After a few days in Brazil, I was feeling pretty good about learning to converse a little bit in another language. With Portuguese being similar to Spanish and Italian, I could pick up on a good portion of what people were trying to say and could kinda sorta get my point across for the simple things.
All confidence was lost, however, when I arrived in Argentina and realized just how rusty my Spanish was. Having done my best to rid my brain of all Spanish and replace it with Italian, I found myself no longer able to move my mouth to say what I wanted to say. It either came out Italian, English, or some strange version of Spanish mixed with the two. I’ve dubbed this new language:
ItalSpanglish
I’ve found that it’s understandable in certain situations, but most definitely not all:
Just walking into a hostel where they only speak Spanish? Nope!
Discussing with a Tango show host, who seems to have memorized a handful of English phrases, where I can and can’t sit and what’s reserved for dinner and for show? Not a chance!
Talking about the beach in California over some Malbec and Steak with a few 20-somethings? Now we’re talking!
And finally, explaining to an Argentinian girl that your new-found hostel friend from Australia really is a phenomenal dancer? Well, I might as well be fluent!
Here’s to the next month of new languages and hopefully fewer snickers and giggles after my conversations!