five new Spanish words

Here are some new Spanish words I learned while talking to people.

El Pozon–Each day when I finished fishing and entered the hotel in Junin, Didi would ask how my fishing was. How many fish did you catch? How many did you keep to eat? I would explain that the regulations specified catch and release for all trout. Anyway, she directed me to a “pozon” or fishing hole, a pool at the “rinconada” or corner of the river. She said I needed to cross the bridge and follow “la acerca” or fence past the rose bushes about three kilometers downstream. Sure enough, there was a pool with lots of fish.

Mondongo–For lunch, we split a small pizza. I wanted some more food and ordered empanadas. The choices were carne, jamon y queso and mondongo. I have had meat (carne) and ham and cheese (jamon y queso). Mondongo sounded like hongo, which is mushroom. I like to try different foods, so I ordered mondongo. It tasted okay. The dictionary said it was tripe.

El Clavo–I awoke one afternoon from my siesta to find a flat tire on my rental car. After searching in vain for a repair shop, I returned to the hotel to find Natalio. He helped me. We drove in his truck to the tire repair shop where he picked up the workman and his tools. We drove back to my car where the workman took the tire off and we drove back to the repair shop with the workman and the tire. I asked what caused the flat. Was it a rock? No, it was “un clavo,” a nail.

Los Sillones–I stayed at some cabañas. I tried my hand at a parilla or bar-b-q by collecting sticks of wood. I cooked steak and sausage. In the morning I talked to my neighbor. He was about to leave. He had suggestions for fishing rivers and the best months to fish. He asked if I wanted “los sillones.” He didn’t want them anymore. I said yes and somehow expected charcoal briquettes for the parilla. He gave me “los sillones” which were armchairs or lawn chairs and very comfortable.

El Gabón–We went to the market to buy some food for dinner. It was after 5 p.m. so we figured siesta was over. But the market was still closed. We could wait for it to open or go out to eat. But if we went out to eat, the restaurants would not open until 9 p.m. and probably not serving for another half an hour after that. As we waited, people would arrive, try the door and then sit on the steps in front of the store. Soon about fifteen people were sitting there waiting to get in. The name of the supermarket was El Gabón, el gabón de las montañas. El gabón is the large shed, presumably the shed containing provisions.

Learning Spanish, 2010

For me, learning Spanish is hard. Listening, speaking, reading and writing all help. But I find too much at one time is overwhelming and frustrating. Like a plant being watered, I can only absorb so much at a time.

IBL, the Spanish school I attended in Buenos Aires, focuses on grammar. After studying several different forms of the past tense including irregular verbs, I found it difficult to keep them all straight, especially in conversation.

Argentine Spanish and, more specifically, porteño or Buenos Aires Spanish is different from Latin American (and Spanish) Spanish. It uses unique conjugations for the affirmative and second person singular–as well as various idioms, expressions, and word meanings. But for me, the real problem is the influence of Italian and the fluidity of the speech. The syllables and words all run together in a way that left me struggling to decipher the individual words.

School was difficult emotionally. It was hard to get a sentence out without being interrupted and corrected by the teacher for grammar, vocabulary and/or pronunciation. It is a tough prescription, but I think time and a little bit of study on a more frequent basis (daily) is the key.

Fishing Diary, Chimehuin, Aluminé

Overall, January is a slow month because of the intense sun and heat of mid-summer. Also, summer vacations bring lots of fishing pressure everywhere, including spin fishermen and lots of recreational activity with rafters and swimmers. Many people told me to return to fish in November or March.

The Rio Chimehuin fished noticeably slower than three years ago. Last time, I fished in December. Also, it was open only to fly fishing, not spin casting. Although the rules on the Chimehuin have been tightened (daily harvest reduced from two to zero), the enforcement has declined. I was never checked for my license. I saw spin casters at the Boca. The Guardafauna were absent. The Captura y Liberacion signs had been torn down everywhere. I saw fish harvested and was encouraged to do so by my hostess. It is hard for me to judge the quality of the fishery, but my personal experience over ten days indicates it has declined.

I also fished the Aluminé and its tributaries, the Quillen and Ñorquinco. “Viene en marzo.”

See below for detailed fishing diary. Read more