Spanish Disasters

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After three days, my Spanish is progressing very well. However, there are certain pitfalls to avoid, and many potential disasters are out there

1. Do not mix up the words año and ano. The first means "year". I am returning to the UK next "year", not next "arsehole"

2. Don't be embarrassed if you get your Spanish wrong. Just don't use the word "embarazada". It means "Pregnant"

3. If you are feeling hot (temperature wise) and you use the wrong word for hot, it means you are feeling horny!

4. Yesterday at lunch, I ordered a dish from the menu. I thought the waiter said they didn't have it. So I ordered something else. I thought he said they didn't have that either. I ordered another dish, and he made encouraging noises. Five minutes later, three dishes arrived!!

Despite all this, I am loving learning Spanish. It is very tough, but I am learning fast and my teacher is really pushing me. Amongst my homework questions tonight was

"What is your philosophy on life?"

The best I could come up with with my limited vocabulary was

trabajo duro y estar feliz
(work hard and be happy)

I just hope this makes sense.

and my future plans?

yo voy a comer cuy en al mercado mañana
(I am going to eat guinea pig at the market tomorrow)

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Comments

[Mez]

I find the following phase useful when visiting...
South America "mi armadillo necesita su cortar de los clavos del dedo del pie" Mez

[Loopy]

Outraged veggie!
Please tell me you're joking about the guinea pig??!! (p.s. you're spanish sounds like it's coming along brilliantly! there are also several other words you have to be careful with too though, spanish for cushion is similar to two other spanish words, all of which you have to be very careful not get mixed up (my useless memory fails me at the moment at to the other two!)

[Icklestew]

Guinea Pig
Como est as ? not sure spelling is right but that' show it sounds! Are you sure it's a Guinea Pig, I understand their favourate out there is sewer rat!! Bon preveccio! ( again I have no idea how you spell it but ist sounds like that!) Love Stew

[Paula]

Suerte
Hola chico Te deseo mucho suerte en tu viaje! Yo tambien disfrute aprendiendo espanol! Antes de tu salida, no tuvimos mucho tiempo porque yo pudiera darte consejos para tu viaje pero segura que lograras! Mientras en Quito, intenta irte a Otavalo y lago Cuicocha - es solo dos horas de la ciudad y es muy lindo. Y tambien vete a el bosque de Mindo - es excelentes. Ahora me instale de vuelta en Londres con el clima fea - me extrano mucho america del sur pensandole mucho. Pero parece que pueda empezar trabajr el lunes! Hola a tu profesora (to whom I'm sure you'll show this to help translate!!!) Suerte, besos Paula x

[Livvy]

Hilarious!
Pete, this is one of the funniest things I have read in AGES!! Glad to hear you're having a great time, I look forward to the next installment!!

[Matt]

Estoy de acuerdo
Petey, Glad to hear you're there safe and sound. You'll be pleased to know that the año/ano pitfall was 1 of the 1st that I learnt too... I do enjoy so much saying "Feliz Cumpleanos" to someone, they always laugh ;@) No puedo esperar hasta podemos tener un conversación en Castellano Here's a good saying to impress your teacher ;@) don't know if they use it there but in Spain they do. So when you say "guay" (meaning "cool", not referring to temperature, cool as in cool dude) you can say "guay del Paraguay" Matteo

[Matt]

Hablamos pronto ?
Hombre, no puedo esperar hasta podemos tener un conversación en Castellano Guay del Paraguay !! M

[Roobarb]

tee hee
Hey Petey Pie, Sorry I missed your farewell! I had my interview and then had to go to uni to study :( Its paying off though, I've had two exams so far and my biggest problem was deciding which question to answer! 1 more to go and I'm free. You're travel blog is great........its been making me giggle at my desk.....man I can't wait to travel again! xxx

[Taryn]

eloha ano
Hey Pete, sounds like you're having a great time already !! you're antural at spanish, love it !!! have a ball you, and keep us updated along the way. if you have the time, pls give me a little run down on the areas you are going to and when you're coming back. Lots of love Taryn x

[LobsterCheeks]

Dear outraged veggie
Sorry Lu, I wasn't joking about the Guinea Pig! Today I ate "papas con cuy merida". Only half a guinea pig, if that's any consolation. You could see the teeth, the ears and it's little claws. Tasted a bit like chicken, but wasn't too keen. (When I get to Peru, I'll be trying Llama)

[Abby]

not quite spanish
hey pete! loving your blog, as a new zealander i could tell you exactly how the sheep got on the bus ..... but that would be giving away national secrets. let's just say it's not as innocent as it looks. as for the spanish, i could quote a few words at you in italian, but it's not quite the same thing ..... have fun and don't go eating too many guinea pigs, they have friends everywhere. x abby