An outing with the chicos!

We were invited to go to a Christian Concert. We were the only people from the U.S. Our friends and their families were from Argentina, and everyone at the concert spoke Spanish. I was one of two drivers. I had three boys and Roamer in the van, following the other van with the girls and Danny up a winding road about 50 kilometres into the mountains. At the top of the mountain was a little restaurant. The concert was to begin at 9:30 in back of the building on an old tennis court with a truly amazing view of the towns below.

The music was pure rock and roll and lasted about 6 hours.

It was cold because of the altitude. Roamer and I were only in T-shirts, sitting on a rock wall. The music was all about God. Young people danced, old people tapped their feet and even mothers rocked out with their baby-strollers. The primary band was from Argentina, and our friends knew them. The band was called "Rescate" (Rescue). Here is their website:

http://www.rescategospel.com.ar/

At around 2 a.m. the wind and rain came. They had to call the rest of the concert because of the electronic equipment and the possibility of water damage. Everyone was bummed. Then the wind picked up and the rain started blowing. Our group sheltered under a blue tarp and moved to the two vans like a giant blue turtle. On the way down the mountain in the rain. The boys in back sang loud and mournfully along with a live Rescate CD. Good times.

una sombrilla amarilla

Yesterday it was cool in the shadows and the sky was blue. A warm wind was blowing as Roamer and I sat down to drink a lemon-ice and a coffee. We needed it after our long walk to the post office with our packages. The bill at the post office was $70. The bill for the drinks would be... the sun flashed in my eyes again as the warm wind blew the awning a bit. I had troubling seeing the bill. As I tried to focus, a strong gust of wind took the chair in front of us and pushed it across the large plaza about 15 feet before tipping it on its back to glide another 15 feet to the surprise of many people watching. A small girl riding her bike stopped and picked the chair up and brought it back to the table. Later that night I looked at the rusty-brown substance that had stained the large yellow umbrella that sheltered the outdoor table. I couldn't scrape the stains off. They came from a balconey way up on the top floor. I could see the source, but could not identify it. The rusty-brown splotches were scattered all over the patio. They weren't coming off as I scraped them with my thumbnail. I determined to scrub them off the next day with a wire brush and some solvent. I went back inside. Suddenly I heard another cutting wind gust... People resting in the grassy area just outside the patio exclaimed loudly as we all turned and watched the wind literally pull the umbrella out of the hole in the table. It rose like a balloon and floated over the patio fence and the hedge to land just feet away from the circle of vacationers. A man picked it up and brought it to me. I said gracias and put it back in the hole. The sky was still blue but the shadows were long gone.

Been Away Now I'm Back

Hey Guys, I got an urgent phonecall about our container and had to high-tail it to Madrid because they were delivering it there. Before we could leave, I had to change the battery in a hail storm on the Speed-The-Light Van we were taking. One of the bolts droppped down into a grate and was washed away by the water, so I had to get a new one of those. Left Thursday night for the 5 hour drive up and over mountains and desert from Tarragona to MAdrid. Last half of drive was in the dark. I put cruise control on 120K as speeding tickets via camera are muy popular. Didn't matter to other drivers. I was always the slowest. Next morning raced out to storage area that was an old chicken farm. Tried to talk to the little lady in the farm house that lives there. She kept throwing up her hands and shaking her head. We finally saw the container that was loaded in K.C. It was way down at the other end of the old chicken processing plant. It drove under an electric power line that hung too low, but the power line bounced across the top after nearling being pulled out of the transformer. We had been expecting just to sign a paper in person in MAdrid that would free-up the container. But it came anyway thank the Lord. A/G hands unloaded it like it was greased and someone tilted it up. All of our stuff is in a tile corner on wooden palets in the old chicken plant with some other missionary stuff from other people. Only one coffee table leg was damaged. Everything else seems to be okay, including a mysterious black garbage bag that I did not know was in the container... We didn't have time to open it, as the driver was charging us by the hour. Today we took what boxes we needed and drove back. It was about 1200 kilometers in the end. I've been home for about an hour. I'm tired, but it feels like quite an accomplishment. This is something I could not have done on my own. Got back and it looked like someone was murdered on the patio. Big fat rusty drops congealed all over. I think it might be Teriyaki Sauce that was spilled from a couple balconies above. Anyway - it won't come off because it baked all weekend. But who cares. It's just the Southern Europe Area Director's patio, and once-yellow umbrella over the plastic table.... More later.

