You Won’t Believe What Happened When I Tried to Speak Spanish

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I didn’t expect this to happen

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

I, a quintessential Bengali with a penchant for overestimating my abilities, decided to start with an audacious journey of learning Spanish. The language, with its rhythmic flow and passionate undertones have always captivated me. I feel like there's something really exotic that's hidden in this language. I used to be lost in the dreams of becoming the bilingual 'Senorita' who would effortlessly talk in Spanish. Little did I know, I would end up as a mixed - lingual speaker , who speaks mostly a soup of English, bengali, Hind - with sope sprinkles of Spanish words.

Photo by sydney Rae on Unsplash

The initial stages were a breeze. "Hola," "cómo estás," and "mucho gusto" rolled off my tongue with the smoothness of a well-oiled rosogolla. I was convinced I was the next polyglot sensation. But that was before the language decided to reveal its true colors in front of me.

The letter "r" was a particularly cruel tormentor. It demanded a guttural sound that my gentle Bengali vocal cords were simply not equipped for. Hours of practice left my throat feeling like a sandpaper-lined chimney. Then there was my ever supportive family.

Hearing my failed attempts of Spanish pronunciation, my mom tried really hard to motivate me, but after a point, she just burst out into extreme laughter. With her evergreen sense of humor, she suggested I try gargling with gravel.

Then came the verbs. Conjugations were a labyrinth I couldn't escape. Oh my god ! It was like trying to solve a complex mathematical equation while simultaneously juggling flaming torches. Then I spend hours poring over grammar books, only to emerge more confused than when I started.

My attempts at speaking Spanish to unsuspecting victims were nothing short of catastrophic. I once tried to compliment a waiter on his excellent service, at a Mexican restaurant. It was way more expensive than any usual restaurant since most of the employees there were bilingual. I decided to start a conversation with a waiter. I was trying to ask him about the cute and small logo of the restaurant. However, he became completely speechless and had a confused expression on his face. His eyebrows were wriggled and he just went away. He did not return to my table after that.

Photo by Lisha Riabinina on Unsplash

After coming back home, I did a lot of Google search, only to figure out the kind off blunder that I did. I realised that I accidentally called him a small, furry animal. The reason behind the look of shock and confusion on his face was now clear to me. It was then only I realised why his face had a clear indication that I'd committed a linguistic faux pas of epic proportions.

Undeterred, I pressed on. Being my typical self, obviously that wasn't something that would have stopped me from learning Spanish. I watched countless Spanish telenovelas, hoping to soak up the language through osmosis. Unfortunately, all I managed to learn were the intricacies of Latin American soap operas and a questionable obsession with overly dramatic hair flips.

Photo by Stéphan Valentin on Unsplash

So, here I am, a struggling linguist, surrounded by Spanish dictionaries. But amidst the chaos, there's a certain charm to the whole process. And who knows, maybe , maybe.....one day I'll be fluent enough to order ' tortilla de patatas' from an actual food joint in Spain, without causing an international incident. Until then, I'll keep practicing.

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Oishee Chatterjee đź’Ž || Blogger| Writer| Dreamer||

Welcome to my world of scribbled thoughts and musings! I am a passionate Lifestyle blogger, dedicated to sharing the essence of life through the art of writing.