October: Update & Spanish Mistakes

Hello All! We're back for the monthly addition of all the mistakes I've made in Spanish. First of all, I have made WAY more mistakes than just these, but here I am going to share the funniest errors I make. The ones that were so giggle-inducing that they will forever be a memory. I also share these to be transparent, especially for all past, current, and future students I have had, do have, and will have! Learning a language is hard work, and so many people live in fear of making mistakes when speaking (I use to be one of them FOR SURE- just as my high school Spanish teachers). I've learned you just have to do your best, and try to learn from your mistakes. While I hope that as each month on the island goes by I have fewer and fewer mistakes to share each month, it is an important part of the process!

1. I was talking to my roommate who only speaks Spanish about the medicine I was taking. I had a headache so I ran to my room and grabbed some Ibuprofen. She asked me what I was doing and I said "Es ibprofueno para mi calabaza" (Its Ibprofuen for my pumpkin). Halloween and pumpkins have been on my mind a lot this month, especially at school. BTW, what I meant to say was "cabeza" (head). We both had a good laugh.

2. I was telling my roommates (who once again only speak Spanish) about my life in America. I was explaining that when I went to University I lived about two hours away from my parents. I was trying to tell them about driving back and forth between school and my parents house and I said "Cada vez tenía que traducir casi dos horas entre la casa de mis padres y mi Universidad" (Every time I had to translate (as in translate languages) two hours between my parent's house and my University). I meant to say "conducir" (drive). I feel like this is an easy mistake because they are both irregular and follow a similar pattern when doing conjugations, so I always group them together for studying purposes. This was the first time I really got to hangout with my other roommate so the timing on this error wasn't great, but at least he had a good laugh about it.

Just two brujas (witches)

I can't think of anymore really funny ones, so here we are! (I really need to start writing these down when they happen, and not trying to remember them all until the end of the month). As far as the monthly update, things are going great! If you read my previous posts, you know I was feeling a pretty homesick, due to some situations I was in with housing and paperwork. Things have resolved, my paperwork is coming together (I apply for my Spain residency card next week, please send prayers/good vibes that everything will work out!). I got a little tingle of homesickness on Halloween, when I was with my five year olds and they were showing me all the 'spooky' snacks their parents packed them, and also when I was talking to a co-teacher about how this was the first year I wasn't going to be celebrating with my friends. It took my back to when my dad would pack my lunch everyday for school, and holidays he would put something special like candy on Halloween or a cupcake on Valentine's Day (I miss you Daddy-o). It made me miss my mom and our annual shopping trip for my Halloween costume. I reached out to my friends and they have agreed to Skype me into the annual Halloween Bash. I was also able to go out and celebrate Halloween last night with a new island pal. All is good!

Beetlejuice and a Dead Tourist