CULTURE SHOCK......CHOQUE CULTURAL

The term, culture shock, was introduced for the first time in 1958 to describe the anxiety produced when a person moves to a completely new environment. This term expresses the lack of direction, the feeling of not knowing what to do or how to do things in a new environment, and not knowing what is appropriate or inappropriate. The feeling of culture shock generally sets in after the first few weeks of coming to a new place.

The symptoms of cultural shock can appear at different times:

* Sadness, loneliness, irritability
* Preoccupation with health
* Aches, pains, and allergies
* Insomnia, desire to sleep too much or too little
* Changes in temperament, depression, feeling powerless
* Anger, irritability, resentment, unwillingness to interact with others
* Identifying with the old culture or idealizing the old country
* Loss of identity
* Trying too hard to absorb everything in the new culture or country
* Unable to solve simple problems
* Lack of confidence
* Feelings of inadequacy or insecurity
* Marital stress
* Developing stereotypes about the new culture
* Developing obsessions such as over-cleanliness
* Longing for family & friends

Culture shock has many stages. Each stage can be ongoing or appear only at certain times. The first stage is the incubation stage. In this first stage, the new arrival may feel euphoric and be pleased by all of the new things encountered. This time is called the "honeymoon" stage.

Afterwards, the second stage presents itself. A person may encounter many difficult times and crises in daily life. For example, communication difficulties may occur such as not being understood at a grocery store or post office. In this stage, there may be feelings of discontent, impatience, anger. Even sadness may result at not feeling competent enough to maintain even minor responsibilities such as pumping gas or paying bills. During this transition, there can be strong feelings of dissatisfaction, the "honeymoon" is over and real life begins.

The third stage is characterized by gaining some understanding of the new culture.  A new feeling of pleasure and sense of humor may be experienced. One may start to feel a certain psychological balance. The new arrival may not feel as lost and starts to have a feeling of direction. The individual is more familiar with the environment and wants to belong.

In the fourth stage, the person realizes that the new culture has good and bad things to offer. This stage can be a time of genuine integration. This integration is accompanied by a more solid feeling of belonging.

The fifth stage is the stage that is called the "re-entry shock." This occurs when a return to the country of origin is made. 

These stages are present at different times and each person has their own way of reacting in the stages of culture shock. As a consequence, some stages will be longer and more difficult than others. Many factors contribute to the duration and effects of culture shock. For example, the individual's state of mental health, type of personality, previous experiences, socio-economic conditions, familiarity with the language and family and/or social support systems.

During these stages a new appreciation for worship music may occur, even the plinky plonky kind played be the new guy on the battery-powered keyboard in the church without electricity where no one sits on the front row.


(excerpts lifted from Dr. Carmen Guanipa's "Amigos" - Copyright © 1998)

((El Vendedor de Jamon))

There was a little man who sold hams. He was very proud of his hams. They were the best salt-cured hams in Spain, with a brilliant red grain and a smokey sweetness with which no other ham in Spain could compare. Only one pig in a 1000 was fed the proper amount of sweet grains and nuts to have their legs declared ((gourmet)).

It was vacation time on the coast of Spain. The vacationers liked to eat gourmet hams whilst taking a month-long siesta on the Costa Brava. The ham vendor, being a shrewd man of sales, decided to go to the Costa Brava and give the vacationers a taste of his wonderful hams. !It was even possible that he might become rich!



When he arrived on the Costa Brava he saw a magnificent supermarket with electric air-conditioning, 20 cashiers and many sportscars parked in front. There were many vacationers shopping inside and many hams hanging in the popular Aisle of Hams. Seeing all of the vacationers selecting succulent hams to eat, he decided to set up his table at the end of the aisle and sell his own wares. But the eyes of the State where upon him.



Many bad guys had been blowing up trains in Madrid, so Spanish Policemen were especially vigilant during this season of vacationing. A small sub-detachment of them were told to guard the vacationers in the large supermarket. Spain would never be seen as a modern vacation destination if the large air-conditioned supermercado was not well protected... suddenly they heard a shout...

((?What's This?)) - The policemen asked each other upon hearing the loud cry repeated at the end of the Ham aisle.

