A Passionate Language

One of the things I love about the Spanish language is the passionate and descriptive nature of it. I have heard some names that in Spanish are perfectly normal, but would be quite strange in English. One of my professor’s names is Milagros (Miracles) but she goes by Mila, and another of my professor’s names is Consolación (Consolation) but she shortens it to Conso. Encarna (one of the women I met in my apartment complex) is short for Encarnación (Incarnation – like the theological term) and my friend Jess was telling me that she met a woman named Puri, which is short for Purificación (Purification). I doubt you would find those names in a book like 1001 Baby Names in the States. One can get away with saying fantastic things in Spanish that would never fly in English. For example, this past week I bought books and school supplies for my classes, and when I paid in exact change, the girl behind the counter said, “Gracias. Stupendo.” Now, as someone who has worked behind a counter, I can get away with saying “Awesome, thanks,” but if I said “Stupendous,” you would probably wonder what I had been drinking lately. In the same way, phrases like “Chicos, es divino!” (Guys, it is divine!) and “Que barbaridad!” (What a barbarity!) that are normal in Spanish evoke sentiments of, shall we say… “Drama-Queen” ? … in English. Seriously, if I started saying things like “What a barbarity!” or if you heard other people saying, “People, this is just divine!” what would you do?

Language Fatigue

Hearing and trying to use a second language constantly has become a little bit physically and mentally draining. Often I find myself concentrating very hard to try and understand everything that is going on and I am learning so many new words that I can't remember them all. Trying to express myself in another language when I can't find the words to say what I want has also been exhausting. I visited a class on Cervantes that I am thinking about auditing at the University of Sevilla this week, and the professor spoke so quickly and with a very strong Andalucian accent, dropping s's and lisping through everything. It also did not help that in one hour he gave a crash course in the history of three centuries. I understood most of what he said and I learned a lot, but I was so drained by listening. Don't get me wrong: I absolutely LOVE the Spanish language and the culture of Spain. I think it is beautiful; I am just a little bit exhausted. But, I keep pressing on because I know it will pass.