Amigos y Ánimo

Amigos

I just got back from a "study buddy" program tonight which connects people trying to learn English with people trying to learn their respective languages. I got to make several friends like Roman, Carlos, y Gabriel while I was there. They are from different parts of southern Mexico y ellos me cayeron muy bién/we got along really well.

We were only supposed to talk for a few minutes tonight but I stayed and talked with them for over an hour. It was so much fun for me to practice my Spanish with nativohablantes/native speakers. I asked them a lot about the different words that they use in México and had tons of fun learning about little things that they say.

For instance, I learned the difference between tal vez (maybe) and quizás (perhaps). I learned how to say "Yo medo dos metros aun cuatro centímetros." (I am 6 feet, 8 inches tall [2.04 meters] ). I also learned the difference between chiste (joke) and broma (prank), and that "padre" and "chido" are the most common ways to say cool. Needless to say ya estamos buenos amigos/we are already good friends.

Ánimo

Ánimo is an interesting word in Spanish, there is not an exact word for it in English, but it basically means Excitement, excitement mixed with faith and hope and courage and all good things (or so is my faulty understanding). But while talking with my new friends I grew more and more excited about going to Mexico, I gained ánimo. One of the people I talked to served his mission in the area of Guanajuato and told me that I would be eating a lot of strawberries in Irapuato. Several of them said that my Spanish was pretty good (though I know I still have a lot to work on). But it was just the fact that I spent an hour talking in Spanish with some native speakers, and that we got a long well that got me so excited. I was practically skipping on my way home and had I started I may not have stopped until I got to Mexico.

I am now good friends with Roman and the others, and we are going to spend a lot of time together this semester. I can think of no better way to prepare for my trip to Mexico than to pasar tiempo/hang out with some Méxican nativohablantes. Y tengo ánimo por eso.

Benjamín