As a teacher and life-long learner of Spanish, oh how I know this struggle! I have sounded foolish so many times, but I have to be willing to do that to improve. Most people are appreciative that someone is trying to use their language, though they may laugh a bit at our expense!
Sounding foolish is necessary or else we don't get better! I'm glad you can relate to the process of learning Spanish. You often make better connections with people when they see you're trying even though there are some mistakes. Thanks for reading, Joyce!
My funny Spanish word story: when we owned a hotel in Costa Rica, I had a meeting with the housekeepers for them to tell me what things we needed. I was new but learned Latin American Spanish (Mexican!) in school. I thought I was being ‘with it’ when I asked them if they needed more toallas (towels). After they laughed, the English speaking concierge told me that in Costa Rica toalla is the word they use for feminine napkin! 🤦🏻♀️
Oh no! That's so funny but I can imagine it was embarrassing. At least you made an effort to speak with the staff in their language. In Colombia, there are many words with double meanings and often they can be inappropriate. It's very easy to say something out of context! Thanks for reading and the comment, Marlo.
That's a very good point, Toni! How we say things (no matter the culture) is definitely influenced by our generation. The man was middle-aged so maybe what I said was too Gen Z! My pleasure, your camping comment was excellent. Thanks for reading!
As a teacher and life-long learner of Spanish, oh how I know this struggle! I have sounded foolish so many times, but I have to be willing to do that to improve. Most people are appreciative that someone is trying to use their language, though they may laugh a bit at our expense!
Sounding foolish is necessary or else we don't get better! I'm glad you can relate to the process of learning Spanish. You often make better connections with people when they see you're trying even though there are some mistakes. Thanks for reading, Joyce!
My funny Spanish word story: when we owned a hotel in Costa Rica, I had a meeting with the housekeepers for them to tell me what things we needed. I was new but learned Latin American Spanish (Mexican!) in school. I thought I was being ‘with it’ when I asked them if they needed more toallas (towels). After they laughed, the English speaking concierge told me that in Costa Rica toalla is the word they use for feminine napkin! 🤦🏻♀️
Oh no! That's so funny but I can imagine it was embarrassing. At least you made an effort to speak with the staff in their language. In Colombia, there are many words with double meanings and often they can be inappropriate. It's very easy to say something out of context! Thanks for reading and the comment, Marlo.
Funny story, Daniel! I have found that even in English, you can ascertain a person's age by how they respond to that question.
Old person: "It's five minutes to 11:00."
Young person: "It's 10:55."
Perhaps next time you should simply point to your watch and eliminate the language barrier thing, lol.
And thanks for quoting me!
That's a very good point, Toni! How we say things (no matter the culture) is definitely influenced by our generation. The man was middle-aged so maybe what I said was too Gen Z! My pleasure, your camping comment was excellent. Thanks for reading!