaiki naiz eta ni jantzi naiz. =This morning I woke up and got dressed.
Nik sukaldeon kafesnea edan dut.= In the kitchen, I had some coffee with milk.
Ni klasera joan naiz eta nik klasean aditzak ikasi ditut. =I then went to class, where we learned new verbs.
Ni etxera joan naiz eta nik pelikula ikusi dut. =I went home and watched a movie.
Nik gurasoak deitu ditut. = I called my parents at home.
Nik nire argazkik organizatu ditut. =I organized my photo album.
Guk sendi baterakin afaldu dugu. = As a family, we ate dinner together.
Nik ataza egin dut.=I did my homework.
Ni nekatu naiz eta nik lo egin dut. = I became tired and then went to sleep.
Asteartea= tuesday
Gaur goizean ni jaiki naiz. = This morning I woke up.
Ni dutxatu naiz eta ni jantzi naiz. = I took a shower and I got dressed.
Nik olo prestatu dut eta nik gosaldu dut. = I made oatmeal and ate breakfast.
Nik posta elektronikoa irakurri dut. = I checked my email
Ni klasera autobusean igo naiz. = I went to school on the bus
Nik aldizkaria irakurri dut. = I read a maagazine.
Nik klasean olerkia irakurri dut eta nik klasean kanta entzun dut. = We read poems in class and we listened to a song.
Nik balzkaldu dut eta nik patata frijituak jan ditut. = I ate lunch and had some french fries.
Ni parte zaharrara joan naiz eta nik ikurriña erosi dut.= I went to Parte Vieja and I bought an ikurriña (basque flag).
Ni etxera joan naiz eta nik klaseak matrikulatu ditut. = I went home and signed up for classes.
Nik ataza egin dut.= I did my homework.
Guk sendi baterakin afaldu dugu. = My family and I together ate dinner.
Nik lo egin dut. = I went to bed.
Asteburua= Weekend
Gu Burgosera joango gara. = We're going to Burgos.
Ostiral goizean gu aterako gara eta gu autobusera igoko gare.= Friday morning we leave and we get on a bus to go to Burgos.
Guk Katedral ikusiko dugu eta guk arkeologia-aztarnategia ikusiko dugu, ere bai.= We will see a Cathedral and an archeological digs site, too.
Gu bidean ibiliko gara.= Together we'll go on a hike.
Igandean guk “Skins” ikusiko dugu eta nik gailetak prestatuko ditut.= My friends and I are going to watch the show "SKINS" and make cookies.
See, not so hard to understand, now was it?
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Try THIS, all you non-Euskaldunak!
Here is some homework I had for my basque class last week. We had to write a journal of what we did on Monday and Tuesday, then what we planned to do on the weekend.
Here it is:
Astelehena
Gaur goizean ni jaiki naiz eta ni jantzi naiz. Nik sukaldeon kafesnea edan dut. Ni klasera joan naiz eta nik klasean aditzak ikasi ditut. Ni etxera joan naiz eta nik pelikula ikusi dut. Nik gurasoak deitu ditut. Nik nire argazkik organizatu ditut. Guk sendi baterakin afaldu dugu. Nik ataza egin dut. Ni nekatu naiz eta nik lo egin dut.
Asteartea
Gaur goizean ni jaiki naiz. Ni dutxatu naiz eta ni jantzi naiz. Nik olo prestatu dut eta nik gosaldu dut. Nik posta elektronikoa irakurri dut. Ni klasera autobusean igo naiz. Nik aldizkaria irakurri dut. Nik klasean olerkia irakurri dut eta nik klasean kanta entzun dut. Nik balzkaldu dut eta nik patata frijituak jan ditut. Ni parte zaharrara joan naiz eta nik ikurriña erosi dut. Ni etxera joan naiz eta nik klaseak matrikulatu ditut. Nik ataza egin dut. Guk isendi baterakin afaldu dugu. Nik lo egin dut.
