I have come back to the United States fluent in Spanish, confident about my ability to thrive and navigate in an urban environment, and more culturally competent. I am also more excited about my future in public health, after learning so much from my time at CEIGRAM. This past year, post-graduate life had become an…
Tag: Emily Thompson
Mimosa, and musings on success
Word of the day: Bica, an 11-year old black (graying) lab was the most loved member of my host family. When one of us walked into the apartment, the entire lower half of her body would wiggle, an outlet for her uncontainable joy. In the evenings, as we were watching our nightly game show, she…
Hermosa
Word of the day: Hermosa is a great one- it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. In Spanish class, it was one of the first words I learned. My teacher said it meant “beautiful”, and that it rhymed with “mariposa” to help us remember its meaning. In Spain, it’s used to describe objects,…
Pues nada
Word of the Week: I´ve been hearing a lot of people use “pues nada”, but was having trouble placing its meaning. I could tell that it was colloquial, and kind of a “filler phrase”, but it felt like there was neither rhyme nor reason to its usage. My host mom is the biggest offender of…
Encantada
Word of the week: Encantada, directly translated, “enchanted”. After you meet someone, given you have a conversation, and connect with them on a personal level, you can say this as you leave. The beauty is in its simplicity: in one word, encantada captures the sentiment of feeling grateful for having met someone. It reinforces the…
Que mona
Word of the week: I learned this one at the dinner table with my host family. One of my host sisters had gotten dressed up for her friend’s bachelorette party, and came down to say bye to the rest of us. Her sister said, “guapa” (pretty) and “que mona”, which I definitely had never heard…
Hasta luego- but not for a while!
Word of the week: The other day, I was going to meet up with some friends in the park. As I was leaving I ducked my head inside the kitchen and said “adiós” to my host mom. She replied (translated) “Where are you going? Will you be getting home today or tomorrow?” Tomorrow? Why would…
Vale, vale
Am I a little late to posting this? Admittedly, yes. We can probably chalk it up to the fact that Madrid is pretty epic, so I’ve been busy. It’s just difficult to justify sitting at my desk and writing when there’s so much to see. I also got to experience the Spanish hospital system, so…
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