My Pet English Errors

I have two (or three) English errors that I have a difficult time fixing.

1. The pronunciation of 'pronunciation.'

I don't know if I can ever stop saying it "pro-noun-see-ay-tion."

2. I tend to say "It needs washed."  That is wrong in most parts of the world. (Though in the mid-west it is dialectically correct.)

The correct way would be: "It needs to be washed" or "It needs washing."

So sometimes, I get to go to Korea for Labor-day Weekend

Due to a series of miraculous occurrences, I was able to to go to Korea for Labor Day weekend.  Labor Day is an American holiday that happens on a the first Monday of September.

There aren't really any traditions associated with it anymore, so people just use the long weekend to take short vacations.

I was originally planning on going to the slot canyons here in Utah, because I still haven't been . . . and I've lived in Utah on and off for quite some time.  (Which is a bit embarrassing.)

But Korea! (Sometimes people ask me if I'm talking about North or South Korea--when they do, I give them this look:)

The combination of my awesome job giving me the time off, and the unreal low price of flights, and also, my friend's company paying for our hotel stay, made it happen.  (I did give up several smaller things I budgeted, such as a hair cut, rock climbing shoes, and a gym membership for the next year, but it was worth it!)

Anyway, I intend to post pictures eventually, but until then, admire these beautiful, famous Koreans:

Va? Or, I speak Spanish with a Canadian Accent

When speaking Spanish, there are a lot of small dialect differences.

One thing that my friends Karen and Anabell taught me, was that "va" is an abbreviation for "verdad."

(Verdad means "correct."  In a sentence you could say "Usted hablas inglés, verdad?" and it would mean "You speak English, right?")

So "Usted hablas inglés, va?" would mean pretty much the same thing--va?

Mmm, sort of.

Only Guatemalans use "va."  Kind of similar to the way only Canadians use "eh/ay?"

So basically I have a Canadian accent in Spanish.

My Spanish is improving, eh?

Why English is the Most Important Subject in School

Every teacher I've ever had has told me their class was going to be the most important class I would ever attend.

Except for one.

He was an economics teacher my first semester at university.  He said this:

"Every teacher is going to tell you that their class is going to be the most important class you will ever take.  They are all lying, unless they are an English teacher. 

"No matter what other classes you're taking, or businesses you're working in, how well you write will determine how well you're able to do.
"And in the real world, the difference between a mechanic, and the mechanic's manager, is the ability to communicate."

And it's been true.

In every American university I've attended, I've out-performed a lot of other students who are smarter than me and understand the course content better, because I read the instructions, and write the assignments clearly.

I've often been surprised by how correct that economics professor was.

No matter how awesome your ideas, business, or story may be, if you can't share them clearly and efficiently, those awesome ideas and stories lose their value.

Don't let poor grammar, punctuation, subject confusion, or disorganization distract from the beautiful, meaningful, significant things that you have to say.

I repeat:

Don't let poor writing distract from the important things you have to say.  I made a hipster-quote photo, so that you will remember.

I've had the privilege to read, proofread, and edit some beautiful pieces of writing.  I love reading a paper or a story that has true content.

I love watching that content battle its way through the haze and fog to become not just legible, but intelligent.

And as those stories and ideas drop the shackles of poor grammar, the meaning becomes clear, strong and bright.  Unfettered by confusion and error, those ideas and stories become free to enter into the minds and hearts of others.  Those ideas become free--to swirl about in the minds of any stranger who reads them.

It's a beautiful thing, to imagine how space and time become incapable of separating the collective-consciousness of authors and readers.

Share your words.  Write.

Free your ideas.  Learn grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

You can do it. It only takes practice.

Valentine's Day in Guatemala

Overall,  I think that Día de San Valentín in Guatemala is pretty much the same holiday as  is celebrated by most of the world.

In addition to saying "Felíz día de San Valentín!" (Happy Saint Valentine's Day)  it is also popular to wish someone "Felíz día del Amor!" (Happy day of love/romance) or "Felíz día de amistad!" (Happy day of friendship) or "Felíz día de los enamorados!" or "Felíz día de corazón!" (Happy heart day).

Along with the usual flowers, chocolate, and wine displays at the grocery stores, I discovered that in Guatemala, heart-shaped red and pink balloons are extremely popular.

