Getting Started

Today began the first series of sessions with my instructors, or coaches is how I really think of them:  Clara and Esperanza (Espe) are young, attractive, positive and a pleasure to be with.  Since these were our first full sessions we spent a lot of unstructured time talking about goals, testing my overall capability, and really going off on tangents discussing everything from the issues of immigration and aging populations in the US and Europe, the party system in Spain, public/private health care systems, and more.  After five hours of this I was really talked out - which is saying something for me.  However, if we'd moved onto a bar I could have kept going over a nice Rioja or vino tinto.  Since I had a special request posted to the blog by Señorita "piggy" (that is her online name, not me calling her names) to add some geek stuff, I will get that out of the way up front as it is fresh in my brain.

[geek moment]   In my over confidence about my knowledge of grammar, Espe challenged me with some really tough phrase pairings that are seemingly similar but with very (very) different meanings.  One pair in particular stumped me.  In this set, one phrase is in past imperfect [imperfecto] and the other in past subjunctive.   I'd forgotten and got completely wrong this particular construct that requires subjunctive... so I will share.   No porque + pasado del subjuntivo.  Ejemplos:

1. El no se casó con ella porque estaba (imperfecto) embarazada.
2. El no se casó con ella porque estuviera (pasado del subjuntivo) embarazada.

The only difference between these two sentences is the fact that the verb estar is in a different tense in each example.  Do you know what each means?  I thought I did. Phrase #1 is easy:  He did not marry her because she was pregnant... the creep.  Phrase #2 at first seems like:  He did not marry her because he suspected she was pregnant... but this is WRONG.  "No porque" is its own construct, even though the No and the Porque are in separate places in the sentence.  So the true meaning of this phrase is the opposite of how I interpreted it - he did indeed marry her.. the wonderful guy.  However,  he married her NOT because she was pregnant, i.e. as if people were saying it was a "shotgun wedding" and he only married her because she was pregnant.  The true implied meaning is that he married her because of other things, i.e. because he loved her dearly.  So the implications of using the past subjunctive in this case is very positive and is so elegant in its nuanced meaning.  This is part of what I love about the language.  I hope I've explained that well enough.  This is indeed very geeky.  Otherwise, I did well with the subjunctive; however, Espe will continue to lash me.

Today's activities after my five hours of yammering in Spanish included:  wonderful tapas and a caña [small draught beer] sitting outside and people watching with some other students near La Puerta del Sol; a nice afternoon siesta, and then a walk through the book fair in Madrid's central park (el Parque Del Retiro).  The book fair was interesting for several reasons.  There were over 600 stalls full of books by topic, area, region, author, nationality, industry sector, etc.  Completely overwhelming.  Opportunities abounded to hear authors, eavesdrop on conversations (of which I did a lot), and meet others with common interests.  This is what surprised me.  After having several conversations I realized, "hey, this is a pick up place!"  Think about it, what better way to meet someone than in a place where they may read and think some of the same things you do, a book fair.  Maybe this happens in New York, but not in Seattle.... as far as I know.. way to nerdy for the Seattle grunge or suburban set. The first time someone invited me for a drink.. i thought: "oh, the Spanish are so social and friendly."  But, the second time someone actually invited me back to his flat.. well, I'm not that thick.  While I enjoyed the attention, I had reading and a blog to write at home - alone.  Besides, it began to rain perros y gatitos.

What did I find, other than attention, at the book fair?  Two great finds.  First, Espe recommended an author to me from Uruguay, the late Mario Benedetti (photo right), one of the most read authors in hispanoamerica.  He is also considered one of the Spanish speaking world's most important contemporary author.  I obtained a copy of a small edition of his writings and poetry - "Semblanzas."  Of course, the Anglo-centric ignorant person I may be, I'd never heard of him.  So now I will be reading some of his works and will be less ignorant.. and so may you.  Second, I found a book I had to have.  Perhaps you are familiar with this new genre of popular story writing that takes a famous work and somehow implicates it with zombies or vampires?  So in the English world we have 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies' by Seth Grahame-Smith & Jane Austen on the best sellers list, no less.  Well, in Spain I found "yet another classic assaulted by zombies" - 'LaZarillo Matar Zombis Nunca Fue Pan Comido' (LaZarillo:  Killing Zombies Was Never A Breeze) - if you've studied any (I mean any) Spanish literature, you have to read 'Lazarillo de Tormes.'  I won't do a book review, you can follow the link - but it is one of the first books I read in Spanish that I actually got into and has stuck with me ever since I read it at age 17.  So, loving the zombie genre (if I may call it that) I had to acquire this version.  Hey, today's "common" is tomorrow's classic.  I'll have a rough time tomorrow, Espe will kill me.

And finally, my random street photo of the day - I might seriously consider going to see this cabaret:  Goodbye Dolly!!  But, who to go with?

I must read for tomorrow.  Pls let me know any thoughts.

¡Hasta la próxima entrada!