Lost in Translation

One of the more interesting parts of our two months here in Ecuador has been speaking a new language. It has been a great learning experience for us, and our Spanish proficiency has grown tremendously. That being said, we're far from fluent, and this has led to some pretty humorous conversations and situations, since we speak only Spanish with Jairo (see Eric's previous post re: telling Jairo not to "kick himself with the money").

Also, being first-time parents, we're learning our way in this new life, and we've found ourselves saying things we've never said before.

Below are a few snippets from our daily conversations...

*****

Time Change

Eric: I can't believe how late it is.
Rebecca: What time is it?
Eric: 9:30
Rebecca: Wow, it is late. We should probably get to bed.
[pause]
R & E: Did we really just say that?


*****

Many Spanish words are very similar to one another, which makes it easy to confuse one for the other....

Snacks

Rebecca: Quieres una manzana para tu colita?*
Jairo: [blank stare]

* colacion = snack, colita = tail.
So I just asked Jairo if he wanted an apple for his tail.


Rats

In the first few days of our time with Jairo, between the combination of our minimal Spanish and his unique child's vocabulary, we had a hard time understanding him. So it was not unusual for us to misinterpret what he was saying, like this conversation that took place the first night he spent with us:

Jairo: [Something, something, something]... rato ... [something, something, something].
Rebecca: Rato? No, there are no rats here.
Jairo: No. Rato en mi cama.
Rebecca: Oh! Don't worry, I promise there are no rats in your bed.
Jairo: [blank stare]

A couple weeks later we learned that Jairo was not saying rata, which means "rat," but rather rato, which means "a while." Apparently he had been asking us to stay a while with him in his bed... not telling us there were rats in his bed.

*****

Babies

Jairo: Mami, how do babies get out of their mom's stomachs?

I was completely blindsided by the question I figured we had a few more years to prepare for. Not to mention that this isn't exactly the kind of vocabulary I've been learning in my Spanish classes. So I figured I could postpone the conversation until the next time he asked, and prepare my answer in the meantime.

Rebecca: Ummm... I don't know.
Jairo: [Proceeds to explain the different ways a baby can come into the world, in complete and anatomically correct detail].
Rebecca & Eric: [Jaws on the ground.]

*****

Dessert

Eric: Do you want your pinata candy for dessert?
Jairo: No. I shouldn't eat candy at night -- it will hurt my stomach.
Eric: Oh, ok... Good idea.
Jairo: Can I have an orange instead?

Another huge round of applause to the Tias for teaching the children such good (and often surprising) habits.


*****

Cards

Jairo has been making cards for all his friends and Tias, and for each one, we've encouraged him to choose his own words, without our direction, so the sentiments would be very authentic. Usually the cards go something like this: "Thank you for playing with me [or taking care of me]. I love you very much. I will miss you!"

But on a few of the cards we needed to step in and make some edits. Here were his first drafts:

- For one of his friends, who is at times a little aggressive: "Please don't bite me."

- For another friend, who has some muscle weaknesses: "Thank you for not drooling."

- For Tio Alfredo, the orphanage guard: "Thank you for keeping the robbers and the rats out of our house."


*****

Milk

Jairo has milk with his cereal each morning, and often milk with dinner. Each time we serve it to him, he asks us if it's milk from a cow, and each time we answer, "yes." So one time I was curious to know why he was asking, thinking perhaps they had goat's milk back at the orphanage, so I probed...

Jairo: Is this milk from a cow?
Rebecca: Yes. All the milk we drink is from cows. Where was the milk from that you drank at Casa Fe?
Jairo: A store.

Apparently Jairo thinks Eric and I have been getting up early to milk a cow each morning!

*****

Eric's humor

This week we went out to dinner one last time, to celebrate our great experience here in Ecuador. At dinner we reflected on our time here, and talked about our next steps when we return home.

Eric: What are you looking forward to most when we return home?
Rebecca: Introducing Jairo to our family, his new home, our culture and country. And to seeing our life anew through his eyes.
Rebecca: What are you looking forward to most?
Eric: McDonalds.

After almost twelve years together, Eric still makes me laugh every day. :)