Mexicans are so playful...

I'm having a little pre-Thanksgiving dinner with my friend Gia and her boyfriend, Tony. Tony's a Boricua, an American-born Puerto Rican. Somehow, we get on the topic of the Spanish language and the subtle differences in how the language is used from country to country.

It's bad enough that when you're trying to speak a foreign language, you make little mistakes that either make the native speaker laugh hysterically, or worse, offend the hell out of them. I often tell my students about the time that I called a parent of a kid a couple of years ago. The parent spoke little English, and at the time, my Spanish was passable at best.

One of the words for "lazy," which perfectly described this kid, in Spanish is "peresozo." The word also means "sloth," like the animal. So in my mind, in order to remember this word, I remembered that "lazy" meant "animal." Somehow that connection worked for me.

But, when I called the parent, instead of using "peresozo" which meant an animal, I said "burro," another animal.

Unfortunately for me, it also means "jackass."

The next day, a very angry kid comes to me and says, "Did you tell my mom I was an asshole?"

I was horrified, and apologized profusely. I took solace in the fact that the mother laughed very hard and agreed at my assessment.

Basically, I have a history of second language confusion causing quite a bit of embarassment.

So, back to Mexicans. So many of the Mexicans I met had this playful, teasing way about them... their sense of humor is indescribable, almost silly and affectionate. I have one student who, whenever I get pissed at my class she says "What happened, Miss? Did you get into a fight with your boyfriend this morning?"

So, in D.F., otherwise known as Mexico City, there was this 30-something year old man who was making the most delicious tacos on the street. He worked literally from morning 'till night. When I walked by, he would say "Guera, Guera, how many would you like? 5? 6? Hot? Very hot?" knowing full well looking at my small frame, I could not down 5 or 6 tacos, much less really spicy ones.

But I didn't know what guera meant.

So I asked my teacherat the school I was attending, and he giggled and said, "Oh, it's an affectionate term. Little white girl."

I am indeed a little white girl. How cute.

I can't remember how many times I've recounted this story about Mexico to my Mexican students, usually while I wax poetic about the beauty and magic that is Mexico.

I tell this story to Gia and Tony. Tony spits his beverage nearly halfway across the room.

Evidently, to this Boricua, guera means "prostitute."

Ah, Mexicans are so playful...