Monday, February 19, 2007

Psycho-babble

Hello, everybodeeeeee!

No, I haven't posted in almost a week. Yes, I feel bad about that.

Here is the problem: I sit down in the evening and check email, read other blogs, etc., and then visit my own blog. As I think back through my day, I don't really think much is blog-worthy (there may be some very deep psychological meaning to that, but I don't really think we have time to dig into it here).

There are many things that I intended to do with this blog; the primary reason I started it was to write cute things about Jet so that my family who lives far, far away could keep up with him. The problem with this is that, while there are many things he does on a daily basis that melt my heart and these are the things I would like to share, many of them do not translate well in this medium. I've decided not to post pictures of my family for various reasons, and most of the things that Jet does involve facial expressions or body movements that are downright, knee-slapping hilarious... but I'm not going to post them here.

Another problem I'm having can be illustrated by the reason why I don't use my major much. You see, I majored in Spanish in college. I was going to teach it, but then realized that my true love (academically speaking) is science, so I minored in biology, which is why I teach science instead of Spanish. During the course of my studies, I learned that there are two different methods of operation used by people who learn a second language.

I forget the names for each, but one type of person will just start upchucking words in an effort to get their point across. They aren't concerned about correct grammar, verb conjugation, etc. They just want to communicate. This is my husband. He is Hispanic, but did not learn Spanish as a child. This is another story, which I will post about later -- it has its funny parts. He picked up bits and pieces as a kid (mostly curse words), and then took a few hours in college (mostly not curse words).

The second type of person is very concerned about being correct. This one is me. I like to have the entire sentence put together correctly in my head before I open my mouth. Now, there's a lot that goes into this sentence-building thing, for those of you who don't speak another language. I would rather keep my mouth shut than come across as a fool stumbling through a sentence. (I'm not saying that people actually perceive me this way, but it's how I feel. I'm also not saying that that other type of person is a fool...) Again, there may be deep psyhcological meaning to this, but...

The good news is that I can pick up the language very quickly when I need to. If I'm in a situation where I need to translate for someone else, at the grocery store or the pharmacy or something, I can do that. If we go across the border to Mexico to do some shopping, I can communicate well. There's a lot of body language and gesturing and circumlocution (which is a very handy skill in playing Taboo, right, Beezneez?) involved, but I do well.

Are you still with me? Good. Here's the connection: I spend too much time worrying about how my writing will come across to other people. Will they think this is funny? boring? too detailed? not witty enough? useless drivel? I need to just do it.

So, today, being President's day and all, is a new day. (You figure out the connection. Please email me if there is one.) I'm just going to write because I like it and because I like to look back and see what I've written.

Onward!

4 comments:

Ry said...

Right on. Or write on.....hehe.

Anonymous said...

Do it! No one would ever think you were boring... and if they do, they darn tootin' don't have to read it. Either way, it's yours, so do it to it.

Your musings on foreign language construction amused me and led me to think about which category I fall into. I've decided that I am what one might call a "thoughtful upchucker". That is, a mix of the two. I hear ya on the whole not-wanting-to-look-like-a-fool thing (which, you're right, lends itself to Taboo domination delux). What's that they say, after all? "Better to remain silent and be suspected a fool than to speak and remove all doubt." Something like that.

Then again, I wish I had a taping of my communication efforts when my purse was stolen in Spain... I think I yelled something along the lines of "ROBER -- DINERO -- BOLSA -- OH NO!" Funny how words fail you when what you really want to get across is "HOLY CRAPPITY!!! Someone figure out who took my stuff, and in the meantime get me some money and a driver's licence because I'm an American and don't really know what I'm doing or why my parents are nuts enough to let me come here in the first place!!!!"

Okay, no, I don't actually want a tape of that at all. Just making a point -- we all have upchuck days.

Love you!! I miss you and Jet muchisimo....... :(

Deanna said...

Unfortunately, I'm with my little bro', Knight, when it comes to the upchucking words thing. At least you don't have to worry about the grammar around us, cuz we can't tell anyway. And as for your blogging, keep it up, I think you may have missed your calling as a columnist.
:) Jet's AuntD

Damsel said...

Thanks for the encouragement, everybody!