One saying that always catches me off guard, still, is "provecho." I'll just be sitting there, eating, and someone will walk by and say, "¡Provecho!" It sort of makes me feel awkward that I'm eating and they're not. At the same time, it is nice that they notice and want me to enjoy the food :] This oddness isn't just a translation thing; it's a cultural thing. We don't have any form of this in the US - that I'm aware of, at least. We don't walk by a stranger who is eating and tell them to enjoy their food. And we certainly don't walk around the table to kiss each person when we enter a lunch meeting. This, I will miss someday.
Another culture/language/thinking difference that my friend and I talked about today is that instead of complaining about being hot.... here, you just state that it is hot. It is like a fact. Then, when you get a breeze or enter the water... something that feels really good, you get to be super dramatic about how amazing it feels. "¡¡¡¡Que rica brisa!!!!!!" for example. I can't ever remember myself saying, "This breeze is so amazingly delicious!" haha. Now, I want to.
I am convinced that learning another language not only rewires the language part of your brain, but rewires the way that you experience the world around you. I love it.
Si, es verdad.
ReplyDeleteThe brain learns to perceive the world differently through another cultural perspective.
It is really a good idea to state things as facts, and enjoy what feels good. It is much better than complaining. Stating things as feeling delicious sounds very poetic.