Learn some Spanish just for fun

Gary Jacobsen
Published: May 19, 2008

Over the years my wife and I have hosted 11 international students. Nine were high school students who lived in our home during the school year and the other two — both college students — lived on campus, though they visited with us regularly.

Hosting these students was a good experience for us, since it allowed us to learn more about other cultures and also to learn useful expressions in other languages. We assisted our students with
English — particularly idiomatic expressions — and they taught us words and phrases in German, Swedish, Czech, Dutch, Chinese and Kazak. These language skills helped us greatly in later years in
our travels abroad.

Our current student is from mainland China. She is a business administration major at George Mason University, where she maintains a B+ average. She is fluent in English, but occasionally American
expressions are unfamiliar to her. For example, my wife once told her that she would be attending a baby shower over the weekend. A “baby shower?” She was puzzled, and I think you can see why.

I recently completed a beginner’s course in the Spanish language at the Northern Virginia Community College, mainly because we have many Hispanic friends and neighbors. When I use Spanish words
and phrases, my friends smile broadly. I guess they are pleased I am trying to communicate in their native language. They apparently don’t mind if I fracture Spanish expressions in the process.

Nowadays, I look for opportunities to speak Spanish, even with people I don’t know well. At the health club I always say “Buenas tardes, senora” (good afternoon, madam) to the membership counselor
who is from Peru. She smiles and politely responds with “Buenas tardes, senor. Como esta Usted?” (Good afternoon, sir. How are you?) My reply is “Muy bien, gracias.” (I am fine, thank you).

Recently I was at a Potomac Mills auto parts store, managed by a twentysomething Hispanic woman. She was rearranging a display in a narrow aisle, and as I maneuvered around her I said “con
permiso” (excuse me). She looked at me blankly, a sure sign that I had pronounced the words incorrectly. Then she gave me a bright smile and said (phonetically) “con per-MEE-so.” I thanked her for
helping me with the pronunciation.

On another occasion I was talking with a lab technician at the DeWitt Health Center in Woodbridge. I asked “Usted habla espanol?” (Do you speak Spanish?) She laughed and replied “Si, senor,” (yes,
sir) but then added, in English, “I also speak Filipino because I am from the Philippines.” I don’t speak that language, so we both resorted to English.

Common threads run through all of these brief, perhaps insignificant encounters: smiles and a sense of goodwill. I can’t help but feel that I brightened the day for others by speaking, however briefly, in
their native languages. I know that in each case my day was made more enjoyable.

Note:In my column of April 22, I used some examples of strict liability from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, mistakenly without attribution. See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strict_liability.

Gary Jacobsen lives in Woodbridge.