Stand-out words of the day:  former slur terms that are now used as national identification slang (often with pride) by the various people of Central America.

Happy to share.

I am already the proud mother of two of the cutest Chapines (chah-PEEN-ays) in the USA.  “Chapin” or “Chapina” means someone from Guatemala.  Having done some cursory research online, I believe the term comes from a type of shoe that the Maya people wore hundreds of years ago which made them easily identifiable by people from other regions.

Our future kids from El Salvador?  “Guanacos.”   Or “Guanacas” if they’re girls. 

It’s always good to know these things, right?

As for the Complete Central American Slang-Term List:

Mexican – depends on the region.  “Chicano/a” is a U.S.American of Mexican descent, “Chilango” is someone from Mexico City, “Chollero/a” is someone from Los Cabos  (refers to a type of cactus there)

Guatemalan – Chapin/Chapina  (after a type of sandal worn by the Maya in this region in pre-Columbian times) 

Belizean - ???  (I thought my friend was just being coy when she said there is no term, but it appears that her native country somehow escaped without one!)

Salvadoran – Guanaco/Guanaca (derived from Maya tribal band, refers to brotherhood)

Honduran – Catracho/Catracha (after a 19th century military leader, Florencio Xatruch)

Nicaraguan – Nica, Nicoya or Pinolero/Pinolera  (the former and second are shortened versions of the country name, the latter refers to a drink made in Nicaragua called “Pinol.”)

Costa Rican – Tico/Tica (refers to the use of diminutives in speech… similar to when we add “ie” or “y” to the end of a word like “birdy” instead of “bird” … apparently Costa Ricans are stereotyped as very likely to over-employ these.)

Panamanian – Pana (abbreviation for the country)

I, of course, remain and ever shall be a “Gringa” (most commonly ascribed to the Mexican-American War era when U.S. soldiers wore green uniforms and those fighting against them wanted them to leave their turf and return home…”Green, go!” = “Gringo” and now refers to anyone of light complexion from North America or Europe).

Lest anyone wonder what kind of Hispanic Bible study I’ve joined, please keep in mind that I didn’t learn these till today.  In the woods.  They’re not part of our every-Sunday vernacular.  But at least if someone wants to toss me a teasing ”Gringa!” now, I know how to retort, country-appropriately!

Yeah, street cred.

So I began learning Spanish in the Fall of 2006 with the initial goal of obtaining enough vocabulary to be able to communicate the basics with the two little boys we knew were coming (food/animal/vehicle names, “it’s bedtime,” … “because I said so, and I’m the mom, that’s why!” … just kidding on the last one… although …). 

Three and a half years later, with many interruptions in learning (homeschooling those aforementioned twins), I’m becoming conversant - but have a far greater understanding of Spanish than I can speak.  Still working.  Just waiting for a “language burst” to hit me.

But I know I’ll need it even more with this second adoption.  The kid(s) will be older than the twins were, so he/she/they may well be nearly fluent in Spanish.  There’s so much else to adjust to in an adoption that I’d like the language-barrier reduced as much as possible.

 So for those just starting out on your own like I was, consider stocking yourself with:

10.) Spanish-English Dictionary - You need one as a reference, but don’t stop here. You’ll never memorize the whole thing because that would be totally boring!  And bored minds don’t retain.

9.) Spanish Verbs Book - When you’re speaking to someone, you’ll want to know how to say “I went ____” versus “I am going _____.”  You won’t memorize this one, either, but it will help to have one.

8.) Children’s “My First” Spanish Picture Dictionary - Why is this one more useful than the real Spanish dictionary, even though it teaches fewer words?  Pictures, pictures and more pictures.  So you associate the word with the image in your mind.

7.) Spanish Audio CD’s – There are a ton out there (rather than buy them, check them out at your local library).  If you’re in the car a lot, you may as well redeem the time spent in traffic!

6.) Listen to Spanish Music – You won’t get all the words, but music makes the ones you do get stick in your mind.  Pick a genre you already like (Pop, R&B, Romantic) and go from there.  (Also available at your local library.)

5.) Read the News, Stories, Religious Sources in Spanish – I keep up on Central-American news, since we want to be able to tell our kids about their birth countries.  I also read the Bible in Spanish and read children’s stories to the twins in Spanish.  We don’t get every word, but our vocabulary expands noticeably over time.  Online materials are especially convenient because you can copy and paste into online translator sites (like Google’s) when you get really stuck.  [They are imperfect, however, so keep your dictionary handy for those times when the translation results make no sense.]

