Ese simpático teléfono / That friendly phone (Esp/Eng)

Acabo de empezar mi cuarta semana de trabajo y estoy felizmente extenuada.

La verdad, ya no me acordaba de qué era eso de prepararme la comida para el día siguiente, levantarme pronto para salir corriendo a por el autobús o tener un ordenador que me espera en la mesa todas las mañanas. Estoy aprendiendo a hacer mil cosas nuevas y, aunque no debería ser el trabajo el que me proporcionara la siguiente afirmación, me siento útil.

Y entonces va y suena el teléfono, y el mundo se viene abajo. Yo pensaba que había entendido a la gente con la que he hablado por teléfono en inglés, pero se ve que llevo tres años imaginándome conversaciones.Cuando descuelgo el teléfono y amablemente les digo «Buenos días -o tardes- le atiende Bego, ¿en qué puedo ayudarle?» la gente, simplemente, vomita. O al menos así me suena.

Estoy en ello, oiga, pero mientras tendrá que hablarme más despacio.

That friendly phone

This is my fourth working week and I feel happily exhausted.

I must admit that I didn’t remember how it was preparing lunch for the following day, waking up early to run after the bus or having a computer on the desk waiting for me every morning. I am  learning to do a thousand things and, although working shouldn’t be the source of the next statement, I feel useful.

But then the telephone rings and my world falls apart. I believed that I had been understanding English conversations with people I spoke with on the phone, but it seems that I have been making up those conversations. When I pick up the telephone and I reply this friendly ‘good morning (or afternoon), Bego speaking, how can I help you?’ people on the other side just vomit. At least it seems so to me.

Hey, I’m on that, but I’d really appreciate if you could please slow down.

My four basic words

You got it. Yeap, OZ means Australia. And you also got that there is a non-ending list with acronyms, abbreviations and shortened words that you will need to survive in Australia. There are a lot of lists you can consult. But these are by far my favorite four (the meaning is courtesy of the Oxford English Dictionary).

OMG

Oh my God!

colloq. freq. in the language of electronic communications. Expressing astonishment, excitement, embarrassment, etc.:

WTF

What the fuck?

esp. in the language of electronic  communications. Used to express incredulity or annoyance:

LOL

Laughing out loud… and also Lots of laughs

colloq. Originally and chiefly in the language of electronic communications: ‘ha ha!’. Used to draw attention to a joke or humorous statement, or to express amusement.

I left them here, FYI.

El entretiempo (English)

Entretiempo. This is a Spanish word that doesn’t exist in English. As I used to live in Melbourne I didn’t use it too often. You don’t need it as you have four seasons in one day and the weather is unstable. However, I live in Perth now and yesterday I was walking back home in the sun when I realized how good I felt. I remembered how I like the entretiempo.

Entretiempo is the time between winter and summer seasons, that is spring and autumn. I prefer spring as plants are blooming, days are warmer and longer, you can almost touch the summer beach days and it’s my birthday (obviously in the Northern Hemisphere).

I’ve looked up for its translation and the most similar word is half-time but it doesn’t do justice to my lovely Spanish word. English speakers, I give it to you for free. Take it. But most of all, enjoy it.

 

Is it clear?

I love Spanish: writing it, looking for the suitable word every single time, speaking it… That’s why I struggle with English sometimes, cause I don’t want to abandon my precious language.

To make it worse, I decided to teach Spanish in Melbourne. If I hadn’t studied Journalism, I’d have studied to become a teacher. I really enjoy it.

I feel confident teaching Spanish and although I love challenging myself it can be a tough task. Have you ever tried to explain conjugations? What about subjunctive?  When I explain new content, I like to be sure everyone understands the lesson. So I look at my students and I ask them: Is it clear? Sometimes I can hear someone mumbling:

Clear as mud

I smile. I got it.

 

¡Hey, mate! (Esp / Eng)

Un amigo australiano se queja de que en cualquier acto social, cuando alguien extranjero se da cuenta de que él es de aquí se dirigen a él como mate. Esta palabra es nuestro equivalente a colega o tío. A él le molesta esa confianza y me parece una queja entendible. Yo no llamo tío al primer español que me cruzo por el camino. Los foráneos muchas veces lo hacemos por ser simpáticos o por sentirnos integrados. Pero no hay nada como escuchar y aprender.

Por eso me sorprendió una pequeña conversación que tuve con uno de los jefazos del restaurante mexicano en el que trabajo. Estábamos hablando del guacamole pero tuve que admitir que no era una experta, pues yo no soy de México. «¿Ah, no?», preguntó. «No, soy de España». En su cara me pareció ver que no entendía mucho la diferencia.

No es la primera vez que me pasa. Hace poco, otra mánager nos preguntaba a una compañera y a mí si no éramos de México. Le explicamos que yo era española y ella colombiana. Estaba desconcertada. Para asegurarse si lo había entendido nos volvió a preguntar que dónde estaban esos países. Cada uno a un lado del océano Atlántico, aclaramos. Uno en Europa, otro en América. Le dibujamos un mapa. Seguía atónita  «¿Y habláis el mismo idioma?» Las atónitas éramos nosotras. Para rematar, lanzó una última pregunta. No se fiaba de nosotras. «Pero entonces, ¿no es México el que manda sobre todos los demás?».

