Living life in a different language

Although this may seem very obvious, living life in a foreign language does indeed pose some problems. I feel lucky that before coming to Mexico this time round, I was somewhat familiar with the culture and indeed the language.  The Spanish that I learnt at university differs quite a lot from the Spanish that I speak here, not just in the accent (so much easier to understand a Mexican accent!) but the vocabulary, the grammar structures and colloquial language. For me, it's quite difficult to explain this because as a native English speaker, I recognise the differences between British English and American English, I can pick them out, I can mock (in jest, of course) the pronunciation of certain words or the accent, but it never really causes any problems.  However, when you translate these aspects of a language into your second/third language, things never seem to go as smoothly.  At times, it still really feels like I do not speak any Spanish, not that I'm a graduate that has lived in Mexico for however many months! 

The problems and difficulties aside, I get a lot of enjoyment from living my life in a foreign language. It may sound odd but I think understanding Mexican Spanish gives you a different insight into the culture and after a while, you understand a bit more about the Mexican people as a whole.  For example, Mexicans have a wickedly dirty sense of humour, they love play on words and double entendres. You think you are saying something completely innocent, clean, and not intending to sound dirty or sexual at all... And then, in response you get a raised eyebrow and a giggle. Also, Mexicans tend to use a lot of words in daily speech that, if you were to translate them, equate as swear words into English.  It's okay to use these groserías or swear words in pretty much any situation (probably wouldn't use them in front of the head teacher of my school or elderly people), these words can be so expressive! Once again though, you'll probably get laughed at (not in a malicious way) because hearing a foreigner swear in their non native tongue is always fairly amusing! 

Sometimes it can be a struggle to express yourself and your personality in a foreign language, the struggle to find a particular word can make sentences or phrases sound quite awkward and I find myself babbling '... You know, that thing that is like....', usually I'm understood and it's so satisfying to find that word that seems as clear as day to you in English but completely elusive in Spanish. I always feel a sense of achievement when I make people laugh in Spanish too, often because I am saying what I would say in English but in Spanish...!  I still have to stop myself at times when I realise I am holding my own in a conversation in Spanish and I feel like I sound like myself, saying exactly what I want to say and how I want to say it. 

Another interesting (and in my opinion, pretentious) development is that occasionally I cannot remember the English word for something.  I know the Spanish word, I can picture the image of said word in my mind but the English word has just vanished. Another time where I use the forever faithful '... You know, that thing that is...' but this time in English! I'm not sure if it's because my Spanish is improving, I've shoved so much random information into my brain that it cannot take anymore, or because I'm simply getting old.  I wouldn't even say that I'm good at Spanish, I get by and I wish I could understand how the brain works when it learns another language.  How it just knows what a word in a different language means without having to actively translate it or search for the native equivilent. For me, it truly is fascinating. 

I often wonder what it will be like when I get back to England. To be able to understand peoples random chatter on buses or in coffee shops. To not have people look at you oddly if you take a split second too long to respond because you haven't quite understood what they have said. To not have people asking me where I am from every time I speak Spanish.  I think it will all be quite strange; I think all of this makes up the Mexican part of me.