A Tasty, Tasty Snack
On English:
Watching other people try to learn English gives me a healthy dose of perspective amongst my own woes in trying to learn Spanish. For all that Spanish is the bane of my existence, it is, actually, a pretty easy language. English, I am convinced, goes out of its way to be persnickety. Take the simple, easy phrase "sweet dreams." In Spanish, its sueños dulces. Expect that when dulces is translated into English as a plural, it comes up as candy. Not to mention all the times when the same word has two or three completely different meanings. And top it all off with our lovely un-phonetic way of spelling. Suddenly my vast pool of self pity looks vaguely ridiculous.
On Mosquitoes:
The advice given to me at the travel health clinic where I got several of my shots was this: don't get bit by mosquitoes. Really? Let me tell you how I am, DEET or no DEET, a tasty, tasty snack. I have bug bites everywhere. It will take a flingin' flangin' milagro for me not to come down with any number of nasty diseases. I am hoping my absolute faith in my anti-malarial pills will stave off even those illnesses that are unconnected to malaria.
On Hypocondria:
Speaking of being a lunatic...Possibly I am on the road to being less of one. For those of you who don't know, I am a raging hypochondriac. I'm pretty sure several of my freckles are actually dangerously cancerous moles and I may have an aneurysm at any moment.
However, this has come into direct conflict with my other deep-seeded need: to not cause a fuss! Here in the tropics, even little things can become a big deal very quickly. Combined with the limited availability of health care, Nicaraguan culture has developed into one that is very concerned about your well-being. I HATE being a bother. So when I feel poorly, I stuff down all the paranoia and soldier on.
Well, my time is nearly up for today's internet session. Join us again next time for....something.
Watching other people try to learn English gives me a healthy dose of perspective amongst my own woes in trying to learn Spanish. For all that Spanish is the bane of my existence, it is, actually, a pretty easy language. English, I am convinced, goes out of its way to be persnickety. Take the simple, easy phrase "sweet dreams." In Spanish, its sueños dulces. Expect that when dulces is translated into English as a plural, it comes up as candy. Not to mention all the times when the same word has two or three completely different meanings. And top it all off with our lovely un-phonetic way of spelling. Suddenly my vast pool of self pity looks vaguely ridiculous.
On Mosquitoes:
The advice given to me at the travel health clinic where I got several of my shots was this: don't get bit by mosquitoes. Really? Let me tell you how I am, DEET or no DEET, a tasty, tasty snack. I have bug bites everywhere. It will take a flingin' flangin' milagro for me not to come down with any number of nasty diseases. I am hoping my absolute faith in my anti-malarial pills will stave off even those illnesses that are unconnected to malaria.
On Hypocondria:
Speaking of being a lunatic...Possibly I am on the road to being less of one. For those of you who don't know, I am a raging hypochondriac. I'm pretty sure several of my freckles are actually dangerously cancerous moles and I may have an aneurysm at any moment.
However, this has come into direct conflict with my other deep-seeded need: to not cause a fuss! Here in the tropics, even little things can become a big deal very quickly. Combined with the limited availability of health care, Nicaraguan culture has developed into one that is very concerned about your well-being. I HATE being a bother. So when I feel poorly, I stuff down all the paranoia and soldier on.
Well, my time is nearly up for today's internet session. Join us again next time for....something.
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1 comments:
I don't envy you the anti-malarial pills, I hear they're huge. But keep taking em! We want you healthy!
And English is an absolute swear word to learn. The only upside is that it's so highly available most places - tv, movies books, lots of things are available in English worldwide. Many's the fellow that learned English listening to the BBC on the radio.
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