Role Reversal

Supermaxi is our local grocery store, although we sometimes go to Coral (sort of a super Walmart on steroids) when we need gallon jugs of vinegar, cases of water, etc.

When we first moved here, over a year ago, when I would hear someone speaking English in either store, I would walk up and introduce myself. (Stu says my internal extrovert went on high alert...) It was a great way to meet new folks as well as ask questions about products, what to use and where to find things. Now the expats I encounter are typically friends and although we stop to chat, at times we just wave and move on down the aisle.

Yesterday I was doing some last minute shopping before the holiday weekend. I had just finished in the produce department and had moved to the dairy aisle when an Ecuadorian lady stopped me. She had a recipe written in English and wanted to know what an "apple" was. In Spanish the word is "manzana". She pointed towards the apples while she spoke, in English.

She wasn't sure if the apples were what she needed and I told her, "Si." She then said "large" and I nodded repeating "grande". As we walked towards the apples I told her, "No mas grande. Mediano." She laughed and agreed.

It wasn't till late that I realized how different this was from my visits a year ago. Today I helped a local with her English. A true role reversal.
 

Ciao for now!

Spices in Spanish

morguefile.com

A friend here in Ecuador recently published a link to a page that listed the names of common spices in English and Spanish. I remember our first shopping trip when I was trying to find just salt and pepper, then some cinnamon and cloves.

So here it is for anyone who can use it!

Allspice / Pimienta Gorda
Anise / Anís
Basil / Albahaca
Bay Leaves / Laurel
Black pepper / Pimienta Negra
Capers / Alcaparra
Caraway / Alcaravea
Chamomile / Manzanilla
Chervil / Cerafolio
Chives / Cebolleta
Cinnamon / Canela
Cardamom / Cardamomo
Cloves / Clavo
Comfrey / Confrey
Coriander / Cilantro
Cumin / Comino
Dill / Eneldo
Fennel / Hinojo
Garlic / Ajo
Ginger / Jengibre
Marjoram / Mejorano
Mustard / Mostaza
Nutmeg / Nuez Moscada
Onion / Cebolla
Oregano / Orégano
Paprika / Pimentón
Parsley / Perejil
Peppermint / Menta
Poppyseed / Adormidera
Rosemary / Romero
Saffron / Azafrán
Sage / Salvia
Savory / Saturega
Sesame Seed / Ajonjolí
Spearmint / Yerba Buena
Tarragon / Estragón
Thyme / Tomillo
Tumeric / Cúrcuma
Vanilla / Vanilla
Wintermint / Axocopaque

That said, many folks like to bring in less common spices as well as mixes that they were used to. We brought in large containers (Sam's Club) of Mrs. Dash Original and Old Bay. You won't find chili powder or taco seasoning here, so we also brought a large container of dark chili powder. Because some of the spices are milder (blander), we also brought cumin (readily available here) and cinnamon (also readily available).

Salt is easy to get but it has no iodine in it so we also opted to bring in a container of Morton's salt with iodine. We don't use a lot but we also don't eat a lot of things that might provide the iodine. I have thyroid issues and felt this was the best thing for us to do.

Why no posts?

Just a quick note explaining our absence lately. I hope to get more caught up after the holidays, adding to our move/mule page as well as our budget page. Oh yeah, the WHY....LOL!

We are taking Spanish classes, our first. The classes are two hours a day but we have to allow an hour to get a bus and our classes, the classes are from 11-1 so when we are done it's lunch time. Then we usually take a bus home. Thus we are often gone from ten to four, five days a week. By the time we get home we are beat...our brains stuffed and our bodies beat. We are off Thanksgiving week, the US day, then two more weeks of classes.

So how are we doing? Not sure...our pronunciation is better, we know a few more words but verb and tense - oh my! We've been out of formal school for a long time. Time will tell. The good thing is all our Ecuadorian friends are now helping us practice and aren't shy about correcting us.

