Interpretations of a Bilingual Life

This is one of the problems of being bilingual (Spanish/English). You walk into a store like Trader Joes and read “Soy Nuts” on a package of nuts and can’t help but laugh hysterically. In a totally different grocery store where my abuelita lives you’ll find “bimbo” bread, also amusing to someone like me whose bilingual language “switch” doesn’t always turn off, if you will.

If the world thought in bilingual, trilingual terms so on and so forth they wouldn’t name an IQ society/organization “Mensa,” which means “dummy or stupid” in Mexican Spanish. I think that’s the best one yet.

This bilingual thing goes beyond reading. I was in Argentina last summer speaking in Spanish all day, but traveling with a friend who mostly spoke English. You can only imagine my bilingual “switch” going on and off, on and off. We were on our way back from Colonia, Uruguay in the buquebus listening to the lady on the loud speaker give standard instructions (like they do on an airplane prior to take off). I was so tired from our day in Colonia that as we were listening to this lady I complained to my find how annoying it was that she kept repeating her self!!! My dear friend was confused and said “What do you mean?” Thats when I realized the lady was simply translating everything she said in Spanish into English. Que locura!!!! Aveces si pienso que soy un poco nuts!