Asteburua
Gu Burgosera joango gara. Ostiral goizean gu aterako gara eta gu autobusera igoko gare. Guk Katedral ikusiko dugu eta guk arkeologia-aztarnategia ikusiko dugu, ere bai. Gu bidean ibiliko gara. Igandean guk “Skins” ikusiko dugu eta nik gailetak prestatuko ditut.
Oh, wait, you don't speak basque, do you? I shall translate next time. At least you know I'm learning something!
Here it is:
Astelehena
Gaur goizean ni jaiki naiz eta ni jantzi naiz. Nik sukaldeon kafesnea edan dut. Ni klasera joan naiz eta nik klasean aditzak ikasi ditut. Ni etxera joan naiz eta nik pelikula ikusi dut. Nik gurasoak deitu ditut. Nik nire argazkik organizatu ditut. Guk sendi baterakin afaldu dugu. Nik ataza egin dut. Ni nekatu naiz eta nik lo egin dut.
Asteartea
Gaur goizean ni jaiki naiz. Ni dutxatu naiz eta ni jantzi naiz. Nik olo prestatu dut eta nik gosaldu dut. Nik posta elektronikoa irakurri dut. Ni klasera autobusean igo naiz. Nik aldizkaria irakurri dut. Nik klasean olerkia irakurri dut eta nik klasean kanta entzun dut. Nik balzkaldu dut eta nik patata frijituak jan ditut. Ni parte zaharrara joan naiz eta nik ikurriña erosi dut. Ni etxera joan naiz eta nik klaseak matrikulatu ditut. Nik ataza egin dut. Guk isendi baterakin afaldu dugu. Nik lo egin dut.
Asteburua
Gu Burgosera joango gara. Ostiral goizean gu aterako gara eta gu autobusera igoko gare. Guk Katedral ikusiko dugu eta guk arkeologia-aztarnategia ikusiko dugu, ere bai. Gu bidean ibiliko gara. Igandean guk “Skins” ikusiko dugu eta nik gailetak prestatuko ditut.
Oh, wait, you don't speak basque, do you? I shall translate next time. At least you know I'm learning something!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Toki Alai
Donºt to mind the odd characters...I am having issues with this portuguese keyboard....so bear with me.
also, SS is code for San Sebastian from now on.
So for a volunteer project for USAC, I went with three other students, Michelle, Diamond and Jason to a high school in SS´s neighboring Irun, where we taught English. It was fun to prepare a lesson on literally whatever we wanted. We were split into twos to do the teaching, and I was paired with Jason. We decided to teach a class about music, in English.
This was all planned for Friday morning (since i donºt have class on fridays). Jason was upset because the previous week when he did this activity, the other three usac students were 45 minutes late to meet him at the SS train station and they were therefore 15 or 20 minutes late to the teaching thing, which was just embarrassing. To fix this, he wanted to meet up at the SS station at 6.45am to get on the 7 or 7.15 train, which takes about 30 mins, then take a taxi to the school, as planned, since the taxi takes about 10 mins. That way weºd have plenty of time to settle in and get organized, as well as have a cushion in case there were issues.
Well, i wake up at 6.20 and eat and such and strap on my rollerblades to go to the station. I get there at about 6.50 and only diamond is there...michelle is 4 mins away via bus, and jason is supposedly going to be there 15 minutes from then.
When we all arrived, we hopped on the train and went to irun. Mind you, it is pitch black this early in the morning. We got to Irun just as cafes were opening and grabbed a croissant as we walked in a general direction where we thouht the taxi stand was located. We wandered until we found one, then of course there werenºt taxis there. We called the number on the sign, then waited, then some man was like ´need a taxi, come this way!´´ then we walked a block or two then saw our taxi pass us so we ran back to catch up with it. We hopped in and got to the school just in time.
We then split up and were led to the classrooms. The first class was pretty rowdy, but once they settled in, we began.
