The Hola Language Lab

I tend to be over confident in my language ability. Paradoxically, over confidence can be a good thing, since I often venture into situations and conversations that far exceed my skills, and I pick up words and phrases simply because of the constant struggle to speak and understand. Confidence got me nowhere in Turkey last year, though, and the best I could do in 10 days was "rice pudding". Fortunately, the rice pudding was very good in Istanbul.

On Sunday, we headed out to the lobby bar to watch the sunset, as spectacular as promised. The patrons, many of whom were well oiled, applauded just as the guide books said they would. We were too tired to venture into one of the $$$$ restaurants for dinner, so we stopped at the little convenience store near the lobby and bought a sandwich. The two women -- girls, really -- who served us were very willing to talk to me in Spanish, but even the simple conversation was a little above my skills. Nevertheless, they and I persisted.

I still am unsure of exactly when "buenos dias" becomes "buenas tardes", but I did learn that "hola" is more than a greeting among good friends. Actually, I had thought it was the very familiar "hello" used only by unruly teenagers. Not so. We are both pretty good with "hola" now!