The Locals

I have been proud of my increasing confidence with my Spanish. Unlike my time in Spain where I lived with Americans making Spanish practice more difficult, here it’s all I speak and hear. I speak Spanish with Laura, Miguel, the kids at el comedor. The only person I speak to in English is Valeria, and that is normally because we walk about logistics with el comedor and I want to make sure I understand everything and she understands everything I’m saying.

This past weekend I’ve become even more comfortable speaking with strangers. At la feria artisanal I held conversations with a few vendors, asking about their products and what various symbols meant. This afternoon I went to buy pears to make pear jam with Laura, and held a conversation with the two old men selling the fruit. They asked where I was from; I said the U.S. and Virginia Oeste. It appears when I say “Virginia Oeste” (West Virginia) they don’t catch the ‘oeste’ part and all say, “ oh, siii, Virginia.” I let it slide. I would never allow someone to get away with this in the states, but its not worth trying to explain they are two different states. The same old men asked me if it was the same state as Nevada…this shows you the limited knowledge of U.S. geography.

It does continue to show that I stick out and its extremely obvious I’m not any kind of Spanish…but at least they don’t try and speak English or hit on me. I’m noticing they don’t whistle or make sexual comments (unlike the teenagers or middle-aged men on the street) if they are selling a product and I’m the consumer.