We began with an activity where Jason and I write 4 items about us on the board, then the class has to ask questions about them to figure out what they were.
For example, I wrote: Eric, August, Kate Nash, and Anna Levon.
The class then would ask ´´ís anna levon the name of your mother´´ or ´´ís kate nash your best friend´´ until they got it right.
Then, they had homework before we arrived to come up with a list of questions to ask us. It was fun to answer them, and many were repetitive. Some questions included, ´´what do you think of basque food´´ or ´´how long are you in spain´´ and of course, being from the USA, ´´have you met any famous people?´´ of course, when I said i met John Goodman at the LAX airport, they had no idea who that was. Nor did they know Shia LeBouf until I was like, ´´hmm, Transformers?´´Then they all nodded in acknowlegement, then oohed and ahhed.
We then moved onto our activity. We first had them list as many typed of music they could think of, like Rock, pop, flamenco, reggae, rap, country, etc.
Then we had them think of specific artists. Then, they each had to come up with a sentence to describe the sound of one of the artists they listed. We gave them a bunch of examples on the worksheet, and by far my favorite was ´´I donºt like Pinkºs music because it sounds like crying babies!´´
Then, the best part was when we gave them a list of adjectives to describe music, then we played a few songs on Jasonºs iPod. Radiohead, for example, was not well recieved by the first class who thought it was loud, repetive and annoying. The second class, however, thought it was catchy and cool.
Then we moved on to the next class, where we did the same thing and got some different responses. We called on one kid who was shy and asked him a question (of course, in english) and he stared and was like ´´mmm...no entiendo.´´ The kids in the room laughed and were like ´´Heºs...how do you say...short?´´ Then Jason was like ´´óhh, you mean SLOW.´´ It was funny.
Then we had a 20 min break, as well as the students. We all met up again, with Michelle and Diamond and had some coffee. We then went to the last classroom where we were told the kids had a very low level of english and that some would have to be spoken to in Spanish. One girl stood out as seeming very knowledgable about English, outshining most of the students. I only stayed for a short period in this class because I had to leave early to catch my 12.40 train to Bilbao from SS.
I left and got in a taxi that the teacher called for me. She also handed me a gift as a thank you, which i wasnºt expecting. It included cookies, sausage, cheese, and 2 cans of paté. I took the cab and realized that i only had 8.50 euros left, and i knew the train costed 1.50. I took the taxi as far as about 6 euros got me, then hopped out. The driver insisted the station was a bit further but i avoided explaining the sitch and told him iºd be fine right there. I walked a few more blocks and got to the station at about 11.05. I got on the train, strapped on my rollerblades and went home, where I got my luggage and headed off to the SS bus station...
also, SS is code for San Sebastian from now on.
So for a volunteer project for USAC, I went with three other students, Michelle, Diamond and Jason to a high school in SS´s neighboring Irun, where we taught English. It was fun to prepare a lesson on literally whatever we wanted. We were split into twos to do the teaching, and I was paired with Jason. We decided to teach a class about music, in English.
This was all planned for Friday morning (since i donºt have class on fridays). Jason was upset because the previous week when he did this activity, the other three usac students were 45 minutes late to meet him at the SS train station and they were therefore 15 or 20 minutes late to the teaching thing, which was just embarrassing. To fix this, he wanted to meet up at the SS station at 6.45am to get on the 7 or 7.15 train, which takes about 30 mins, then take a taxi to the school, as planned, since the taxi takes about 10 mins. That way weºd have plenty of time to settle in and get organized, as well as have a cushion in case there were issues.
Well, i wake up at 6.20 and eat and such and strap on my rollerblades to go to the station. I get there at about 6.50 and only diamond is there...michelle is 4 mins away via bus, and jason is supposedly going to be there 15 minutes from then.
