and truly loved.
that is how i feel.
the love, attention, and individual time
that i received from those closest to me,
sigh, irreplaceable.
not to mention the material stuff
(that is linked to birthdays).
my parents came all the way and stayed throughout.
and gave me such a beautiful gift for life
(thanks for the stunning bracelet).
i received the most exquisite presents
posted all the way from La Coruna
(thanks Mama Victoria for the stunning painting
and my familia for the fine black Spanish lace shawl).
to my aunties that gave me their memories
(auntie Jas through the many dinners,
auntie Sharon that sang to me over the phone)
and their "contributions" to my shopping,
a heartfelt thank you.
to ACK and my lovely SIL,
who hosted the cake cutting,
bought me the cake, and the excellent
BATMAN T. for my nieces and nephew that
got the hand-held bouquet.
to SIL especially that picked the
'orange' theme.. THANK YOU all.
to LWB, for your presence with M.
for the beautiful pictures and
your blog to host them...
thank you and here's to going green...
this Friday yu.
and to the 1st phone-call on my special day.
uncle Handsome and auntie Judy, all the way
from the land down under.
i love you so. and to the many many calls, emails,
text messages thereafter, mucho besos.
word.
Showing posts with label Spanish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spanish. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Monday, July 16, 2007
mr. sandman, send me a dream... make it of the Iguazu Falls...
Es usted sudamericana? = Are you South American?
(when asking a male use "sudamericano")
Soy Malaysian = I am Malaysian.
so why is it that while i have desperately wanted to pick up Spanish for years and years now, i still have to depend on my trusty guide book to "speak"?
i have been thinking a lot about this lately. trying to connect with my sub-conscious to see why is it that i still struggle with this language. having been to Spain (and more specifically to La Coruna) 3 times, i seem to understand everything Mama V says to me, provided i clear my mind, and listen with an open heart.
i understand almost perfectly in fact, and am able to answer precisely at the right times with the right answers, so i am not just winging things, and over-using my intuitive side or pretending i understand just to seem polite (as Fer suspects!). so she speaks Spanish to me, and i respond in English.
i do the same with my tutor Luisa (of my now self-terminated lessons) and am able to follow her classroom directions to a 't' but which word actually meant what? sorry lah.
and then this morning in the midst of a text conversation, i remembered again that i used to dream in Spanish. yes, i actually did! it popped right back at me as i was texting mi amigo.
did you know that??! well, when i was about 12, right until i was about 16 or 17, i used to have this recurring dream that i was living on a ranch.
and that we bred horses (my "dream" family did). we had many men working for us, and they wore cow-boy like hats and did the traditional lassos. and they repaired the fences, and moved the horses around en mass and regularly (to graze). and the "country" i lived in? well, in my dream it was vast, and very green. and in reality, i was clueless.
ahuh! one would think i was over-dosing on the John Wayne era of repeats on our local TV1 or 2, except that all the conversations in my dreams were in a language that i had no exposure too in my conscious life. the Duke only spoke English in his movies ;) and i am 100% Punjabi.
so what was the language? i didn't know.
and then my dreams stopped suddenly, and Julio Iglesias made the air-waves of Malaysia, and my friend in Form 4 or 5, gave me his cassette (do you remember those things?? sorry i digress!)
and in a blinding moment of pure clarity, i realized the language of my dreams, was Spanish!!!
only then when i watched "The Mission" with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons (must have been about 1986, when i was 18) did i finally recognize the greenery of my dreams. South America. and the rainforests. and the stupendous Iguazu Falls. sigh.
needless to say, it took me 3 - 4 attempts to finish the film. i wept like a baby from the point Robert De Niro took on his penance and started the track up the jungle trails (De Niro played the slave trader turned acolyte). i still to date, cannot hear that version of that Ave Maria sung in those angelic little children voices without freezing.
do i believe in reincarnation? absolutely.
do i think i lived once on a horse ranch in Argentina? yes.
do i know this sounds nutty? yes.
do i care? hell NO! i do not!
did you know that Mama V was originally Argentinian, before she moved to Spain? it gets more curious...
(when asking a male use "sudamericano")
Soy Malaysian = I am Malaysian.
so why is it that while i have desperately wanted to pick up Spanish for years and years now, i still have to depend on my trusty guide book to "speak"?
i have been thinking a lot about this lately. trying to connect with my sub-conscious to see why is it that i still struggle with this language. having been to Spain (and more specifically to La Coruna) 3 times, i seem to understand everything Mama V says to me, provided i clear my mind, and listen with an open heart.
i understand almost perfectly in fact, and am able to answer precisely at the right times with the right answers, so i am not just winging things, and over-using my intuitive side or pretending i understand just to seem polite (as Fer suspects!). so she speaks Spanish to me, and i respond in English.
i do the same with my tutor Luisa (of my now self-terminated lessons) and am able to follow her classroom directions to a 't' but which word actually meant what? sorry lah.
and then this morning in the midst of a text conversation, i remembered again that i used to dream in Spanish. yes, i actually did! it popped right back at me as i was texting mi amigo.
did you know that??! well, when i was about 12, right until i was about 16 or 17, i used to have this recurring dream that i was living on a ranch.
and that we bred horses (my "dream" family did). we had many men working for us, and they wore cow-boy like hats and did the traditional lassos. and they repaired the fences, and moved the horses around en mass and regularly (to graze). and the "country" i lived in? well, in my dream it was vast, and very green. and in reality, i was clueless.
ahuh! one would think i was over-dosing on the John Wayne era of repeats on our local TV1 or 2, except that all the conversations in my dreams were in a language that i had no exposure too in my conscious life. the Duke only spoke English in his movies ;) and i am 100% Punjabi.
so what was the language? i didn't know.
and then my dreams stopped suddenly, and Julio Iglesias made the air-waves of Malaysia, and my friend in Form 4 or 5, gave me his cassette (do you remember those things?? sorry i digress!)
and in a blinding moment of pure clarity, i realized the language of my dreams, was Spanish!!!
only then when i watched "The Mission" with Robert De Niro and Jeremy Irons (must have been about 1986, when i was 18) did i finally recognize the greenery of my dreams. South America. and the rainforests. and the stupendous Iguazu Falls. sigh.
needless to say, it took me 3 - 4 attempts to finish the film. i wept like a baby from the point Robert De Niro took on his penance and started the track up the jungle trails (De Niro played the slave trader turned acolyte). i still to date, cannot hear that version of that Ave Maria sung in those angelic little children voices without freezing.
do i believe in reincarnation? absolutely.
do i think i lived once on a horse ranch in Argentina? yes.
do i know this sounds nutty? yes.
do i care? hell NO! i do not!
did you know that Mama V was originally Argentinian, before she moved to Spain? it gets more curious...
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