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Three days a week, I go to the local community center for my Spanish classes. Sometimes I dread going, and it’s a struggle to get out the door and to class on time. However, once I’m there, I love it.
I love languages—the challenge, the mystery, the humor. I also love being among people just like me—foreigners, immigrants, strangers in another land. We are all struggling together—struggling to learn a new language, struggling to adjust to a foreign culture, struggling to settle in a country far from family and friends.
Our recent chapter was on food. It’s been fun to learn about the Spanish culture through its food and local dishes.
Paella, tortilla, churros, calamares . . .
The teacher was talking to us about eggs and different ways to cook them. I asked her how to write “scrambled eggs.”
As she proceeded to write words on the chalkboard, she asked us what we need to make eggs.
Several of us shouted out different vocabulary words that we had recently learned—”eggs” and “oil” seemed to be the most common ingredients.
Better to Keep My Mouth Shut!
Wanting to practice my Spanish speaking skills, I continued.
“In the United States, in my family, when we make scrambled eggs, we add a little bit of milk,” I said proudly.
The teacher looked at me surprised. “Milk?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said. “Y, en mi familia, no utilisamos aciete pero manzana.” (Translation: “And, in my family, we don’t use oil to make scrambled eggs, but apples.”)
“Manzana?” the teacher said with a bewildered look on her face.
“Si, manzana,” I continued. “In the United States, we don’t use as much oil for cooking as you do here in Spain. We prefer apples to cook our eggs.”
I noticed that everyone in my class seemed surprised and confused. However, that didn’t shock me too much. Most of my fellow Spanish students are Moroccan and Nigerian. In their cultures, the more oil, the better!
The teacher seemed even more surprised and shocked with my persistent chatter, but finally moved on to another topic.
Enough about eggs and apples!
Confusion Realization!
That evening, at home, my husband took the butter out of the refrigerator. As a highly-motivated Spanish learner, he is always speaking Spanish—practicing his new vocabulary and prononciation.
“Mantequilla,” he said as he placed the butter on the counter.
“Mantequilla!!!!!” I screamed. “Not manzana!”
My husband looked at me confused. Everyone was looking at me confused that day.
“I told my teacher and my class that we cook scrambled eggs in America with apples, not oil!”
“What?” he said. “Did you confuse manzana (apple) and mantequilla (butter)?”
“I sure did!” I said laughing.
Laughing at Myself
The next day, I went to class and explained to everyone that I had realized my mistake. They all laughed.
“It did seem surprising,” my teacher said. “However, I know that Americans like to eat peanut butter with apples, so I thought that perhaps they also like to eat their eggs with apples!”
Everyone laughed, and I laughed right along with them!
We have to always remember that, yes, learning a language requires a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. However, we cannot leave out a good dose of laughter in the process!
I’m convinced that our few moments of chuckling together over my language blooper put us all in a more relaxed state, making our brains better prepared to absorb another hour of Spanish language!
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—”THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
Have you ever learned a foreign language? What has been your funniest language blooper? How did you handle it when people laughed at your mistake?
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures”! Write about them in the comment box below.