When we all arrived, we hopped on the train and went to irun. Mind you, it is pitch black this early in the morning. We got to Irun just as cafes were opening and grabbed a croissant as we walked in a general direction where we thouht the taxi stand was located. We wandered until we found one, then of course there werenºt taxis there. We called the number on the sign, then waited, then some man was like ´need a taxi, come this way!´´ then we walked a block or two then saw our taxi pass us so we ran back to catch up with it. We hopped in and got to the school just in time.
We then split up and were led to the classrooms. The first class was pretty rowdy, but once they settled in, we began.
We began with an activity where Jason and I write 4 items about us on the board, then the class has to ask questions about them to figure out what they were.
For example, I wrote: Eric, August, Kate Nash, and Anna Levon.
The class then would ask ´´ís anna levon the name of your mother´´ or ´´ís kate nash your best friend´´ until they got it right.
Then, they had homework before we arrived to come up with a list of questions to ask us. It was fun to answer them, and many were repetitive. Some questions included, ´´what do you think of basque food´´ or ´´how long are you in spain´´ and of course, being from the USA, ´´have you met any famous people?´´ of course, when I said i met John Goodman at the LAX airport, they had no idea who that was. Nor did they know Shia LeBouf until I was like, ´´hmm, Transformers?´´Then they all nodded in acknowlegement, then oohed and ahhed.
We then moved onto our activity. We first had them list as many typed of music they could think of, like Rock, pop, flamenco, reggae, rap, country, etc.
Then we had them think of specific artists. Then, they each had to come up with a sentence to describe the sound of one of the artists they listed. We gave them a bunch of examples on the worksheet, and by far my favorite was ´´I donºt like Pinkºs music because it sounds like crying babies!´´
Then, the best part was when we gave them a list of adjectives to describe music, then we played a few songs on Jasonºs iPod. Radiohead, for example, was not well recieved by the first class who thought it was loud, repetive and annoying. The second class, however, thought it was catchy and cool.
Then we moved on to the next class, where we did the same thing and got some different responses. We called on one kid who was shy and asked him a question (of course, in english) and he stared and was like ´´mmm...no entiendo.´´ The kids in the room laughed and were like ´´Heºs...how do you say...short?´´ Then Jason was like ´´óhh, you mean SLOW.´´ It was funny.
Then we had a 20 min break, as well as the students. We all met up again, with Michelle and Diamond and had some coffee. We then went to the last classroom where we were told the kids had a very low level of english and that some would have to be spoken to in Spanish. One girl stood out as seeming very knowledgable about English, outshining most of the students. I only stayed for a short period in this class because I had to leave early to catch my 12.40 train to Bilbao from SS.
I left and got in a taxi that the teacher called for me. She also handed me a gift as a thank you, which i wasnºt expecting. It included cookies, sausage, cheese, and 2 cans of paté. I took the cab and realized that i only had 8.50 euros left, and i knew the train costed 1.50. I took the taxi as far as about 6 euros got me, then hopped out. The driver insisted the station was a bit further but i avoided explaining the sitch and told him iºd be fine right there. I walked a few more blocks and got to the station at about 11.05. I got on the train, strapped on my rollerblades and went home, where I got my luggage and headed off to the SS bus station...
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Unexpected Voyage
POOF!
My friends and family in the US of A, did you feel that?
What, you ask?
The time change!
For a brief two weeks we were a mere 6 hours apart.
But alas, time has changed here last night in the European Union and we are back to seven hours apart again.
Well, I have the unfortunate news of my grandmother's passing. For the past couple months she has been in an assisted living place where she has been suffering from cancer. When I would talk to my parents on video chat over these past two months, they would inform me with great news: she had a great day today and was laughing and chatting! Or with bad news: we don't know how long she can hold on.
