by Eileen | May 22, 2019 | chile, haha, language
I thought I knew about cats. Yes, cats. After 15 years in Chile, surely I know enough not to look for their fifth foot, from the expression “no buscarle la quinta pata al gato,” which means to keep on looking for an explanation for something when there is...
by Eileen | Apr 1, 2018 | chile, haha, language, spanish, wildlife
First of all, in the photo there is not a rat Or if there is it is small and hidden in the grass. What you see is a kind-of relative of a bunny you might say. Except that for reasons that I do not understand, this bunny is not a rabbit, but a hare. Sure I can look up...
by Eileen | Jun 20, 2016 | chile, food, haha, language
Fishing with peas. You wouldn’t think you could. I have never known anyone who has. But for a long time I was convinced I’d met someone who had done just that. Once upon a time, when Eileen was just a fairly beginning Chilean Spanish speaker, she was in a...
by Eileen | Nov 16, 2014 | chile, language, meta, spanish
Do you think in English or Spanish? This is a question I am frequently asked. To be honest, I don’t know how to answer. If I’m having a conversation in Spanish, it stands to reason that I must be thinking in Spanish. If I weren’t, then I would be...
by Eileen | Nov 13, 2013 | chile, language, spanish, Uncategorized
I was sitting at the dining room table of a friend’s beach house a few years ago in Maitencillo, when someone offered me a bite of something they were eating, holding out the fork to me. It was some kind of cake. And since I don’t like Chilean cake,...
