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02
Aug 10
Gaff. Photo by Eric Chan
A story from my friend:
I had this experience when I was a math teacher in East San Jose. I had a ton of Spanish-speaking students, so I’d talk in my inexpert Spanish occassionally, just to make myself understood. Once I had hay fever and wanted to explain to my students why my eyes were so watery. Hay fever is ‘fiebre de heno.’ Apparently ‘heno’ and ‘ano’ can sound rather similar. Imagine how much more concerned my students became as they politely reacted to the news that their teacher had ‘anus fever.’
For related reasons, you’ll want to exercise caution when wishing Spanish-speakers a Happy New Year, or ‘Feliz Año Nuevo.’
YOUR TURN
Ever make a jackass of yourself trying to speak another language? If you haven’t, you’re not trying hard enough.
Share your haunting experience in the comments section below. Who knows, maybe it will help you forget and move on with your life (don’t bank on it).
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A story from my friend:
I had this experience when I was a math teacher in East San Jose. I had a ton of Spanish-speaking students, so I'd talk in my inexpert Spanish occassionally, just to make myself understood. Once I had hay fever and wanted to explain to my students why my eyes were so watery. Hay fever is 'fiebre de heno.' Apparently 'heno' and 'ano' can sound rather similar. Imagine how much more concerned my students became as they politely reacted to the news that their teacher had 'anus fever.'
For related reasons, you'll want to exercise caution when wishing Spanish-speakers a Happy New Year, or 'Feliz Año Nuevo.'
YOUR TURN
Ever make a jackass of yourself trying to speak another language? If you haven't, you're not trying hard enough.
Share your haunting experience in the comments section below. Who knows, maybe it will help you forget and move on with your life (don't bank on it).
Lifehacks — View Comments
16
Jul 10
Piano and the Damning Effect of Choice
At the age of seven, I had the opportunity of learning the piano. Piano lessons were after school in the collegiate directly beside my public school. Unfortunately, the lessons felt like detention to me. My usual activities of playing hand ball or loitering at the 7-11 were way more fun, so I stopped going.
Fast forward 10 years later, when I desperately wanted to play the piano to impress a hot freckle-faced doll I crushed over, I couldn’t. I never stuck it out and learned the instrument when I had a chance (and my parents didn’t force me), so the choice to play the piano wasn’t available to me.
My point? Choice can be damning. Giving yourself more choice now can deprive you of choice later in life. In a world ripe with distraction, choice provides yet another alternative to doing what you should be doing. A path of least resistance.
Here’s what I propose: If you have mp3s of Spanish lessons on your iPod, remove all the music so that Spanish is the only thing left to listen to. You’ll have no choice but to practice your Spanish even when you don’t feel like it.
If you bought a book on Spanish verbs, don’t you dare join Oprah’s book club. The easy reading will seduce you away from the monotonous but imperative work of drilling Spanish verb conjugations into your skull!
Remove choice from your life and “leverage the lack.” Focus on your Spanish, so that later, when you desperately need to speak Spanish, you can.
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At the age of seven, I had the opportunity of learning the piano. Piano lessons were after school in the collegiate directly beside my public school. Unfortunately, the lessons felt like detention to me. My usual activities of playing hand ball or loitering at the 7-11 were way more fun, so I stopped going.
Fast forward 10 years later, when I desperately wanted to play the piano to impress a hot freckle-faced doll I crushed over, I couldn't. I never stuck it out and learned the instrument when I had a chance (and my parents didn't force me), so the choice to play the piano wasn't available to me.
My point? Choice can be damning. Giving yourself more choice now can deprive you of choice later in life. In a world ripe with distraction, choice provides yet another alternative to doing what you should be doing. A path of least resistance.
Here's what I propose: If you have mp3s of Spanish lessons on your iPod, remove all the music so that Spanish is the only thing left to listen to. You'll h
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