Damn gelatina.  It got me again.

:-S

(Except this time I heard, “Hey. Latina.”)

Today I mixed up “cansada” with “casada” and I think I told a waiter that “I’m married, but after this coffee I won’t be.”

Oops.

I can thank my lucky stars that he knew what I actually meant (”tired”, not married), and corrected me - with a smile.

La Tanguera has come up with a nifty little quiz, here.

Now you’ll know why some of us think it’s funny (in a cute way!) when people in the U.S. want to dance to “Por Una Cabeza” at their wedding.

Go take the quiz, and get inspired to learn what it is you’re dancing to (you can find lots of info - even translated into English! - at todotango.com)

A little bit of Castellano practice, and you get to learn a little more about Osvaldo Pugliese.

Oh, just look at the love (and the Ghost!) in his eyes for the first five seconds of the video.

[youtube=youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=aFImyHLEIDw]

And while we’re at it, let’s take a look (and have a listen) to this…

[youtube=[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDJ2W1nAk9c]

I have a confession to make. When I listen to tango music, I pull up todotango so I can read the lyrics, and I sing along. If anyone saw me doing this I would be so embarrassed. Why? I don’t know. But it really helps me understand the songs.

Castellano is very much like Italian (in fact, they share 82% lexical similarity) so I don’t normally need a dictionary to understand the words themselves, but seeing the lyrics on the screen and actually singing them out loud, putting them in the context of a tango song, sounding the words out, really brings me what I feel is a special understanding of the music that I wouldn’t otherwise have.

Maybe someday it will help me feel more confident about speaking Spanish - singing along to music helped my Italian, after all…

Does anyone else do this?

I’m practicing spelling Cabeceo correctly (instead of “Cabaceo”), after reading this insightful post by Tanguera.

It disturbs me when people butcher Italian, so I totally know how she feels.

So get into practice, and spell it right: cabeceo, cabeceo, cabeceo.

Ok, I think I’ve got the hang of it.

I watched an Argentine film, La Suerte Esta Echada last night on DVD - without subtitles! And I followed the Castellano just fine! I needed a few translations, but more or less I understood and was able to thoroughly enjoy the film.

The character I was most taken by, of course, was Guillermo…and his path to learning to dance Tango. I love (see video) watching him first enter a milonga and fall completely in love. It’s beautiful.

[youtube=[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqWyYvFtxNE]

Mi Amor’s Mother: “Queres haaaayla. tina.”

Me: “?”

Mi Amor’s Mother: “Haaaayla. tina.”

Mi Amor: “Yellow.”

Me: “?”

Mi Amor: “Yellow, Tina. Yellow.”

Me: “?”

Mi Amor’s Mother: “Haaayla. tina.” (Leaves the room to get what it is that she is offering me since I obviously don’t understand.)

Mi Amor: “You know what it is. Yellow.”

Me: “Yellow?”

Mi Amor: “Yes, you have it in America. You guys spell it Y-E-L-L-O.”

Me: “Huh? Oh! You mean J-E-L-L-O! Jello!”

Mi Amor: “Oh yes. Jello. Well, here we call it Gelatina.”

Mi Amor’s mother returns with Jello. The red kind.

Now I know that Gelatina is pronounced “haaaayla-tina.”

“You’re sure you know what stop it is?”

“Yes, mi amor.”

“And you know where to go when you get out of the subway?”

“Yes, mi amor.”

“And you have my phone number just in case you need anything?”

“Yes, mi amor.”

“And you’re sure you know how to get there. And that you’ll be okay.”

“Yes, mi amor. I love you. Ciao.”

I’m free! I take the elevator down to the ground floor and step out onto Carlos Pellegrini (our street), and make my way underground to take the subway alone to my Spanish lesson at Gabriela’s sunny apartment in the Abasto area.

The ride is uneventful, I spend most of it staring at a couple who are dressed very Italian, very “bella figura”. I get off at Medrano and I more or less remember where her building is. We pass an hour and a half conjugating verbs, chatting about Tango, travelling, Italy, Seattle, our lives. I am starting to feel a little bit more confident about my Spanish. I am speaking very slowly and carefully, but at least I’m speaking. The lesson goes well, I practice reading out loud to work on my pronunciation, I understand most of it because it’s just Italian spelled differently. Gabriela accompanies me downstairs and I walk back to take the subway home.

When I get there, I decide I might be on the wrong side. Feeling comfortable asking directions in Spanish, I decide it’s best to go to the ticket booth to ask which direction this train will be going, before I make any mistakes and end up somewhere I don’t want to end up.

I walk right up to the window, open my mouth, and out comes “Mi scusi - in quale direzione va questo treno?” Oh shoot. That was Italian! Oh well. The girl still understands me and helps me figure out where to go.

All in a days work, I guess

My new Tango shoes!

This is only the first pair - I’m sure I will acquire more. Oh the prices are so right…

I met with a Spanish teacher the other day, a delightful woman named Gabriela. We just talked about her teaching style, my learning goals, and my Spanish level, which is turning out to be higher than I’d expected (yeah!). I think with guidance from a teacher I will get around just fine here. My first official lesson is tomorrow.