But I like how "lol" has kind of lost its meaning. It has for me, anyways. If I laugh out loud at a text from a friend (which I do, quite often) I feel like I have to explicitly tell that person that I did, indeed, just laugh out loud. A mere "lol" wouldn't suffice. It's like we're going back to the good ole days, before we butchered the language to meet character limits.
The other day, I discussed with a Costa Rican friend of mine a word I heard. A group of people who would usually be calling each other "mae", were calling each other "mop". (You have to say this with a Spanish accent, long o and soft p) He told me that "mop" is actually a shortened form of "mopri" which itself is a mixed up form of the syllables that make up the Spanish word "primo" or cousin. How's that for a little micro etymology? It's like calling someone your "cuz". Costa Rican Spanish is full of slang and dichos or sayings, and I love them. It is truly a form of folk poetry.
And what about the most famous Costa Rican phrase, "pura vida"? This is not just on t-shirts and post cards down here. This is the real deal. It can mean "thank you" and "you're welcome" and "don't worry about it" and "how are you". It can be a statement or a question or an adjective. It really is a beautiful phrase, with a beautiful meaning, that sounds absolutely awful when spoken with a North American accent.
One of my favorite things about Costa Rican Spanish is the English words they've adopted and just speak them with a Spanish accent. Some examples I've heard are "full" as in el tanque esta full or "spot" like aqui es un buen spot and "ride" like dame un ride? I think my favorite would be "coffeemaker" which just sounded so funny to me when spoken with a Spanish accent. (Also, Life Pro Tip, all coffee should be made using the traditional Costa Rican chorreador. You'll never buy a coffeemaker again.)
If I remember anything from my linguistics class in college, it's that language is a complex and evolving living thing and I have become increasingly in tune with it over the past year and a half. When I first started really studying Spanish I wanted word for word translations of ideas between the languages. But the more I speak Spanish and the more I try to teach English to Spanish speakers, I realize you really have to think in a foreign language, not just try to translate what your native language would say.
This makes my job both fascinating and frustrating. Fascinating because I have learned that syntax between English and Spanish doesn't really translate all the time. Fascinating because I get to talk about idioms and words like "get" which English speakers use in hundreds of different ways, and literally cannot be translated into one specific word. Its also frustrating, because how do you begin to think in another language if you don't know that language yet. I feel my students' frustrations here, because I have been in their shoes.
In general, I really think that Spanish is a more organized language. Rules are rules in Spanish. Vowels all sound the same. Accents follow very specific rules of pronunciation. Phonetics in English is a nightmare. I can't tell you how many times I've ended up out of breath looking at a white board with words like "though" "through" and "rough" trying to explain how they are all pronounced to a group of wide-eyed students. I feel that Spanish is more concise than English, in that it communicates more with less words. But the plethora of words in English make it a very specific language, and I sometimes get confused with the multiple meanings of words in Spanish.
I really do love teaching English and I really do love learning Spanish. I love comparing them and mixing them. I have made an entire group of friends, and family for that matter, in a second language. Its not something I every really thought I would do. It has become a hobby to sit and observe the language around me. I think about English a lot differently, and sometimes speak it differently now, too.
I'm leaving Costa Rica soon, but the language I've acquired here is something I will always have.
Bonus: Some of my favorite Spanish words.
Rompecabeza = puzzle, but literally comes from the verb "romper" or to break, and "cabeza" which is head.
Similarly, sopa de letras = word search, but literally means soup of letters
hipoteca = mortgage. Not one I use every day, but fun to say.
madrugada = very early in the morning, something like "crack of dawn" in English
almohada = pillow. Again, I just like saying this one. It's so soft and smooth, just like what it is in real life!
I would be lying if I told you I don't know all the Costa Rican drinking slang
tapis = drunk
sarpe = last call or last drink of the night
goma = hangover
birra = beer (I always thought it was just cerveza) and then of course, "pura birra" instead of "pura vida"
Central Valley Vistas
Look who came to visit! #middleschoolmadness
students turned friends, MaJo, Taina and Estef
some of that bomb ass dank ass zucchini casserole
Manuel Antonio
THE BEST COOKIES EVER.
Told ya.
Central Valley Vistas, Pt. 2
The famous steel church of Grecia.
Salud!
