No Comer Carne...

I learned a new Spanish phrase this week, and the story of how I learned it is pretty funny. The phrase is “No comer carne delante de los pobres.” Or in English, “don’t eat meat in front of the poor.” Here is the story.

I walked out of the classroom after preparing for my next class and gave Hailey a kiss. It wasn’t some long, romantic kiss, but more than a peck on the cheek. Little did I know, one of the students (Keyby) was laying on the hammock about 20 feet from me. Here is how the interaction went. Just as a reminder, I am still learning Spanish. So if you are a Spanish speaker, I am sure I made some mistakes!

Keyby: No comer carne delante de los pobres (Don’t eat meat in front of the poor)
Me: Ningunas personas comen carne aqui (Nobody eats meat here)
Keyby: (Just laughs and looks at me weird)
Me: (Recognizing I probably said something wrong) Repita por favor (Repeat it, please)
Keyby: No comer carne delante de los pobres
Me: (Thinking, thinking, now I am confused) No comprendo todo le dijo, pero me gusta carne (I don’t understand everything you said, but I like meat)
Keyby: Es una frasa (It’s a phrase!)
Me: Ohhhh, it’s a phrase? Expliqueme por favor (Explain it to me please)
Keyby: No…comer…carne…delante…de…los…pobres (very slowly). Yo no tengo un novio para besar y ustedes se besan EN FRENTE de mi. Estoy el pobre (I don’t have a boyfriend to kiss and you kissed each other in front of me. I am the poor.
Me: Yo comprendo (I understand)

I finally got it, don’t eat meat in front of the poor is like saying, “don’t take advantage of your situation in front of someone who doesn’t have the same luxuries or opportunities.” Of course Keyby had to tell all the other students, which became a huge joke in my next class. But it also created an opportunity for me to teach them some English phrases since we are learning English anyway. So the next class, I gave a few cookies to Sendi, who was the first student in class. Then I taught the class the phrase “Early bird gets the worm.”

Oh, the joys of learning a new language!