Funny in Spanish....

I have to begin this post by saying that I am wearing four shirts, and a jacket, while sitting at my computer in the casa. It is cold, but it's always cold. Today has felt colder for a simple reason.: They turned on the estufa (heater) at school today, and I think it completely ruined my resolve. I had actually forgotten what it was like to be warm, without being in bed or a collective, and was perfectly happy that way. But today...everything has changed. I'm WEAK! But with the cold, you also get this:



Today was a kind of weird day for a number of reasons. Once again, the rain prevented most of the kids from coming to school, but instead of going home I insisted on staying and doing whatever everyone else was doing. Little did I know that our activity would be one of my favorites: gossip. Man, so my tias love the gossip. So we had our tomasito, and chatted, and they made fun of the fact that I carry a small dictionary everywhere. I learned that Tia M has a ridiculously good-looking (jovencito) son in the military, and that she really misses him. I learned that another tia has been nuts since her divorce, and knows three phrases in English: "Of course" "I am English" and "Go to the window".

I don't consider myself especially friendly. I have friends, but I've never been the girl that everyone wants to know or anything. In English, I probably still would't be talking to my tias, or finding out about their lives. I'd be reading in the corner or pretending to watch ViVa! Humor, in my mind anyway, is what I have to offer, and I'm usually to shy to try to make a joke. What I realize now is that to my tias, and presumably Chillenos in general, I'm funny just for being here, and being blonde, and wearing a blazer. And carrying a dictionary.

As I found out last night, after giving a presentaion to my voluntarios about the Colegio, I can be funny in Spanish. This is a great shock, as the line between being laughed at and being laughed with is even more blurry when its being translated. Our meetings, even though most of us speak English, are conducted in Spanish. It makes me incredibly nervous, because presenting to a bunch of English speakers, many with perfect Spanish, and a bunch of Spanish speakers, many of whom have perfect English, makes you the asshole. I don't want to be wrong, and I don't want to insult anyone. But oh, the importance of tone! You can say just about anything, pause, say it again, and get a laugh. Its quite the confidence booster. And besides, how could I really be intimidated by these people?