Glee

I got back yesterday form a long week of in service training down in Piura where the volunteers and our Peruvian counterparts spent the days building improved mud-cooking stoves (cocinas mejoradas), latrines, gardens, compost, boil, bio-digestors and mastering tactics of animal husbandry. It was a lonnnnnnng week but I was happy I went and am now even happier to be back in site and on my own schedule again.

Last night I was talking to my mom when she informed me about the new hit TV sensation, Glee. I have heard vaguely about this show but have never watched an episode. In an effort to give me something to do with my free time, my mom bought the first season and is shipping it down to me.

As my mom was giving me a low down on the plot and the expected date of when I will be able to pick up this “awesome package” she mentioned that it could be something fun for my family and I to watch.

Umm…. you mean you bought me the Spanish version?

No, she was just wondering if my family understands enough English to watch it with me.
She got silence on the other end.

If speaking phrases such as “Sorry, friend”, “What is your name” and “Mister” qualify as “speaking English” then yes, my whole town is fluent. However, as I replied to my mom, I think TV episodes tend to involve a bit more dialogue than just that, so no, my family, let alone any Peruvian I have ever met than has not been my language instructor or a Peace Corps Program Director, will not understand an episode of Glee.

Despite my futile attempts at reversing this situation and teaching English once a week so some 11-year olds, my monthly quizzes still all come back with Spanish written as answers. Can you name 5 out of the 12 months of the year in English? Sure! Enero, Febrero, Marzo, Junio, y Diciembre. While the Spanish translation for months of the year do appear as cognates in English, that does not mean a check mark is placed next to Spanish-written answers on the English exam.

So, if any of you that are left with lingering doubts about the language barrier here and may think I am exaggerating my difficulty with communicating with other people- I am not. Just so you know! Love ya mom, can’t wait to watch those! I´ll probably be doing it by myself though.