I had maybe the most perplexing "lost in translation" encounter to date this week, and it was partially because the incident was spread out over two interactions.
1) One morning as I returned from a run, I saw a familiar looking man in the lobby of our building. We'd never had a conversation before, but I am pretty sure we've exchanged brief pleasantries coming and going. He smiled, and as I was uttering my rote "Hola" he began launching into something about my shoes. I thought he was saying that he liked them and that they looked sturdy, but honestly I was not getting a lot. He was talking very quickly and mumbling, and seemed impervious to my pleas to proceed more slowly. After a few attempts of conveying my lack of understanding, I smiled and told him I had to go. He seemed at first to let it go, but as I was stepping into the elevator he started talking again and once more said something about my shoes.
2) Two days later, I was entering the building in the early afternoon when I saw the same man. Again, he was sort of loitering in the breezeway, but this time he had a large black trash bag. The garbage bins are taken out in the evening, and so perhaps he had the timing down and was just waiting for the bins. He recognized me, and again gestured to my shoes (which were not the same shoes I had worn during our previous encounter). I tried once more to slow his speech, and either he didn't understand me or frankly didn't care to alter this natural part of daily life for the benefit of some Anglo interloper. Regardless, he continued at a brisk clip as I stood there not comprehending anything. As I had done before, I smiled and apologized and started to walk away. This time the man mentioned that there were some shoes through the door near the elevator (which accesses the tiny intra-building courtyard space below the various clotheslines in the building). Had he found a lost pair of shoes? Was he trying to sell me shoes? I may never know. But I have a feeling I haven't seen the last of this man, and if I ever manage to interpret his message I'll be sure to keep you all posted.
Memorable Meal:
This week we ventured to the first Australian restaurant I've ever been aware of patronizing, where we met up with Joni's former Spanish teacher (and current friend!) Teresa. Passing on the vegamite featured on the menu, Joni opted for avocado toast and fresh orange juice while I sampled a pastry topped with raspberries and a golden milk latte made with turmeric. My meal was fairly disappointing, but Joni enjoyed her food and it was a cute restaurant with a nice breakfast atmosphere.
Exploring the City:
This past Saturday we attended our first choir rehearsal! Teresa sings in a choir, and mentioned that they needed some more voices. The choir meets in the architecture school of a university, since many of the members are architects. The building is funky and constantly undergoing changes, which makes sense given the occupants. We met the conductor and had a brief and informal audition singing scales. I was sent to the tenor section for the first time since fifth grade, and was pleasantly surprised by the range I was able to reach. Joni was labeled a soprano and was flabbergasted by the range she was forced into reaching (and she managed it with aplomb, garnering praise from her fellow soprano). The entire two hour rehearsal was in Spanish, and we were actually able to follow most everything. It helps that musical terms are universal, and we found our section-mates to be quite kind in guiding us back to the correct place. Sure, there were more than a few moments where Joni and I exchanged clueless glances as the entire room erupted with laughter, but we're fairly sure they weren't laughing at us. It was so nice to be back in that familiar structure, and we are elated to continue rehearsing and eventually performing with this group.
Riding high after our weekend in London, we ventured forth on our first Spanish theatre outing this weekend. I'd like to say that this was spurred on by an insane boost of our language skills, but in truth the tickets came courtesy of one of Joni's actor/students. A student asked Joni for help with pronouncing a few lines (that happened to be in English) for an upcoming show, and this week we were both invited to a performance of the play. It was, hands down, the longest sustained period of Spanish I've taken in at one time. We watch TV shows or movies in Spanish, but we have the luxury of pausing to look up a word or discuss the plot with each other. This was a fairly confusing show to begin with, as it centered around a hair salon haunted by an adult film star, and there were more than a few moments where I was completely lost. But the theatre was packed and everyone seemed to be having a good time. Oh, and I should mention that the show started at 11:15 (PM!), which likely did not aid in our comprehension of the material.
In what is swiftly becoming a happy Madrid tradition, Joni and I took in another late-night Wednesday film. I met up with Joni after her final class, and we walked about 1.5 miles towards the venue. It was a nice night, and despite the inhumane incline that rises just behind the palace, it was a wonderful jaunt past some beautifully lit buildings and parks. This week we saw "Hidden Figures," which left us much more impressed than we were after "La La Land." It's an excellent story of quiet courage in the face of ignorance, and both of us marveled at the capacity of the human mind to make the precise calculations necessary to boomerang a living being up to space and back again.
Who’s Coming to Dinner:
This Sunday, Ben and Cat joined us for lunch after church. It was perhaps the last time they will be here before their baby arrives, as Cat is due on February 6th. We supped on "cheeseburger soup" (made with ground turkey and, while delicious, nothing like a cheeseburger) and had some delectable snicker doodle cookies for dessert. After procuring an extra deck of cards on our recent trip to London, we were excited to teach our friends to play Pounce. Similar to Dutch Blitz, Pounce is a fast-paced card game with a long history in the Yost family. Legend has it that a great aunt once pounced so hard that she broke her wrist. We played several rounds and at one point Cat said it was making her so anxious that she felt physically exhausted. No broken bones and no early deliveries, but it was still a good time.
En la clase:
I picked up a new class this week - a group of six upper-intermediate men working in Deloitte. It's the first all-male group class I've ever had, and after just one meeting I can tell it's going to be a very different flavor than anything I've had yet. The first student who arrived asked if I liked basketball (which, in fact, I love) and proceeded to confess that he found soccer somewhat slow unless he cared about the team. He also told me he owns a Charles Barkley jersey - something that I can't claim, even as a lifelong Suns fan and longtime Arizona resident. It will be fun to work with these students, and a challenge to elevate a group class to a high level of conversation.
Joni created and delivered a class this week that she thinks may be her all-time best ESL class- a Guess Who? themed lesson! This introduced a lot of vocabulary dealing with physical features, then set students to the task of drawing the face of a crazy picture described by another student, based on a picture provided. Pictures below:
Final Notes:
We covered a lot this week, so I'll just leave you all with this candid photo Joni snapped on the metro:
"We love!! everybody have inside a beautiful soul!!" Clearly our work as English teachers is far from complete.
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