"Eh, bombón!"

Learning colloquial Spanish has proven to be a slight challenge: every time I learn a new slang term or euphemism, I struggle because most of the colloquial phrases - literally translated - have nothing to do with what they mean. Or, you think you know what a phrase means, and it changes meanings depending on who says it or who it refers to.

I'm always perplexed until I remember that we do the same in English. For example, one of my favorite colloquial terms is "la pasta." Yes, "la pasta" does mean "pasta," the food. (As in "Maricarmen cooks delicious pasta," which she does.) But it also means "cash" or "money." You could say "Ese abogado tiene mucha pasta," and that would mean "That lawyer is really rich." I thought it was really funny that the Spanish use the same word for both a delicious food and money, until I realized that, in English, we call it "dough."

The concept is just more humorous in a foreign language: In French, for example, "chou chou," means "honey" or "dear."

"Chou chou" literally translates to "cabbage."

One evening, I was sitting in my room working on homework. It was around 9 o'clock, which is when most Spanish families eat dinner. Pepe came upstairs and peeked his head in my room.

"Eh, Bombón, no tienes hambre?" he asked me. ("Hey Bonbon, are you hungry?") I answered that I was, and that I'd be down in a minute. But I was a little surprised: before we came, CIEE warned us that most Spanish are a lot thinner than Americans, and that we might get called fat...although it would likely be "affectionately."

When Pepe called me "Bombón," I immediately thought of the candy, as in a chocolate bonbon. Which then led me to think he was calling me fat, because someone who ate a lot of bonbons would certainly be fat. And, to top it off, he was asking me if I wanted to eat!

I've since learned that "bombón" can mean a myriad of things, from "sweetheart," to "sexy" depending on the context. I'm just thankful my host family doesn't think I'm fat...although I'm probably on my way there, considering all the food they give me. (Once, they told me bread won't make me gain weight. I'm not so sure about that one.)

A Concise Beginner's Guide to Spanish Colloquialisms:

1. "Mono" means "cute." Not to be confused with "mano" (hand), it also means "monkey." Again, you have to work with the context.
2. False cognate alert: "Caramelo" does NOT mean "caramel." It means "cough drop." And I learned that one the hard way...a disappointing mistake to make.
3. "Hacer la vista gorda," loosely tranlsates to "make a fat glance." What it means, however, is to "look the other way" while something is going on.

In other news, this afternoon I'm heading to the port in San Juan with Pepe and Maricarmen to buy fish. They say that the fishermen bring the fish right from the boats, and they're still live when you pick them out. You haggle over the price, come to an agreement, and then they apparently wrap up the fish - still live - and you take them home. I think this will be a very Spanish experience.