A whole year?

Immersion in the language pays off

I'm going to brag on Chloe's behalf because what I'm going to brag about is tenuously relevant to the purpose of this blog. She took the SAT subject test in Spanish (they used to be called SAT II). She needed the score for a college application but hadn't received it yet so she checked the Web site, which said she got an 800, in the 90th percentile. Well, that's great! But 800 out of what? The Web site didn't say, but the ambiguous bar illustrating her score ended at 800. Brilliant analysts that we are, we finally concluded that that means 800/800. Now I, no fan of standardized testing, find myself irrationally wanting the College Board (and isn't that a presumptuous name for a company that makes gazillions of dollars even though it's not affiliated with colleges?) to break the percentiles down further than 10-point spreads, as if it matters. Pretty good for someone who was a non-Spanish speaker just over a year ago and it validates the contention that living a language is the quickest way to learn it.

Interpretation validation

A week and a half ago Chloe took the written part of a test to become a DSHS certified medical interpreter in Spanish. DSHS is the Washington state social services agency. We still haven't been able to figure out in what situations the certified interpreters are used because no one at the agency that administers the program in our area seems to know (DSHS in this state is not a well-oiled machine). She was told that she'd get the results in a month. Today she got a letter saying she'd passed. Now she has to take the oral part and when she passes that she'll be certified. In May and June are the tests to be come a Washington State Courts certified interpreter (any criminal defendant who needs an interpreter must be provided one by law). After she's certified she can put herself on a list of interpreters statewide and hope to get some work out of it. It would be a nice college gig because it's on a freelance basis and the pay is about $45 per hour, a nice byproduct of her having to learn Spanish on the fly last year. You just never know what areas of your life will be influenced by your exchange experience.

Returning the favor

The exchange opportunity given to Chloe last year (given to her, yes, but she earned it) is about to directly benefit someone else. As is common now, mandatory community service is a part of her grade in her government class. She's going to work with a couple of agencies but what she's most excited about is working with a local literacy agency to tutor a 15-year-old girl whose first language is Spanish. The only thing Chloe knows about her is that she speaks well but needs help with reading English and grammar. Chloe's also hoping to help her with her accent because that is one thing she would have liked more help with in Pamplona. She asked people to correct her but most people are too polite to constantly correct a friend and the interruptions get in the way of conversation. It's not so much stripping the nationality from the person's speech, but of making it easier for the person to be understood. For instance, without the proper accent (and grammar) you might ask someone in Spanish if he will go to the dance with you, but he might hear "Will you go to the bathroom with me?"

Baby soup

Baby, soup? We don't have any baby soup, but soup is on aisle five and baby food is on aisle seven.

That's the part of the conversation I heard at a grocery store between the checker and a boy and his dad, who looked like they could have been speaking Spanish (a safe assumption here). The checker confirmed that by cracking himself up with a "Si!" when I asked.

So I told Chloe to go ask them if she could help them. "No, I'm too embarrassed." Here's a kid who is now fluent in a foreign language and laments that she doesn't get a chance to use it and is worried that she'll lose it. I pushed her until she went to see what they needed, but they'd already figured it out. Don't know what they meant, but they stayed in the soup aisle.

An unadvertised benefit

One of the advantages of being bilingual: in the movie Anchorman, there is a sign outside of a Mexican restaurant. In big letters it says, in Spanish, "We spit in your food." Definitely worth a year in Spain away from home.

But they all speak English, right?

My mom is planning her trip to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. The travel agent, who has been to many countries, said Spain is not easy because no one, no one! speaks English. She found it difficult (and she was on a tour), and had a client tell her upon her return from Spain that it was very difficult to get around on the trains because of the language barrier. Maybe so, but whose fault is that?

That's not what Chloe has said and I asked her: no, that hasn't been her experience and it's not hard to find someone who speaks enough English so that basic communication happens. She, in fact, gets frustrated because Spaniards will speak English to her, even when she's in her school uniform and she hasn't yet opened her mouth. She's trying to figure out what about her, exactly, screams American. She's got the dark hair, so that's not it. The school uniform means it's not jeans and tennis shoes giving her away. She's in the elevator going to her apartment, so it's not that she's standing in a tourism office. One very good thing about it, though, is that she's experiencing (on a small scale) what it's like to be a minority. That's something we should all have to live with for a while.

Back to the language, I still don't get it: why do people assume that people in another country speak their language? The travel agent was surprised that "no one" spoke English. That's not true, but even if it were, why should they?

