Hola, Lo Siento, Gracias

Hola, Lo Siento, Gracias

“Hola! Lo siento. Gracias. Lo siento. Gracias. Habla Ingles. Lo siento. Gracias. Gracias.”

The line above is the vocabulary I used yesterday in Miami, Bogota, and Barranquilla. In each airport and on each plane, my rolling carry-on kept bumping into people, lo siento...I asked for directions, gracias...I was friendly, hola...and the cycle repeated itself over and over!

I flew from Charlotte to Miami. As I exited one terminal and entered security for another terminal, I quickly realized that I needed to try to start thinking of sentences in Spanish. I wanted to be able to tell Gina a few different things and be able to ask the flight attendants about customs and my luggage. I also wanted to be able to be friendly to the people I would sit beside on the plane. So, as I sat at my gate in Miami, I dug out my pocket-sized Spanish-English Dictionary (I have a large one, too) and began to put together different sentences using the Memo pad on my phone. I believe I was the only not-native Spanish-speaker on the airplane, so when people looked at me and giggled I knew it was because I was casually reading my dictionary to develop sentences...oh, and probably because I was wearing my passport belt under my clothes for safety,  except that I was not in a loose shirt so everyone could see the belt anyway! I’m still laughing as I think about my experiences yesterday.

       I arrived in Bogota with plenty of time to spare. I sat beside a Play Therapist (which I might be interested in as a career) from Bogota who lives in Miami , on the plane and she helped me figure out my customs information. Luckily, I did not have to pick up my checked bag and go through customs with it. I had some time to relax in the airport…I should have thought about relaxing before I wandered around the airport looking for people who spoke enough English to explain Bogota’s gate system to me! Eventually I talked to a woman who explained to me that the gates for flights are not posted until thirty minutes before the scheduled boarding time. So, I was at ease…until the gate was changed and my flight was delayed. I made it onto the flight and was almost asleep before boarding was finished when the man beside me struck up a conversation. He did not speak English and my Spanish lacks in many areas. But, somehow we communicated and learned about one another. We also both talked to the boy beside us who was on an airplane for his first time. I was reminded of how speaking is not the only way to communicate; hand gestures, inflection in our voices helps us to know the tone of the conversation, and cooperation and patience make the conversation interesting!

         I was greeted by Gina and Jairo as I walked out of baggage claim in Cartagena. As the photo shows, I could not contain my excitement! The three of us talked and talked and talked on the drive to Barranquilla. We got acquainted with one another and worked on speaking slowly so we could each understand! I spoke to them about how, after my time in Bogota, I have a deeper understanding of how people feel when they come to the United States and many of us only speak English. Although I was stressing out a little bit, I was not frustrated. I had no reason to be frustrated because I am in a Spanish-speaking country and I do not speak Spanish. My time in Bogota did give me even more of a reason to learn to speak Spanish!

         After getting some rest in my new bed at my new home, I journeyed out into Barranquilla with Gina. I spoke “Spanglish” all day and decided that in two to three days, I am not allowing myself to speak any English at all. Living in a country where I do not speak the language is difficult. I was overwhelmed and flustered at a few different times during the day because it is hard to speak a language that is not my native tongue. But, I know that I have support from every person that I am visiting in Barranquilla. They are patient with me while I stumble through sentences and I am patient with them as they try to remember to speak slowly. The next five weeks are going to be filled with stumbling, Spanglish, laughter, faith, and hopefully some “real” Spanish!