I just visited Costa Rica. You may have deduced this from the previous post. For those who didn’t read the previous post, I’ll pause…. (ready? ok.)
It was a sheer delight. Submerging yourself into a different culture and attempting to speak their language is both an adventure and an accomplishment. And for those who speak Spanish as well as I do, it was mostly, entertaining.
Eckhart Tolle wrote a book called The Power of Now. This book has never been so relevant as when I was speaking Spanish. Mostly because I could remember only the present tense and nothing of conjugating verbs. That and my general translation was poor. For example:
Ideal Saying: We had a great time going to dinner last night at the restaurant down the street!
In Spanish: Tenemos bien tiempo con comida en el calle!
Real Translation: We have good time with food in the street!
Or this:
Ideal Saying: It was a really good place to visit.
In Spanish: Visito un lugar que bien.
Real Translation: I visit a place that’s good.
Or this:
Ideal Saying: I had a serious problem with that.
In Spanish: Tengo una problema serioso. Mi perro es gordo.
Real Translation: I have a serious problem. My dog is fat.
… this translation came after too many of these:
Yet, I saw the following sign at a cafe in Atenas and felt like I was on the right path:
It’s ok to live in the present.
Plus, I wasn’t the only having trouble with translation:
I still like to think that, “Watch out! On my mind!” has a place in this society, somehow.
In the town where I was staying, I walked into a bar that looked like someone’s living room. The walls were seafoam green, the pictures stolen from a crappy hotel room and a tv stand housing a crying child recently punished for his insubordination.
Ticos (the natives of Costa Rica) are accepting people of broken to downright terrible Spanish. As long as you give it a shot, they are welcoming. I made friends quickly. The locals, they love themselves some rubios (blondes):
I felt like I was right at home as one Tico tried to sell me real estate. But it took me awhile to get what he was saying since I have about a 5-second-delay processing time. “Oh!” I said, (and having forgotten the word “sell” in Spanish — I did my best) “You have people want to buy the houses from you!” He thinks to himself, Wow, she’s just dumb enough to close this deal… How does 22 acres of land with a driveway and a house for $77,000 sound? I’m not as dumb as I look while processing a foreign language. If only I knew how to close a deal in Spanish! Instead I ended the real estate deal of a lifetime with, “Hola, how are you? What is your name? Do you walk to school? I have a knapsack.” Perhaps it’s just the name of the game. The Power of Now does not seek reverie in the future of a home.
In conclusion, I have returned to Chicago fully living in the Now. NOW WHAT?
