Tale of Two Tongues

I love Spanish.  I teach Spanish.  I listen to music in Spanish.  I studied in Spain twice, and I  occasionally even dream in Spanish.  In short, I am obsessed with Spanish.  So when my job asked me to serve as a translator / interpreter for meetings and conferences for some of the Spanish families I, of course, jumped at the opportunity.  What a perfect way to continue using, practicing, and bettering my Spanish!

Today was one such day.  The conference wasn't long, which, as many of you may know, isn't always typical of conferences or meetings.  It was, however, concise, to the point, and informative.  And, in Spanish! . . . at least on my end.  I translated for the parent in the meeting, and had to translate back to the staff when the parent responded to comments.  To say it was a brain workout would be an understatement.  Just like with English, dialects and accents can vary greatly by region, making it difficult for the "outsider" to understand easily or instantaneously.  Case in point:  Take someone from the Bronx and stick them in rural Kentucky.  Or take a Texan and leave him in the most northern part of Minnesota.  Or, even better, take an American and sit him next to a Scottish person.  All the same language, all very different accents, and one very tiring conversation for both parties, due to the focus and attention required.  This, in short, was how I felt during my meeting.

Again, it was a wonderful experience, and great practice for me, especially being in a situation where different vocabulary is required from that of my standard classroom grind.  The icing on the cake?  The parent complimented me on my accent, noticing that it was Spanish (as I did study in Spain twice and have consequently picked up the infamous Spanish "lisp"), and that I was a wonderfully fluent speaker with a firm grasp on the language.  A gold star slapped across my forehead wouldn't have instilled as much pride and sense of accomplishment in me as this parent's comment.  I left the meeting feeling like my unexplainable love for the language held purpose.

It is rewarding to be complimented and commended for the talents we possess, especially when the talent and work lies in a true passion of ours, whether it be language in my case, or cooking or finance or art or rhetoric.  A compliment reinforces our efforts and hard work, and acts as a gold star on our heart.

For me, I hope this "Tale of Two Tongues" is only the beginning.  French and Italian are next on my list of languages to learn.  Who knows?  Maybe someday my love for language and traveling will lead somewhere.  For now, I am content to know that my passions made the difference to someone, even if it was just one "someone", and that I had the opportunity to continue to use my Spanish.  The point?  Unexplainable passions are there for a reason - we just have to figure out how we are meant to use them in our lives.