Last week I started a Spanish “Curso Intensivo.” On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings, I start my day with two hours of introductory Spanish at a language center in town. The place itself is adorable. They take a real pride in Paraguay and the walls are filled with beautiful photos of important places in the country. There’s a large poster of Picasso’s Don Quixote with quotes from the text- not Paraguayan, but, we’ll let it slide. On my second day in class, there was a huge rainstorm and the teacher, Ana Paula, found an injured parrot outside. That day, they put him in a cardboard box with a towel over it. But the next day, he had a huge bird enclosure and was happily snacking on some freshly cut mangos. Not a bad place to recover!
There are four people in my class: a young guy from Taiwan who wants to be an interior designer, a Japanese guy who used to be an electrician but is now traveling, and an older gentleman from Massachusetts who has rental properties and travels the world for 4-6 months every year. I know all this because this is what we practice saying in Spanish, “Soy de Taiwán,” “Soy electricista,” “Soy empresario.” For me, “Soy estudiante de neuropsicologia.”
Adding the Curso Intensivo to my mental load has been well- intense. If I save my Spanish homework for the evening, I have a really hard time falling asleep. Learning a language is HA-ARD. So, I watch cooking shows to relax. Right now, all my favorite internet chefs are cooking their versions of Thanksgiving. As am I, in Paraguay. Most of these shows feature a trip to the farmers market or grocery store, some quirky banter, lots of beige foods, and then a feast at the end.
My episode is more sweaty. It’s generally around 100° here right now. This morning, I walked to the bakery and the “farmers market” (stand on the side of the road) to gather my goods. I’m making stuffing, mashed potatoes, squash, and gravy for a little “friendsgiving” tomorrow. We already got most of the ingredients in our weekly organic farm box delivery, but I was hoping to find some sage or rosemary out and about. At the bakery, I discovered that I could easily understand the cashier when she told me how much money I need to pay. Reader- this is no small miracle and has never happened before. Then, when I pay with a fifty, I understand when she asks me if I have 2 more, so she doesn’t have to give me coins. And then- I find a two in my wallet and don’t confuse it with a 20. This may all sound like nothing to you, but it is big, big growth for me. It’s the first time I have interacted in Spanish with no one blatantly laughing at me. Then, at what I’m calling the farmers market, I was able to ask if they have sage or rosemary (which they didn’t). While I’ve known how to ask for things for months, I’m generally paralyzed by fear when I have to speak Spanish at all, ever. Today, it just came right on out! No drama! I understood his answer, too- “No” (ha ha). That accounts for some quirky banter in my book.
Further along in the episode, I cook chicken stock and veggie stock and roast squash in my oven which is essentially a giant airfryer. I have the air conditioner pumping because it’s still 100° outside. I Facetime with my mom and my niece, Maya, who gives me shit for not being in California for Thanksgiving. There is a pain in the middle of my chest.
My beige foods turn out pretty well, even without the sage or rosemary, and I step back to acknowledge that I just cooked a Thanksgiving feast in this tiny apartment kitchen which was empty when we first arrived. My friends in San Francisco send me pictures of the ants that are invading their house and I ask them to text me a picture of their dog because I miss him. They send me the sweetest picture of him in front of a Christmas tree. Even though I hate Christmas, his handsome face and this easy friendship, where you send texts about basically nothing/anything/everything pull at my chest again.
Tonight, my episode will end at the friendsgiving feast at the Scorpion House. I’ll be wearing long pants and shoes out of fear and I’ll be thankful to have real, actual friends in this foreign land. To have acquired the language skills of a toddler. To be going to Santiago for the actual Thanksgiving break. And I’ll be homesick too.
Miss you too! Your beige feast looks delicious.
Sooooo was the stuffing like Oma’s?? So proud of you on so many levels 😘💕