Guatemala

[HansV]

Beautiful!

[StuartR]

Now I'm jealous

[Claude]

así, parece que usted está teniendo un tiempo bueno y relajante, Geoff !

[Rudi]

How would you say is Spanish, "Righteous dude, I'm stoked to epic proportions cos nothing like nature can shoot the curl on a brothers intellect. Ho yah!"

[GeoffW]

These were taken yesterday, at markets about two hours away from where I'm staying.

Its going to be a bit hard to top these for colour.

[GeoffW]

And a few more...

[HansV]

Very colo(u)rful indeed!

[mishmish3000]

Lovely!!!! I envy you your vistas, and your learning time! That's the absolute best way to learn a language, and understand a culture. Kudos!!

A friend of mine from Iraq came over to the US with her husband... they were both Iraqi Kurds but from different villages, and couldn't understand each other's dialects in Kurdish, so they spoke Arabic to each other.

They landed in Guam for a year or so, and learned Spanish before English. Then they ended up in Atlanta, then Nashville, so their English is spiked with Southern American English terms, mixed with occasional Spanish, Arabic and some Kurdish! So talking with them was always an adventure and always fun!!

I learned Standard Arabic a few years ago and am told I have an accent from Baghdad, since that's where my instructor was from. I wouldn't know... I just know you have to be careful because there's only a slight difference in pronouncing some words. Oddly enough, "husband" and "fool" are very close-sounding. I thought that was funny...

[GeoffW]

In Spanish I sometimes confuse cansando and casado. Married and tired. I don't know why.

There are regional differences. One must be careful. In Guatemala and further south, to catch a bus is "cojer in autobus". But in Mexico that's an extremely rude expression which could start a fight.

[mishmish3000]

Wow, Geoff, that's cool... I wonder what other languages see things like that--married/tired; husband/fool... Hmm. I'm seeing a trend.

And those are simply lovely photos!!!!!

[jstevens]

Geoff,

Lovely pictures!

I'd be day dreaming if I had a class outside. If it were raining, it would be a different story.

Thanks again for the pictures,
John

[Rudi]

Yep...agreed, very colourful images; and great photos too - catching the vibrancy of the market place.

I once read of a guy (tourist) walking the streets in an eastern city (not sure which one). He was lost so he called for a young girl using the common "come here please" gesture. The girl burst out in tears and ran away. Later that evening, back in the home he was boarding in, he asked the owner why the girl burst out in tears when he called her. Discovering that he used that gesture, the owner explained that it was used to call over prostitutes, and this young girl was obviously deeply offended.

It is amazing that for one person a simple gesture or verbal phrase can be harmless, yet for another person or culture it can mean something entirely different. It is really a matter of doing some homework before a trip to a foreign place.

Oh...another quick example: I have some Russian friends that a year back were working here in Cape Town. I was visiting them in their home one weekend and was whistling away while helping to set the table for a meal. My friend, Ivar came up to me and quietly (and with most humble kindness) told me to stop whistling in their home. I could whistle outside, but not under their roof. He explained to me that in their culture it was superstitious of an impending death of a family member in their home. I apologized profusely and was very self conscious after that.

[BobH]

In Spanish I sometimes confuse cansando and casado. Married and tired. I don't know why.

There are regional differences. One must be careful. In Guatemala and further south, to catch a bus is "cojer in autobus". But in Mexico that's an extremely rude expression which could start a fight.

Howdy, Geoff!

Thanks for sharing your experiences in Guatemala with us!

I have a question about 'cansando' and 'casado'. Did you mean 'cansado'? 'Cansando' would be the gerund form, no?

[mishmish3000]

Wow, the whistling thing was interesting!
My grandmother (from Drogheda, in Ireland) always used to toss a pinch of salt over one shoulder if she spilled any while cooking. Apparently if you don't do that, your meal won't turn out right. Even though I know it's silly, I do it too, having learned it from my mother, who learned it from hers... wonder how far back THAT chain goes? I can see little Irish women tossing salt all over the place...

[PaulB]

Hence the saying: They're the salt of the (Ire)land.

[GeoffW]

I have a question about 'cansando' and 'casado'. Did you mean 'cansado'? 'Cansando' would be the gerund form, no?

You are right. It's cansado, I'm sorry.

[GeoffW]

I'd be day dreaming if I had a class outside. If it were raining, it would be a different story.

It hasn't rained since I got here two weeks ago, except for when the plane flew in. The wet has finished, and because of the altitude, the climate is excellent.

If it does rain, they have an amazing technological innovation which can help. The "classroom" is to the right. It has a thing on top which I translate as "roof".

[BobH]

I have a question about 'cansando' and 'casado'. Did you mean 'cansado'? 'Cansando' would be the gerund form, no?

You are right. It's cansado, I'm sorry.

No apologies needed, Geoff! I was just seeking clarification.

If I had a classroom with such a beautiful is such exotic surroundings, I doubt that I could concentrate enough on the lessons.

[GeoffW]

For everybody who's sick of posts about Guatemala - I have no more. I'm at the airport waiting for my flight out.

To Costa Rica.

[Rudi]

Safe travels....