4.)  Watch Movies in Spanish with Spanish Subtitles – It’s tempting to put on the English subtitles, but try not to, because that doesn’t really help you learn Spanish.  You’ll miss what you’re hearing as you read along in your “comfort zone” language.  By both hearing and reading Spanish, you’ll actually pick up more, more quickly.

3.) Children’s Cartoons – The action moves more slowly than in films, so you have a prayer at matching the words spoken to what’s happening on the screen.  [If have cable and it's in your cable lineup, load up on V-Me's "NIÑOS" lineup!]

2.) Rosetta Stone Spanish - Yes, it’s expensive, but the commercials are absolutely correct: it IS the fastest way to learn another language.  So if you’re serious, buy the complete set, and then set aside a few minutes a day, most days, to play with it.  Most of the lessons can be done in 10-15 minutes, and you really do retain what you learn.

1.) Make Friends with Native-Spanish Speakers!  I mentioned a while back that I joined the Hispanic Ministry at our church.  So for two hours every week, I’m immersed in Spanish; and I have friends who help me along when I get stuck.  The obvious additional benefit is that I’m learning about them as people and about their cultures as I hear their stories, so it’s no longer “just a language” I’m acquiring.

Learning a new language takes time, but by using the more efficient and enjoyable means most often, I’m sure you’ll find – as I did – that you can progress quickly enough to be encouraged, and then to build on those successes.

¡Buenaventura!

I think our group leader likes me.  But he announced to the group a few weeks ago that “Kim has volunteered to go first and will be sharing her testimony in Spanish next week.”    – Announced it to them before announcing to me that I would be speaking so soon! 

Only he said it IN Spanish, so it sounded like

 >>Kim se ha ofrecido a ir primero y va a compartir su testimonio en español la próxima semana.<<

… good thing I understand more than I can speak or I’d have never known!   

I wasn’t exactly feeling the love at just that time.

But then it snowed, and “next week” got postponed a few more times, until last night.  “T-Day,” in my mind.  Less beach storming, but just as much risk of coming under fire, I felt like.  And so with much “ansiedad” (anxiety), I went prepared with my little pieces of paper from which to read.  (‘Cause Lord knows I really DON’T speak much Spanish!)

To be perfectly honest, I don’t much relish the idea of giving my testimony in English.  It involves revisiting things from my past that I don’t love talking about.  So adding to that a translation into another language and then sitting with a group of people who don’t know me all that well yet (how can they?  I rarely talk!) … I was more than a bit jittery.

But I made it through, and the funny thing to me was what stuck out to the group:  “in this country lots of people keep journals.”  [The co-leader went on to explain how we can use them to look back on where we've been in the past.]

That’s it.

When I talk about my history, my worst fear is not being believed.  Second worst: being rejected because of some part of my story.  What I’m very comfortable with the whole world knowing is that I journal ridiculously and have been doing so since elementary school.

And what was the one thing that was mentioned about my story after I was finished reading?  The part I was not the least bit anxious about.

Funny how we build things up in our minds to be so intimidating.

So to be clear [in case Mario is reading this!], I’m not ready to have to speak at any length again anytime soon.  But the exercise of writing out my story, popping it into Google Translate, and then painstakingly going back through it and making sure that it actually said what I meant – THAT was a new milestone, and probably a good one.  Regardless of what my lack of appetite before tonight’s meeting, case of the trembles, and other biological side-effects I won’t mention here may have indicated.

It’s set me a new goal: I want to be able to speak from my heart in Spanish without having to spend hours ahead of time with a dictionary only to “just read it” in the moment.

It’s going to be a while, I know.  But that’s where I’m aiming.

“Huzzah!” for another stretch.

Mamasita – according to UrbanDictionary.com (and confirmed among other sources), “is a misspelling of mamacita, the Spanish for ‘little mother.’”  It means “a hot mama; a hot babe; a ho of particularly hispanic/spanish but possibly other decent.” 

Whoops.  Yeah, not that one, thanks.

Mamacita – means “little mother.”  And “rather like the English word ‘momma,’ mamacita can mean a mother of both the standard and the red hot kind.”  UrbanDictionary is even so kind as to note: “If you spell it ‘mamasita,” you probably don’t speak Spanish.” 

So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.  Spelling does count.  The English-major within me rejoices that we caught that one before I began snagging porn-seekers from all over the not-so-Spanish-speaking world!