Um why didn't you tell me that before??

I think there is a part of me that loves awkward situations but I also a part of me that wants to run away from them, very very far away. As I am learning Spanish I am finding that not only do I put myself in many awkward situations but that communication in general is just hard especially in a new place. The hardest part of learning a language is definitely not in the books. It is in learning to communicate with people. Why do they do what they do or say what they say? It is undeniable that each person brings something different to this area and you learn it through observation. My job is to communicate and build healthy relationships but how do I do that when the language or really communication has been my limitation? Well, I have learned to make a mental log of people's repetitive behaviors and once something seems weird, I can recognize something is not right. Whether it's with what I am trying to communicate or watching someone communicate but not knowing the words I can still be apart of the conversation. This is all due to non-verbal communication, which has been so helpful for learning Spanish and who people are, it is just something we should be aware of all the time. So when speaking to someone or being apart of a conversation be aware of body position, facial expressions and hand gestures. They tell more of the story than the words do!

So knowing that here are my embarrassing stories, yes these are real and yes you can laugh at me.

I was in a restaurant with a few friends for lunch and I kept saying “estoy bueno, instead of estoy bien” so what’s the difference? Well when you say estoy bueno to a waitress who is asking you how you are, you are saying I am hot or like I know I am good looking, which is very awkward for her, especially when you say it about 7 times and nobody tells you what it means until after the meal is over. “Why didn’t you tell me!” I said to my friend. He just smiled and laughed.

My first week here I went to the barber and the guy lining up my beard gave me the mirror and said how does it look? I was surprised and said perfecto and then "my man", which is a phrase we say in the states when we appreciate someone. Well, telling a guy "mi hombre" in the barbershop thinking I can just turn this “cool” American phrase "my man" into Spanish doesn't work. Here it is taken as I want you to be my man, like more than a friend, as in your my man......you know what I am saying, you get it. LOL Now every time I am at the barber it's full laughter and teasing.

El stupido is a very bad word here, didn’t know that until I said to many uber drivers and friends at church during conversations. I wondered why I kept getting strange reactions. I just figured it was a safe word to describe something that didn't make sense or something I didn't like......nope!

Saying “mi gusto” to someone is basically saying you like yourself a lot, well a lot of people here think I like myself a lot!

Tomar is to take and Tocar is to touch, well once again people think I keep asking to touch them or touch something because I can’t keep them straight. Luckily for me, I didn’t know this for quite some time so I never felt awkward but think how they felt! LOL

I have many more.....just ask!