Monday, October 19, 2009

Lost in Translation...

Obviously there is the main area of translation from Spanish to English... but my friend Lauren recently posted on some of the same things I was going to talk about as well. That is the other differences my brain must translate being here in Monterrey:

Fahrenheit to Celsius - I can cheat though when I´m in my car because it will tell me the temperature in either one. And either way, I knew it was HOT last week when it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and I was glad when it cooled down starting Friday.

Miles to Kilometers - This is also taking some getting used to. The speed limit on the roads resembling highways around Monterrey is usually 80km/hr which is about 50-55mph. But while I´m on the subject, let me just say that driving in Monterrey is... interesting, to say the least... confusing and intimidating and somewhat scary at times would be some potential ways to elaborate... :) I´m sure part of that is simply because it is all unfamiliar and I´m hoping that it will get better once I become more familiar with the roads and interchanges and exits and uturns...

Dollars to Pesos - When I arrived the exchange rate was 13 pesos = 1 dollar. But that fluctuates all of the time. And it´s easy enough to do conversions using 10... so a lot of times I just do that. For example, at the book fair I got to go to The price for one of the Chronicles of Narnia was $99 pesos, so in my head I think that´s a little less than $10 USD, but it´s actually $7.62 USD. And if you´re wondering, no, I did not purchase them. But I did walk away with 5 books for under $10 USD ($125 pesos). And since I´m sure you´re curious I will go ahead and tell you which ones: 1984, Romeo y Julieta, Sonetos (Shakespeare), La Odiseay (Homer), and Un Mundo Feliz, which while literally translated "A Happy World" is actually Brave New World.

Gallons to Liters - So I have no idea if gas is cheaper or more expensive here than it is in the States... 

One last fun fact: The shows and movies I´ve watched in Spanish so far include: Loony Toons, Sponge Bob Square Pants, NCIS, Chicken Run, Hitch, Pearl Harbor, and I´m pretty sure that one of the versions of Power Rangers was on the other morning. And on Saturday I got to go to an "Obra Musical" (play musical) called Desafio del Fuego (Challenge of the Fire or Fire Challenge). I enjoyed it very much and understood more of it than I thought I would. Two of Anita´s students from UVM were in it and that´s why she wanted to go see it. It turned out to be a Christian Musical too.

Until next time,
¡Vay con Dios!

1 comment:

Living day by day for Jesus said...

Sounds like you're learning LOTS! Keep it up!