La verdad es que nos quedamos de piedra. No supimos qué decir.

En esto de la globalización creo que ya no hay excusas para nadie. A mí me falta mucho por aprender, muchos lugares que señalar con precisión en el mapa, y mil cosas que ni imagino. Pero algo sí tengo claro: los australianos no son iguales que los ingleses por mucho que éstos se instalaran en Australia y se trajeran con ellos el inglés y el té.

Sólo digo que algunos mates podrían ponerse las pilas.

 

HEY MATE!

An Australian friend has a complaint. In social events, when he is identified as an aussie for a foreigner, this person calls him mate. We do it to look nice or just to feel more integrated, but he doesn’t feel comfortable. From his opinion, this word is too informal especially from someone who is not a friend. Fair enough. There’s nothing as listen and learn.

That’s why I was amazed after a conversation I had with a big boss of the Mexican restaurant I work for. We were talking about guacamole but I had to admit that I am not an expert as I am not from that country. «Really?», he asked. “No, I am from Spain”, I replied. But I could tell by his look that he didn’t understand the difference.

It is not the first time. Another manager asked to my Colombian friend and I if we weren’t Mexican. We told her which our home countries were. She was confused. She wanted to be sure so she asked for our countries location. “In different continents, America and Europe, the Atlantic Ocean is in between”. We even draw a map for her understanding. She was astonished. “But do you speak the same language?” We were the astonished ones. To make things worse, she asked for the last time: “But México is not the country which commands the others?”.

We were stunned. Nothing to say.

With the globalization, excuses are not possible anymore. I have to learn a lot, I don’t know where many countries are in the map exactly and other things that I can’t even imagine that I am missing. But I am sure about noticing the difference between British people and Australians, although both speak English and adore tea.

I am just telling that some mates could pay attention.

 

A fast learner

Did I tell you that I am seeking a job? A good one. As a journalist. I am learning how to create a really good aussie résumé, writing a cover letter depending on the employer, trying to be the appointee. It is pretty hard and it takes a while. It is a good journalistic practice though. The best part is acquiring new vocabulary and improving my sense of accuracy.

My conclusion is that I am ready guys. And it is something left, no worries:

I hit the ground running.

Are you a greedy gut?

The Brazilian restaurant located below my home has this slogan to promote lunch time.  I am tempted to try 🙂

 

Diana, you decide

We had the same idea. We are still connected. She lives in London. I live in Melbourne.

Nuestras mesas en el periódico ADN eran un desastre. Such a messy desktops

I proposed her to work together, as we used to, talk, share ideas, confront our point of views, connect with a look of complicity (via Skype).

The idea is, at least, challenging for both of us. It will keep us busy, mentally active and compromised.

I told her: ‘wouldn’t it be thrilling?’

Diana, the ball is in your court.

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You procrastinate, do you?

I procrastinate.

And I do know. Always delaying my to do things for later. It reminds me my mother telling me that I would have heaps of things to do ‘later’.

Well, it doesn’t have to be like this. I can do it tomorrow.

 

Dos españolas y una conversación / Two Spanish people and a conversation (Esp/Eng)

Raquel, española, de Madrid. Peter, escocés, de Perth. Francisco, venezolano, de Caracas. Begoña, española, de Valencia.

Cuatro personas y una mesa, en Melbourne, Australia.

No es un chiste.

Raquel y yo hablamos en español de un tema banal. Pero estamos indignadas. Cada una quiere añadir sus argumentos. El escocés se levanta, sólo oye español y se pierde un poco. Raquel y yo estamos de acuerdo, y sólo hacemos que apuntar nuevas ideas que soportan nuestro punto de vista. Elevamos la voz. Gesticulamos. Estamos a punto de llegar a una conclusión. Francisco dice tímidamente que le perdonemos, que se levanta, que hay demasiada tensión en la mesa.

Raquel y yo nos miramos. ¿Tensión? Pero si no estamos discutiendo. Si estamos de acuerdo. Si sólo estamos hablando.

Nos miramos otra vez y nos reímos.

Somos españolas. Ponemos el alma en todo lo que hacemos. Vamos, no es tan difícil de entender.

 

TWO SPANISH PEOPLE AND A CONVERSATION

Raquel, Spanish, from Madrid. Peter, Scottish, from Perth. Francisco, Venezuelan, from Caracas. Begoña, Spanish, from Valencia.

Four people at the table in Melbourne, Australia.

It is not a joke.

Raquel and I talk about a trivial topic. We are in a huff. Each of us wants to add their point. The Scottish stands up, he’s lost as all the conversation is in Spanish. Raquel and I agree, we add new ideas which support our point of view. Our voices are louder. We gesticulate. We are about to reach the conclusion. Francisco, shyly, asks for permission to leave the table, there is too much tension.

Raquel and I stare at each other. Tension? We are not arguing. We do agree. We are just talking.

We stare at each other again and we laugh.

We are Spanish. We put our heart into everything we do. Come on, it is not difficult to get it.