Sometimes English is Hard (vol. 1)

Sometimes English is hard and does strange things. Here's what can happen if you're not careful:

An ice cream place advertising Banana Splings.

Coma-Coca, the drink of choice at this coastal restaurant. We're not sure if this is an attempt to be clever (in Spanish it means "eat cocaine") or if someone was just very confused...

We didn't eat at this restaurant.

Here's a little help with the last one:

Pescado Frito - fried fish - Correct!
Pescado Apanado - prepared fish - More correct would be "breaded fish"
Pescado al Ajillo - fish with garlic - Yay! (ps THIS IS DELICIOUS!)
Pescado a la Plancha - fish to the iron - Haha no. Grilled fish.
Pescado al Vapor - sweater fish. fish sweater? - Teehee! Steamed fish. We saw "sweaty fish" at another restaurant. We stayed away from that one, as well.

These photos all came from our trip to Puerto Lopez. The food there is fantastic (and I'm sure even the sweater fish is good). I especially recommend anything encocado--with coconut sauce!

I just hope that my flubs in Spanish can bring someone such entertainment. I can't compete with our friend Rich--he told us, "Me duele la pechuga," which means, "My chicken breast hurts."

What's your favorite language blooper?

..kirstie..

This post is part of the Language and Culture series.

Two Birthdays, Four Continents

This has been an amazing year. I spent my last birthday (accidentally) in the best hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, while volunteering with LEAD Asia. Since then, I've traveled through three other continents, joined the Peace Corps, and learned another language. Here are some pictures highlighting this journey:

Free birthday cake, courtesy of the Grand Kemang in Jakarta.
(C) Isaac and Kirstie Bickford

Language and Culture: Hace mucho invierno hoy

When we were packing to come to Ecuador, we knew we would probably be living just south of the equator, and therefore expected the timing of seasons to be a little different. Everyone knows that in Australia, for example, summer is in January and winter is in August.