It was this tug of war for what seemed like forever, but right before St. Patrick's day my parents informed me that she was more and more sick and they had mutually decided to let her pass. Two days before St. Patrick's, I talked to my dad on video chat and planned my trip to come home. We bought tickets from San Sebastian to Madrid and Madrid to Chicago, then the reverse for the way home. Fortunately I had a 5 day weekend that weekend because here in San Sebastian it's basically Father's Day on Thursday, so we had no school then or on Friday. That week before I left was hard, because it was difficult to contact my family since they were often out of the house visiting Nana. When I got on my plane to the US that Thursday (two days after St. Pattys) morning, I honestly was uninformed whether or not she was alive or not.
When I arrived home to big hugs from my parents at O'Hare, they sadly told me that Nana had passed that morning, about a few hours into my flight. It was sad, but it was so unreal because I have not seen my grandmother since before I left for my trip, to show her and my grandpa the video camera I had gotten using the Christmas giftcards they gave me. And at that stage, she was completely fine. All of this information about her being sick was all told to me, and I hadn't contacted her via video chat or anything. When my parents told me, my dad told me it was good that she was gone before I arrived, because he wouldn't have wanted me to remember her as the bed-ridden hospitalized Nana that she was, but instead as the happy, healthy Nana I saw back in January. I agree. It was just...strange to be told that someone you haven't seen in two months was now gone, forever.
Basically when I arrived home the whole weekend we were busy going to Grandpa's to visit him with my mom's side of the family, and making plans for the funeral service and visitation. It was very busy indeed, and of course just a very sad time in general. The first time I broke down when I was home when I finally saw my Grandpa, who you could just tell was stressed from making phone calls non stop about the saddest event in his life, the passing of his wife of 62 years. We decided to compile some pictures for a board to put at the visitation and funeral, as well as the lunch at Hackney's afterward. That was fun to look at all the family pictures from way back. I wish I had some pictures here of Nana back in the day, when she looked like a gorgeous 40's pinup! I do have some great family pictures of me and my cousins, though:
I especially like my brother's Dick Tracy shirt in the first one.
We also decided to write a eulogy amongst the grandchildren (me and my brother, my cousins Nicki and Pat, and Olivia). We all gathered in a room at my Grandpa's apartment, discussing our favorite memories of her and us. As my cousin Nicki put it so well: "Do you guys realize how proud she was? She was such a proud woman. Any time we met her friends, they always knew of us. We were her pride and joy. She loved us SO much."
When Pat read the eulogy he wrote, compiling all of our memories, it was wonderful. My favorite parts he touched on were:
"Nana always referred to Eric and me as her little terrors...but of course, Nicki, Olivia and Melissa were her little angels."
"She and Grandpa had nicknames for us all, like Melissa: Miss Madam, and Eric: Beeler."
"We grandkids always remembered arguing over who had the most pictures on her and Grandpa's mantle, which constantly changed until Nicki's wedding photos blew us all out of the water."
Again, I was mostly fine at the funeral, and when I broke down, my brother jokingly commented in a serious tone: "hey, get a hold of yourself, this is a funeral!", always turning the situation into a comforting one.
We went to Hackney's for lunch afterward, where we saw Dorothy, my grandparents' friend and piano player from Hackney's. While talking with the elderly woman, I teared up as she solemnly noted that it has to be so hard for Grandpa, who has lost his "buddy" of 62 years, his friend he was with for nearly every moment of his life. At that point, I realized I was crying not just for my Nana, but for my Grandpa, since I was almost more sad for him that he doesn't have anyone he can talk to like that anymore.
But, it was still nice to be home for it all, to get and give big hugs to the ones I love, and to console everyone in such a sad time. Getting together with my cousins is always a fun time, especially listening to my brother and cousin Pat joke around, which always has me laughing. It's what my grandmother would have wanted: to see her family enjoying one anothers' company and having a good time.
The travel home was interesting itself, since I had a chance to get some things that they don't sell or are rare here in Spain, like Ranch Dressing, BBQ sauce, Peanut Butter, cookie mix, Cosmo magazine (in english) and A1 Steak Sauce. Most of those things were for my friends, for which they reimbursed me when I got back to Spain.