I think that perhaps the reason for this, is that flowers are remarkably common and generally inexpensive. I'll have to take a picture of Pablo the flower guy who lives across the street from us.

I didn't think of taking pictures of the real balloons soon enough, so I'll just try to give you a basic idea of what they look like.

A quick search for "día de San Valentín globos" (balloons) will show you this:

Most of them say things like "Happy Valentine's Day," "I love you," and "I want you"--which is probably not as naughty-sounding in Spanish as it would be in English.

Also very popular are the teddy-bears holding hearts that say "I love you" and "te amo." (Yes, the teddy-bears are bilingual.)

Much like anywhere else in the world, the shopping centers were totally packed with last-minute gentlemen scrambling for a gift.  I know this, because I went to Oakland mall with my friends and students Karen and Anabell. We practiced our English and Spanish (respectively) by talking about school, work, boys, romance, breakups and sexism in the world.


We went to a restaurant called Nais, it had a giant aquarium inside, and I learned that "los pescados" is a term reserved for edibles, and that "los peces" is the appropriate term for fishes that are still swimming.

The servers probably thought that I intended to eat the aquarium citizens.

We also got these fabulous photos from a fabulous photo-booth.

Karen is wearing black, I am wearing white, and Anabell is wearing the black and pink sweatshirt.
I obviously didn't clearly understand where to look.

It was a really fun night.

After our girl's night, I went home. I tried Skyping Austin, but the internet at the house was down--so instead I moped at the screen for the remainder of the night before going to bed.

Overall I had a great Valentine's Day: I got to go to the Museum of Modern Art (Museo de Arte Moderna), get a fancy juice-drink from an aquarium restaurant, and spend some time with some awesome people.

The only thing that could have made it better would be spending it with my honey.

Or being able to Skype him.

(I may or may not still be a little bitter about the internet failing me in my time of need.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Explaining: sentences ending in 'though'

At the request of an intermediate student, who frequently hears 'though' on English television and wants to understand how it is used in conversation:

What does 'though' mean?  When is it appropriate to use 'though'?

The best way that I have found to explain this is to relate it to the us of 'but.' Most languages have an equivalent for the English word 'but.'  'But' is a word typically introduced in beginning or pre-intermediate grammar.

In a sentence, 'but' usually separates a two opposing statements.  For simplicity's sake, we will say that they are positive statements and negative statements.


I love ice-cream, but I don't like chocolate ice-cream.

Positive + but + negative = correct use of 'but'


This is also true of a sentence that is structured:

Negative + but + positive = correct


For example:

I don't like chocolate ice-cream, but I love vanilla.


'Though' and 'but' have similar functions, and are used for a different word order.  'But' separates two opposing statements in one sentence.  'Though' follows two opposing statements, instead of dividing them.  To use 'though'  both opposing statements need to be in their own sentences, with 'though' attached at the end of the second sentence.


Positive + negative + though = correct use of 'though'

or

Negative + positive + though = correct use of 'though'


For example:

I love vanilla ice-cream.  I don't like chocolate though.

I don't like chocolate ice-cream. I love vanilla though.


Because one cannot see punctuation in conversation, the only real difference between 'but' and 'though' is word order.

Did I make a mistake? Do you have suggestions to improve this post? Let me know in the comments below!

Chicken Bus

There is, in Guatemala, a mode of public transportation called "chicken buses."  It looks like this:

As a note, I have only heard ex-pats (people foreign to Guatemala) call them Chicken Buses.

I say public transportation, but I should specify.  Chicken buses are retired US school buses that have been privately purchased, blinged out, and repurposed as public transit.

I don't know how it all works, but chicken buses are the primary transportation from the city to other places, as well as some in-city routes. In spanish, they are called "bus de transurbaro." 

**Update: they are called "las camionetas," or just "los buses."**

Anyway, I've been trying to get a decent photo of one for weeks, but they move really quickly, and are difficult to photograph, but I finally snagged a good photo.

Much love!

**Update**

There is an actual documentary about these buses.  The US Embassy showed it last week with English subtitles. See the trailer below:

I have a student who buys transports, and sells these buses.  He says that he usually buys them from the east coast, because then he can ship them across the gulf of Mexico.

I asked him why he sends them by boat, instead of driving them, and he said that because of the cartels in Mexico, it's just too dangerous to drive them through Mexico to Guatemala.

**End of Update**