Sprechen Zie Espanol?
When I was younger I thought it would be a great idea to learn German in high school and college. So I did. What the hell was I thinking? I've never really put it to any practical use. Not sure that I ever will (at least not without actually going to Germany).
Over the past several years, it's become an occupational necessity for me to learn Spanish. Look around you folks. No big secret that the Hispanic population in the Metropolitan area has grown tremendously over the past 5 years.
Now, I used to be one of those people that would say "I shouldn't have to learn Spanish, they should learn English!" And I still adhere to that philosophy, but it's just not practical. So I've gone out of my way to learn some Spanish. In some ways it's made my job easier, but there are a couple hang-ups I have with it.
It's been my experience that good old Pedro won't "comprende" when he knows he's in some form of trouble with the Policia. Part of me can appreciate that, but here's my big issue. If I say something to Pedro in English and get the "I no understand" response, fine. If I say the exact same thing to Pedro in Spanish and he still acts like he doesn't know what I'm talking about, that just pisses me off. If you speak Spanish, and I say something to you in Spanish (correctly, I might add), you'd better not look at me like I've got 8 heads. Get past the shock that the big Gringo cop can habla, and answer my question.
Another thing I can't quite wrap my head around is that some of these guys don't know their own birth date. I mean, I'll ask in English, get that look, then ask again in Spanish. And I honestly believe that they don't have a clue sometimes. How do you not know something like that??? They know enough to tell me how old they are, but can't possibly come up with the month and day they were born. Of course, thinking about it now, that's a pretty cool parent trick I guess. Don't tell little Javier what his birthday is and you can save a ton of cash every year on all those cards and gifts you don't need to buy.
Oh, and as an aside - I've seen a number of Hispanic dudes sporting NHL shirts, jerseys and hats lately. That always makes me laugh since 99% of the guys I see wearing that stuff don't realize they're wearing hockey apparel. A couple weeks ago I saw a guy wearing a Flyers t-shirt and I couldn't resist. I walked over to him and said "Hey man, you think Forsberg is going to put up good points in the playoffs?" Yeah, I had 8 heads again.
Viva la Stupido! Guten abend mi amigo.
Over the past several years, it's become an occupational necessity for me to learn Spanish. Look around you folks. No big secret that the Hispanic population in the Metropolitan area has grown tremendously over the past 5 years.
Now, I used to be one of those people that would say "I shouldn't have to learn Spanish, they should learn English!" And I still adhere to that philosophy, but it's just not practical. So I've gone out of my way to learn some Spanish. In some ways it's made my job easier, but there are a couple hang-ups I have with it.
It's been my experience that good old Pedro won't "comprende" when he knows he's in some form of trouble with the Policia. Part of me can appreciate that, but here's my big issue. If I say something to Pedro in English and get the "I no understand" response, fine. If I say the exact same thing to Pedro in Spanish and he still acts like he doesn't know what I'm talking about, that just pisses me off. If you speak Spanish, and I say something to you in Spanish (correctly, I might add), you'd better not look at me like I've got 8 heads. Get past the shock that the big Gringo cop can habla, and answer my question.
Another thing I can't quite wrap my head around is that some of these guys don't know their own birth date. I mean, I'll ask in English, get that look, then ask again in Spanish. And I honestly believe that they don't have a clue sometimes. How do you not know something like that??? They know enough to tell me how old they are, but can't possibly come up with the month and day they were born. Of course, thinking about it now, that's a pretty cool parent trick I guess. Don't tell little Javier what his birthday is and you can save a ton of cash every year on all those cards and gifts you don't need to buy.
Oh, and as an aside - I've seen a number of Hispanic dudes sporting NHL shirts, jerseys and hats lately. That always makes me laugh since 99% of the guys I see wearing that stuff don't realize they're wearing hockey apparel. A couple weeks ago I saw a guy wearing a Flyers t-shirt and I couldn't resist. I walked over to him and said "Hey man, you think Forsberg is going to put up good points in the playoffs?" Yeah, I had 8 heads again.
Viva la Stupido! Guten abend mi amigo.
posted by P. at 11:07 PM
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