Life is good!

Traveling - When things go wrong

Traveling can be stressful and we sometimes forget that we aren't in our home territory (be it another state or another country). If there is a language barrier, it can be even tougher. I recently read this blog post, The Uselessness of Getting Upset While Traveling, that points our many good reasons why we shouldn't get upset.

Reading the post I thought about our experience here in Ecuador where our Spanish is quite limited. We talked about living in the states and dealing with foreigners who nod their heads agreeably and then go on to do something different, frustrating us at times. Here in Ecuador, I find myself doing the same thing. Nodding my head, smiling and saying, "Si, si" repeatedly. The locals probably laugh and shrug when I then do something contrary to what was said.

Another thing that surprised us...we talk about the locals and their "bullet" Spanish, rapid fire speech that leaves us far behind. We were chatting with our maid a while back, she is working on her English and is doing quite well, and she said, "Demasiado rápido". WE were talking to fast in English for her. Something to remember...

Translation Confusion

As you know, we don't speak much Spanish but are working on it. But for now we are thankful for the online translators that help us figure out what we're reading. Of course this has drawbacks, not matter which way you are doing the translation.

For example, our friend Emilio posted on Facebook that he was at the airport waiting for his clients and their flight had been delayed. He posted, "Buelo atrasado tengo q esperar q que lleguen mis pasajeros."

Using various translators, this is what they told me he said:

• Late Buelo have q q coming by my passengers wait
  (Translated by Bing)
• q delayed flight I expect my passengers arriving q
  (Translated by Google)
• Late Buelo have q q coming by my passengers wait
  (Translated by SpanishDict ~ Microsoft Translator and Babelfish)
• My late grandfather's deaths expected q q that reach my passengers
  (Translated by SpanishDict ~ SDL)
• Backward Buelo I have q to hope q that my passengers should come
  (Translated by SpanishDict ~ PROMPT)

Since I don't speak Spanish, I have no idea which is closest to what he actually said but I think you can see the issue here. So I have to wonder what my writings, posted in Spanish using on of these translators actually says....

Got to keep a good sense of humor!

Spanish...oh the challenges!

Well, our latest attempt to help learn Spanish was to program in some DirecTV channels that are in Spanish. We found four that sounded worth following. It's interesting to watch commercials that are familiar.

I'm sitting here watching a commercial for Clorox and then one for Kraft cheese. I can pick out a few words here and there. The big thing is to get a feeling for the sound of the language, otherwise it's going to sound even stranger when we get off the plane in Ecuador. LOL!

Slowly learning....

We're still excited about our exploratory trip to Ecuador in April, we're counting down the days. We only have a couple of things left to get done. The first is seeing our doctor for any immunizations he feels we will need as well as written Rx to carry with us in case we run out of our normal meds.

The second, and the biggest, issue is learning Spanish. Neither of us have hit a perfect way to learn. We listen to works daily on our phones. We try the computer lessons. We read the work books. We try to pick out words on television and the Internet. Will we know more than a few phrases when we arrive? I suspect not, but we hope that immersion into the language while we are there will help us leap forward a bit.

One more item ticked off...Murali Hostal

After a lot of research, personal recommendations and price checking, we have booked a room in Guayaquil for the night we arrive. We are staying at Murali Hostal, also called the Guayaquil Airport Hotel. You can visit there website HERE.

We have a double bed for $56 including the 22% tax compared to the $120+ with tax at the Hampton Inn. We won't arrive until after 10 pm and we'll be taking the Super Semeria bus to Cuenca the next day so this works out fine for us. We have prearranged an airport shuttle to the hotel, should run $5-$10 max, well worth it after a 15+ hour travel day. Hey, we're old farts! ;-)

Stu is working on loading the Spanish MP3 files onto his iPhone and iPod. He's played with the DVD a bit and I'll be tackling it next. Some words will be difficult for me, I've never been good at rolling the letter R. I'll just smile a lot....