And for disease control, the customs have to ask you about whether or not you were on a farm, or are bringing fresh food into the country. In addition to the form you fill out upon entering the USA, you also are randomly questioned before you exit the baggage claim, where it is asked in such a way where the guy just seems to be either very hungry or weird:
(To man in front of me) Security guy: Do you have a sandwich? No? Ok, thank you.
(To me) Security Guy: Were you on a farm? No? Ok, thank you.
And even though I was in O'Hare, I found myself saying "Perdon" in Spanish when I would bump into people. That wore off once I was back in the suburbs.
When I got back to San Sebastian, I literally hopped on a bus back to my host family's house, got my backpack together, ate breakfast, and got on a bus to go to class. I told my teachers about the situation, and I knew I'd miss my first class. My second class, Basque Language, I was late to by about 30 minutes (it's a 70 min class) and people looked at me all laughing-like, thinking I got there that late b/c I slept in or something. I was definitely NOT in the mood for those people at that time. It was also annoying to be asked "how was your weekend?" by people I hadn't told my weekend plans to. Of course, they were just trying to be nice, but still, it was like "Hmm, alright, considering I went to my grandma's funeral, and you?"
But in all, I am glad I went back home for the event, since I didn't want to have to deal with it by myself here, where no one can emotionally relate to the situation. But at the same time, I feel like I "cheated" in a way by going home during my big semester away. It really didn't feel like I'd been gone for very long, and I know once I go back the same thing will happen. But at least then it will be for the end of the semester and I will have camp to look forward to.
I miss you Nana.
My friends and family in the US of A, did you feel that?
What, you ask?
The time change!
For a brief two weeks we were a mere 6 hours apart.
But alas, time has changed here last night in the European Union and we are back to seven hours apart again.
Well, I have the unfortunate news of my grandmother's passing. For the past couple months she has been in an assisted living place where she has been suffering from cancer. When I would talk to my parents on video chat over these past two months, they would inform me with great news: she had a great day today and was laughing and chatting! Or with bad news: we don't know how long she can hold on.
It was this tug of war for what seemed like forever, but right before St. Patrick's day my parents informed me that she was more and more sick and they had mutually decided to let her pass. Two days before St. Patrick's, I talked to my dad on video chat and planned my trip to come home. We bought tickets from San Sebastian to Madrid and Madrid to Chicago, then the reverse for the way home. Fortunately I had a 5 day weekend that weekend because here in San Sebastian it's basically Father's Day on Thursday, so we had no school then or on Friday. That week before I left was hard, because it was difficult to contact my family since they were often out of the house visiting Nana. When I got on my plane to the US that Thursday (two days after St. Pattys) morning, I honestly was uninformed whether or not she was alive or not.
When I arrived home to big hugs from my parents at O'Hare, they sadly told me that Nana had passed that morning, about a few hours into my flight. It was sad, but it was so unreal because I have not seen my grandmother since before I left for my trip, to show her and my grandpa the video camera I had gotten using the Christmas giftcards they gave me. And at that stage, she was completely fine. All of this information about her being sick was all told to me, and I hadn't contacted her via video chat or anything. When my parents told me, my dad told me it was good that she was gone before I arrived, because he wouldn't have wanted me to remember her as the bed-ridden hospitalized Nana that she was, but instead as the happy, healthy Nana I saw back in January. I agree. It was just...strange to be told that someone you haven't seen in two months was now gone, forever.
Basically when I arrived home the whole weekend we were busy going to Grandpa's to visit him with my mom's side of the family, and making plans for the funeral service and visitation. It was very busy indeed, and of course just a very sad time in general. The first time I broke down when I was home when I finally saw my Grandpa, who you could just tell was stressed from making phone calls non stop about the saddest event in his life, the passing of his wife of 62 years. We decided to compile some pictures for a board to put at the visitation and funeral, as well as the lunch at Hackney's afterward. That was fun to look at all the family pictures from way back. I wish I had some pictures here of Nana back in the day, when she looked like a gorgeous 40's pinup! I do have some great family pictures of me and my cousins, though:
I especially like my brother's Dick Tracy shirt in the first one.