Too much English

Having never been an exchange student learning another language, I'm not sure, but I think this would classify as a milestone: Chloe said it was nice to get back from the trip and speak Spanish after speaking mostly English with the mostly American students on the trip.

No whining

I've been reading things from mostly American exchange students living in many different countries. The forum in which they are posting lends itself to complaining and generally venting about problems they're having with their exchanges: host families, school, difficulty in making friends or learning the language. That's fine because they need a place to blow off steam during one of the most emotionally trying and overwhelming times of their lives so far. No matter what anyone might say, the only people who truly know what they're going through are other exchange students. Included in these discussions are many responsible kids who are obviously representing their home country well. Still, I'm surprised at the number of kids who don't seem to get it. A common thread is "It's your year," which implies that the student doesn't have to listen to anything anyone else has to say. Along with their Rotary pins, every student should be given one of these:

Guess what: It's not all about you. Yes, you're the one living in a foreign country with strangers. You've taken a huge plunge that will test your maturity and fortitude many times. For that you deserve credit, but with that comes responsibility. You didn't get there alone. You aren't supporting yourself. Strangers have given you a place to sleep, food to eat, and a part of their lives. Lots of people back home, many of them strangers who you will never meet, invested time and resources to provide you with this experience. Your school counselor helped you complete your application and wrote you a nice letter of recommendation. Your school will spend a lot of time and creativity making sure your credits transfer home. Your parents would rather have you at home, but in their desire to provide you with the experience of a lifetime they've given up one of the few precious remaining years they have with you before you leave home for good. Your sponsoring Rotary club is putting their reputation on the line by allowing you to be their representative to their peers in a foreign country. Demonstrate to the world that they made the right choice.

Sure, nothing is perfect. Some host families are insane, just like your neighbors or your cousins or your own family. Sisters and brothers can be mean. Teachers can be rude. It's hard to make friends. But think about it: how often did you go out of your way to make new friends with a stranger who you could barely communicate with because of the language barrier and who, after you've invested your precious time in the friendship, will be leaving relatively soon, anyway? It's not usually personal because most of us have enough close friends and aren't interested in cultivating new temporary relationships.

Sometimes the situation is truly bad. It's impossible to work things out with unreasonable people. Sometimes it's necessary to move families or schools or even cities. But sometimes you have to suck it up, smile, and don't let the bastards get you down. Maybe you're right and they are whack jobs. Too bad (as long as you are not in danger, of course). They think you're not trying hard enough to learn the language? Prove them wrong and quit speaking English in their presence no matter how hard that is. Maybe at home you can storm off to your room, slam the door, and refuse to come out for hours, but don't even think about pulling that bratty, immature crap on your host family. Yes, no matter what ridiculous thing your host parent is saying to you. Some people are unreasonable and there is nothing to be gained by arguing. Be the bigger person, smile, listen, then figure out a way to make the best of the situation. We've all done the equivalent of a frustrated-toddler temper tantrum, but that doesn't mean it's ever a valid response. Not every exchange student hits the exchange-student jackpot of a loving, stable host family, great new friends, and fabulous shopping trips to Milan. Go ahead and complain and vent (to the appropriate people). Get it out of your system. I'm a big fan of self-pity parties - feel intensely sorry for yourself for a short time, but then move on. But remember, it's not just your year. You're sharing it with lots of people who deserve to see a positive return on their investment.

What's that word?

Everyone said it would happen and it is: when Chloe and I talk now, she has to search for the correct English words more often. The time she's been there, certainly, is a factor, but it's also probably because she's not speaking English as much. She doesn't have anyone at home to speak English with, and we don't talk on the phone every day. When people told her that she'd forget some of her English, she thought they were just being optimistic and trying to make her feel good. Now she knows they weren't politely lying and she'll be one of them after she gets back: telling potential exchange students to not worry because they'll learn the language. And, after about a month in their host countries, the new exchange students will be convinced that they'll never become fluent and that she was lying to help ease their anxiety.

Fire jumping

This is Chloe jumping a fire. Alicia tried to explain to me why one might jump a fire, but I didn't quite understand.

She's living in a more Basque region, which is going to be interesting for her. Chloe has no political or emotional stake in the Basque independence conflict, so she'll be able to look at it objectively. She was looking at a Harry Potter book and realized it was  written in Basque (Harry Potter eta sekretuen ganbera = Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). Here's a little primer on Basque for you. It is a very complex language and common linguistic theory says that it is a language isolate, with no know connection to any living language. She'll probably not be learning Basque grammar, but learning a little of the language will be an unexpected bonus.