Success

On Wednesday, Amanda expounded on the confusion one must encounter when he/she learns English as a second language. Her post is entitled Glish--nn-Eng. She makes up her own words all the time as an aspiring court recorder, so who knows where that one came from.

In my list of things "to do," besides Chasing a Tornado and Touching the Northern Lights, I had also penciled in 'Learn to Speak Spanish.'

I tried. I signed up for and attended three quarters of Spanish night classes offered at the local community college. Then I gave up.

Our teacher was wonderful and encouraged me and the other "adults" that shared the classroom. One evening she asked us to each stand and give a short description of our morning routine. Most of the other students were struggling worse than I. Consequently, none of them understand when I told them in my (ahem!) excellent Spanish that I had gone to the bathroom and then crawled out of bed. The teacher was happy to interpret, however. (I'll do better with the tornado.)

That is one of the reasons why I am impressed with people who learn a second language and have the courage to converse in it until they have it conquered.

I met a young man through a previous job who lived and worked in Geneva, Switzerland. He wanted to travel in the U.S. on a limited budget. So, I invited him to stay with us and see the northwest. I also made arrangement for him to stay with my family and friends as he traveled through Washington, Oregon and California.

He was so heartfelt with his thanks and his goodbyes that I was about to cry. Then he said,

"Oh, Pamela! You have been so kind beyond what I should expect. I do not know how I will get my revenge."

I started giggling. He looked so alarmed that I giggled more. "I say something wrong?" he questioned. It was difficult for me to explain that one to him.

We were also blessed with the opportunity to host Japanese exchange students when our girls were going to high school. They only stayed two weeks. Four times we had young ladies, and once we had a young man.

One young lady understood and spoke better English than her friend, so she would try to help her along. Over lunch, the hubby asked them both what their plans were when they finished high school. Girl #1 replied that she would go to college. Girl #2 looked imploringly at the first, because she hadn't figured out the question yet. Girl #1 spoke briefly in their language which prompted Girl #2 to smile brightly and say, "I want to go shopping." The hubby and I would have ignored and moved on, but Girl #1 broke into fits of belly laughter that made us all join in.

Girl #2 was so embarrassed. She never wanted to speak again. We just wanted her to be happy, to talk, to make mistakes, and to let us be a part of how wonderful she was.

Our most memorable moment came, however, with the young man that stayed with us. He was not shy nor was he afraid to be heard from. I made dinner one evening and he literally spit the food out on his plate. When he saw five pairs of wide-eyes gazing at his action, he realized that it wasn't quite the thing to do.

So, after dinner, he came in to the kitchen apparently to make amends with me. He stood straight and proud with his hands behind his back and said, "Sex is Soon."

I pulled my dish washing gloves off my hand to give me a moment to gather my thoughts regarding his announcement. During this short evasion, 15 year-old Karmyn, squeezed behind me and in front of the kitchen sink. I could hear her alarmed whisper, "Did he say what I thought he said, mom?"

"What? Can you repeat that, please." I questioned.

"S e x is Soon." He repeated slower and with clear enunciation.

I patted him on the shoulder and told him to "please go get your Japanese - English dictionary."

He pulled it out from behind his back, opened the page, and handed it to me. I read the word to which he pointed and was much relieved. He wanted me to know, although he hadn't liked what I had fixed for dinner that night, he was sure that I would have

"Success, soon."