Spanishisms

One of the greatest parts about living in a foreign country for an extended period of time, and more specifically in a truly RURAL part of that country, is that you pick up some of the local colloquialisms. Here is a list of some of my favorites:

1. "De PUTA MADRE" - one of the more baffling Spanishisms. Directly translated it means "of the mother whore," but believe it or not, it's used to describe things that are totally awesome.

2. "Eso es una MIERDA" (or "de puta mierda" or "que mierda") - basically means "this sucks" (which they find hilarious when you explain it to them) but is directly translated as "it's shit" or "what a crap"

3. "Un grano en mi culo" - can be translated to "it's a zit on my butt." The Spanish use this one to describe something that's a pain in the ass.

4. "Cabrón" - little did I know when I told Juan's Dad that it was "este cabrón" who wanted to ring the doorbell at 6 AM to get into his house that it actually means "son of a bitch" or "bastard," but among friends, this word gets thrown around all the time. You can't call anybody a Puta, but Cabron is definitely acceptable among friends.

5. "Gilipollas" - still not totally sure what the direct translation is, but gilipollas is defined as "twat," "wanker," "prick," and "jerk" on word reference. The way I thought it was used was more along the lines of "asshole," but it was described to me basically as "a silly penis." Manuel loves this one.

6. "Maria" - just think about it

7. "Coño" - this word continues to shock me. Even though I'm pretty sure that the literal translation is "cunt" this word gets thrown around by everyone, including school children.

8. "Ostia" - this word is even more baffling to me considering that they use coño so frequently. "Ostia" is the host that is given at communion in Catholic mass, but it is considered as bad as "fuck" in the English language. Next to "puta" it's one of the more offensive words you can use, but once again everyone uses it. I got yelled at for using this one more than a few times.

9. "Joder" - one of my absolute, all-time favorites. It means "fuck" and can be used in expressions like "no me jodas" or "don't fuck with me."

10. "Maricon" - "poof." They're still not too down with the gays over there, but I did see one of the biggest gay pride rallies in the country after the mayor of Badajoz basically said that all of the homos should go somewhere else. His message wasn't as well received as he'd hoped and the biggest gathering of gay pride supporters happened right outside his window a few weeks later.

11. "Tengo moscas" - This one is uniquely Extremeñan. It means "I have flies" but basically means "I'm friggin' tired." My roommates used it all the time, but Sonia said she'd never heard it before.

12. "Visitar Manuela" - "Beating off"

13. "Tio" - means "uncle" but is used like "dude" or "man." "Acho tio" is kind of like the Badajoz version of "that's wicked" from Boston but means "what the fuck, man."

14. "Que guay" - "that's cool/awesome"

15. "Ligar" - if you're dating someone you are "tied" with that person. It's one of the many examples of how poetic the language can be at times. The rest of these words don't really do Spanish justice, but once you begin to understand the intricacies of Spanish you begin to notice how it can flow like prose and is much more beautiful in it's descriptions. This is one thing English really lacks and that I miss about Spanish.

The First Botellon/Granada Visit

I was going through my old journal entries and found this one.

October 12, 2010

Got back from Jaen/Granada today and had an awesome weekend. Thursday night I called up Anacelia and Meredith and met up with them outside of the Alhambra Discoteca for my first Botellon. “Botellon” is the Spanish version of pre-gaming or tailgating, but they do it every Thursday and Saturday before they go into the clubs.

When I arrived at the Alhambra, I was shocked at the number of people who were there. As I walked into the entrance of the parking lot, there were over 1,500 people dancing and drinking outside of the club. I texted Manuel and David and they ended up coming over and hanging out with me and the girls, plus Franklin and Meredith’s former roommate Marta, who was representative of most of the women present at the event: Beautiful.

All of the girls were dressed with effortless style and had a cocky confidence that I rarely see in girls in the states. The style ranged from preppy to hippie to punk, but mostly it was a uniquely Spanish style that just seems so fitting. Marta didn’t hesitate to bust our balls about having side conversations in English, but she also didn’t hesitate to share her booze, friends, and knowledge with us. She was also kind enough to inform me that San Roque is in a terrifying neighborhood. I’m still not totally sure whether or not she was just f*cking with me.

David and Manuel were really cool too. They texted me back, came over to us and offered us some drinks. They were friendly and very easy to hang with, but I think they noticed that there is still a definite language barrier in that I don’t understand everything that they say. They did however, invite me to party with them in the future, so this could turn out to be something really cool.

I wanted to stay out later, but I had to catch the early bus on Friday. We walked Meredith to the line to get into the club and then Franklin, Anacelia, and I took a cab home.

The next 24 hours were nuts. I caught a 9 AM bus on very little sleep and realized only after I was just too far from my apartment that I’d brought too much luggage with me. The bus ride to Sevilla was 3 or 4 hours long and was followed by a cab ride and a three hour wait at the train station. I would have just made the train to Jaen, but it was sold out so I had to wait.

The train was comfortable and I sat next to this really nice Spanish girl. The train was weird though because it stopped for a half hour once or twice. I didn’t end up getting to Jaen until 8 or so.

The walk from the train station sucked, although it was great to see Aarika. I was so happy to see her. After a half hour walk uphill we finally arrived at her apartment and it was as nice as she had said it was. Also, her roommates, Joe and Lauren, were very sweet and welcoming.

Granada was like a dream. From the minute we got there, it felt like we’d never left the city. Sonia gave me a huge hug when we got there and I was touched that Thor still had the toys Aarika and I had gotten for him. He seemed to remember us right away and sitting on Sonia’s couch with him on my lap made me feel right at home.

Sonia has two new roommates for the next eight months, Stephanie from Glenview and Aki from outside of Osaka, Japan. Steph’s spanish is terrific and her personality mixes very well with Sonia’s. They seem to be a great fit for one another and it was nice to have another friend there for the weekend. Aki is honest, noble, polite, and humble. He embodies many of the stereotypes I’d heard about Japan, but only the good ones. He was very interested in learning more about Aarika and I, but seems intimidated by this entire experience. I told him he was in good hands, but I’d imagine living on your own in a country that is as relaxed as Spain after never having visited anywhere else outside of Japan would be difficult and overwhelming for almost anyone.

We hung out at Sonia’s for most of our time in Granada, but we were also invited to a birthday party for one of Sonia’s daughters. It was good to be back in the city and even better to be in the apartment. I found it strange, but interesting that it was raining on the day I left and rained for my return. Once again, it was like I’d never left.

The journey home was a bitch, but I made it. I also bought a drying rack and did laundry for the first time today. We’ll see how it turns out.

The Return to Normalcy

When Micó told me that the month after she came home was one of the worst of her life it never actually occurred to me that she was serious.

I now am back to sharing a room with my 16 year old brother, which isn't too bad, but still sticks out as somewhat symbolic. I have returned to the constant scrutiny of my parents, a paralyzed job market, videogames, the worst team in major league baseball, the sweltering humidity that is characteristic of Chicago summers and crappy television.

I had almost forgotten how much my Dad loves Bud Light Lime and driving my Mom's red Prius or how the only question anybody around here really ever asks is "so what do YOU do for a living?"

Don't get me wrong, I love most of these things, but the return to normalcy has been a bit jarring. I miss Spain pretty much every day.