Every morning I pay 3 Quetzales (40 cents) for a Prensa Libre (Free Press), Guatemala’s most reputable newspaper, as far as I can tell. I love trying to absorb the news of a place completely different from my own country. It’s healthy to immerse oneself in another’s problems for a while. It’s also a great exercise in reading Spanish. And, I like to think that it gives me a bit of credibility (“Hey, look at they guy reading the Prensa Libre, he likes his news in Spanish!”).
On Thursday, I read about this international literacy conference going on in Guatemala City. It looked excellent, with tons of booths and activities for children. I teach children’s literature, so this kind of thing interests me.
I got up yesterday morning, got on a chicken bus, headed for capital and checked it out. I was like a kid in a candy store. I really enjoy places where there are lots books to explore. There were tons of booths from various Latin American book companies and educational organizations, folk music, author talks, storytellers, etc. I had a great time.
This whole experience was sort of a litmus test for my Spanish. I was curious how much I would be able to understand. When I chatted with people, I noticed that many of them didn’t slow down. They didn’t slow down and talk louder the way that we tend to do when we know someone either knows little English or is hard of hearing. I could follow most of what they said, but I couldn’t tell you word for word what was said. I also got my first compliments: 1) the taxi driver asked if I was European. I asked if that was good or bad. He said it was good, because Europeans tend to pronounce Spanish words better. 2) One of the guys at the conference said that I “speak good Spanish.” I’ll take it.
Honestly, I think my Spanish is at Borat-level right now. And that is not so bad. Great success!!