We also decided to write a eulogy amongst the grandchildren (me and my brother, my cousins Nicki and Pat, and Olivia). We all gathered in a room at my Grandpa's apartment, discussing our favorite memories of her and us. As my cousin Nicki put it so well: "Do you guys realize how proud she was? She was such a proud woman. Any time we met her friends, they always knew of us. We were her pride and joy. She loved us SO much."
When Pat read the eulogy he wrote, compiling all of our memories, it was wonderful. My favorite parts he touched on were:
"Nana always referred to Eric and me as her little terrors...but of course, Nicki, Olivia and Melissa were her little angels."
"She and Grandpa had nicknames for us all, like Melissa: Miss Madam, and Eric: Beeler."
"We grandkids always remembered arguing over who had the most pictures on her and Grandpa's mantle, which constantly changed until Nicki's wedding photos blew us all out of the water."
Again, I was mostly fine at the funeral, and when I broke down, my brother jokingly commented in a serious tone: "hey, get a hold of yourself, this is a funeral!", always turning the situation into a comforting one.
We went to Hackney's for lunch afterward, where we saw Dorothy, my grandparents' friend and piano player from Hackney's. While talking with the elderly woman, I teared up as she solemnly noted that it has to be so hard for Grandpa, who has lost his "buddy" of 62 years, his friend he was with for nearly every moment of his life. At that point, I realized I was crying not just for my Nana, but for my Grandpa, since I was almost more sad for him that he doesn't have anyone he can talk to like that anymore.
But, it was still nice to be home for it all, to get and give big hugs to the ones I love, and to console everyone in such a sad time. Getting together with my cousins is always a fun time, especially listening to my brother and cousin Pat joke around, which always has me laughing. It's what my grandmother would have wanted: to see her family enjoying one anothers' company and having a good time.
The travel home was interesting itself, since I had a chance to get some things that they don't sell or are rare here in Spain, like Ranch Dressing, BBQ sauce, Peanut Butter, cookie mix, Cosmo magazine (in english) and A1 Steak Sauce. Most of those things were for my friends, for which they reimbursed me when I got back to Spain.
And for disease control, the customs have to ask you about whether or not you were on a farm, or are bringing fresh food into the country. In addition to the form you fill out upon entering the USA, you also are randomly questioned before you exit the baggage claim, where it is asked in such a way where the guy just seems to be either very hungry or weird:
(To man in front of me) Security guy: Do you have a sandwich? No? Ok, thank you.
(To me) Security Guy: Were you on a farm? No? Ok, thank you.
And even though I was in O'Hare, I found myself saying "Perdon" in Spanish when I would bump into people. That wore off once I was back in the suburbs.
When I got back to San Sebastian, I literally hopped on a bus back to my host family's house, got my backpack together, ate breakfast, and got on a bus to go to class. I told my teachers about the situation, and I knew I'd miss my first class. My second class, Basque Language, I was late to by about 30 minutes (it's a 70 min class) and people looked at me all laughing-like, thinking I got there that late b/c I slept in or something. I was definitely NOT in the mood for those people at that time. It was also annoying to be asked "how was your weekend?" by people I hadn't told my weekend plans to. Of course, they were just trying to be nice, but still, it was like "Hmm, alright, considering I went to my grandma's funeral, and you?"
But in all, I am glad I went back home for the event, since I didn't want to have to deal with it by myself here, where no one can emotionally relate to the situation. But at the same time, I feel like I "cheated" in a way by going home during my big semester away. It really didn't feel like I'd been gone for very long, and I know once I go back the same thing will happen. But at least then it will be for the end of the semester and I will have camp to look forward to.
I miss you Nana.
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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