Memi y Enrique, Puerta de la Parroquia de San Francisco: Antigua Guatemala, Wednesday, May 9, 2012

 

These two guys mind the gate at my parish here, which is right across the street from my house family's place.

I just now realized that I've been spelling parroquia wrong in Spanish. As parocchia, instead. I oddly end up channeling Italian sometimes, here.. When spoken, I rarely get corrected. Everyone seems to understand.. Later on, sometimes after years of making the same "mistake," I realize what I've been doing is pidgin Spanish.

I'd never formally studied it, you see.. (Even though I did "teach" Spanish I at a certain High School that Shall Here Remain Unnamed for a year, after only being exposed to it for 8 months in Mexico during which time I just listened, cracked a grammar text a half dozen times to memorize a few patterns, while looking up the odd word or two every so often)..


Never formally studied it, that is, until now.. I just started talking, and everyone has just let me roll. I've been doing all sorts of odd little things, apparently..

Maybe I'm still just spouting nonsense here, while everyone is simply way too accommodating of the ridiculous gringo speaking Goony Goo- Goo?

Ah, let him babble, just laugh and nod. Gringos are mildly amusing.. he'll eventually go away.


Fluency over accuracy, you know? That's my motto! Can I get an amen?

 

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Location:8 Calle Oriente,Antigua Guatemala,Guatemala