((!HAMS! Get your HAMS HERE!!!) - cried the shrewd Ham vendor in his best Spanish.

The police rushed up to the Ham man and believing that he was an employee, merely warned him and told him to keep his voice low as this was not a market in the street, but an air-conditioned supermercato.

((Ok. Ok.)) - the ham man told the policemen, shrugging his shoulders to his ears.

((!HAMS! Get your ACORN-FED WILD BOAR HAMS HERE!!!)) - the ham man shouted a few minutes later.

((!Can You Not UNDERSTAND what we have Telling YOU?!)) - said the frustrated policemen after walking very quickly back to the ham man. ((This is not a dusty street market outside your trailer door... this is an air-conditioned Supermercato and your behavior does not fit in!)) - the policeman hissed into the Ham man's furry ear. ((Do this again and we will not be so kind...)) - the policeman whispered fiercely, his forefingers touching his thumbs while he waved his hands under the Ham man's nose.

A few moments passed...

((HAMS! I have the Finest NUT-Gorged HAMS in The..... what?))



As this sad story was based upon actual events recently witnessed by the author, I will not attempt to make a fictional happy ending. Perhaps the Ham man was imprisoned until vacation season was over. Perhaps he was shot - but perhaps not. However, all vacationers on the Costa Brava of Spain agree that hams taste very good.

((puntuacion))

And you thought only the words were different...

If I write 10,000 in Spanish, I am wrong. The proper way to express this number is 10.000! Notice the difference? It's a big one. If I use a comma after the 10 I am saying that the number is complete and any digit expressed after that is a completely different number. That is why something that costs 4.95 Euros is 4,95 Euros. (not 4.95) That means that here in Spain, if I write 10,000 I might as well just write 10 because those zeros after the comma don't mean a thing.

Now it gets tricky. 10.000 is actually called 10 mil. So, that means that 10.000.000 is called 10 million? Yes! Actually it translates as 10 millones. So that makes the number 10.000.000.000 - 10 billion (billones) correct? No! That would be 10 mil millones. Yes, I said 10 mil millones. In Spain, 10.000.000.000.000 is 10 billones. That would be 10 trillion to us. And don't forget that the number 10,000,000,000,000 is just 10 because of the comma. Makes "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and international debt more exciting over here.

Now for a luxurious break from the numbers game. When you write or read a question in Spanish, you usually see it written thus: ?Is this a question? In other words, there is a question mark before the question as well as after the question. But the first question mark at the beginning of the sentence is actually written upside down. I cannot do that on this keyboard, so just indulge me a little.

Also, if you use an exclamation mark to make a declarative statement, the same rule applies: !This is crazy! And following the rule of the upside down question mark, the first exclamation mark is written upside down as well. ?Really? !Yes, really!

Have you ever heard someone ask a question with a spanish accent and follow it with the word "no" or "true"? Example: "You have a funny leetle smile No?" That is not a weird speaking habit. Actually, that is the structure of their questions. Our english questions are not structured like that ?true? !Si!

The english language has a double negative trap that can be seen in this simple sentence: "Are we not going to the store now?" How do you answer that? In English, the proper way to answer would be to say "Yes, we are NOT going to the store now." But we all break the English rule and say "No, we ain't going." Did you catch the contradiction? In Spanish they have done away with all of this confusion. If the answer is "no"... you first say: "No. No we are not." This structure eliminates the word confusion.

This is confusing, ?yes?
No. No this is not confusing.... yet.

I have a bad habit of using a dash or double-dash when I want to make a point in a sentence. Here is an example: "The wind felt like a sweet soothing breath - from a big man's mouth." Now, we can all agree that the dash placement seems to make sense in that context ?right? But the double-dash in Spanish text is used the same way we use quotations marks in a story when someone speaks. Like this: "That truck is red," he said. In Spanish, that would look like this: - !That truck is red! - he said.

The lesson is almost over. Did you notice my title: ((puntuacion)) ? Wonder why I didn't entitle it: "punctuation" ? Because you don't use the " " in Spanish the same way we use it. They use the (( )). (Actually the Spanish ( looks more like a < but that messes up the code on this text!)

Final example:
-You read ((Newsweek)),?right?- he asked.
-!No! No I do not. I read ((Cosmo)) because is just costs 3,99.- she replied.

?Claro?
!Si!