oh the iRony

Once upon a time I was a figure skater. Starting at the age of 4, my mom helped me lace up my skates and I scooted around at the ice arena. This was a hobby of mine for close to 8 years until other things got in the way. I often had big dreams of my my fame to come while wearing those skates. But I kept running into a problem as I skated the days away. I got frustrated with myself. I kept saying "I can't!" when I ran into a difficult move or when my pants became laden with snow from falling so many times.

Never will I forget what my instructor Renee said on one particular taxing afternoon. "Dominique, the word can't cannot be in your vocabulary. Every time you run into a problem, say "I can" and eventually you will say and do it with confidence." Those little words of encouragement sprouted a seed I still carry today. The words "I can't" seldom leave my lips. But I am learning of a new "I can't" here in Mexico.

This is not earth-shattering, nor is it significant, but it is present. I was also told as a child that either one has or doesn't have the ability to roll their "r's" while speaking Spanish. I have always found myself on the negative end of the spectrum. As much as I practice and as hard as I try, I sound like a dope when I try to roll the "r's" My tongue gets lost in my mouth and I lose whatever momentum I had when I started the word.

However, I have learned as of late that perhaps it may not be something hereditary. I have heard a couple real-life stories that prove people can roll their "r's" after relentless practice and daily exposure and usage of the language. So I have once again decided to carry the torch and say "I can."

This means that my roommate may hear me sounding like a fool and practicing the many words with "r's" in the spanish language. This also means daily laughs as I make more failed attempts. But the best part of these rambling thoughts are that I get some serious practice this weekend as three of us are part of a wedding!

So y'all may have heard that the "hasta manana" culture in Mexico is alive and well - it gets better. Three of us teachers found out last week that we are the official greeters at one of our new Mexican friend's wedding this coming Saturday. Unfortunately the wedding is in the afternoon, which means the main greeting will be "Buenos tardes". Notice the "r" in the second word - it is usually accompanied with a crisp roll of the tongue. For those that cannot crisply roll or roll the tongue at all the word comes out sounding ridiculous. How iRonic...I'll let you know if ever again I am asked to be an official greeter at a Mexican wedding.