In the past few days, the people I've been spending the most time with include Mexicans, Dutch, Germans and French. Needless to say, we've had a ton of fun sorting out each other's customs, sayings and cultures.
Anna, from Germany, told us that when you toast glasses in Germany and don't look someone directly in the eye, that means you'll have seven years with no sex. (!) Marco, from Mexico City, told us it's the same rule in Mexico, except the punishment is seven years with no orgasm (!!). I've also learned that in Mexico, "to be drunk" is "estar happy." ¿Estabas happy anoche? Were you drunk last night? I like that! Gabriela, from Monterrey, Mexico, said there's an old wive's tale that when you trip on a sidewalk, it means your boyfriend is cheating on you. Good thing I don't have a boyfriend cause I trip all the time.
But there's definitely a few things that unite us, one of which you can guess: drinking. It's a universal thing!
Another thing that makes us similar across boundaries which I didn't even think about before: the internet. Every person here has a laptop and a spends lot of time surfing the web and chatting to friends from home. At the apartment where the 6 of them live (around the corner from me) they just got wireless hookup; before they were sharing one cable. Yesterday I went over to visit and everyone was in their own room and not in the communal living room. "Que pasa?" I asked. The landlord was there and told me: they just got wireless--there goes the community! It was funny.
In terms of language, all of us speak in English and Spanish to one another. English is the most common language. If we're chatting, it's mostly in English, since Spanish to the Europeans is their third or fourth language. But since we're here to study Spanish and Marco and Gabriela's first language is Spanish, we try to stick to that more. It's neat how we go back and forth and ask questions, ¿como se dice esto? How do you say this? Everyone asks me as much about how to say English words as I ask Gabriela and Marco how to say Spanish ones. It's a fun dynamic.
Also fun tidbit: I watched The Simpsons in Spanish! Ule (my roommate) and I went to his German's friend's apartment last night. The landlord of this apartment lives with him and was extremely nice and extremely into American cartoons. He says he watches The Simpsons, Futurama and Family Guy (Hombre de la Familia) all the time! Que bueno!
Mas a venir. Chao!
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