A Little Thing That Makes Me Crazy

[sesamosinsal]

I used to be like the OP a bit. I am by no means trying to come across as arrogant, but after many, many years (15 total), my Spanish is just about as good as my English -- maybe even a bit better because I learned every single thing from the ground up.

That said, I will always have a slight accent, and I am fine with that. I often run into people who speak to me in English. However, you eventually get to a point where you realize, "Actually, I speak Spanish pretty well." So, when anyone does speak to me in English, which usually requires you to have a bit of conversation with me, I don't care. Like others have said, I think most do it to practice.

Perhaps you're still in that process of learning that you feel quite confident about your ability to speak Spanish, but not 100%, which is totally fine. It will come with time.

The thing that I absolutely hate is the out-of-the-blue "De dónde sos?" and all of its out-of-the-blue variants. It just happened to me at the "chino" on my block. Some guy just looks at me -- I hadn't even said a word -- and asks me in English, "German or American?" Even though I am from the U.S., I responded, "Ninguno," without even looking at him.

Evidently, if you're almost 2 meters tall with blond hair and blue eyes, you must either be German or American. Who knew?

You wouldn't ask some random person what her/his name is on the street -- and that would probably be a more polite question to ask randomly anyway! Why would you ask random strangers where they are from, especially based simply on their appearances?

 

[Matt84]

The one time my vision turned red was when I spoke to a local stranger in my best Spanish (decent, with correct grammar), and the person would start speaking very slowly, very loud and in infinitives <_<

LOL!!! It's like being called an idiot out loud in the middle of the street.

 

[Girino]

Some guy just looks at me -- I hadn't even said a word -- and asks me in English, "German or American?"

I would have thought that your are either gorgeous or awesome, then last night it happened to me, too. I didn't even open my mouth and the lady straight out asked me "De donde sos?".

 

[andesmandes]

Evidently, if you're almost 2 meters tall with blond hair and blue eyes, you must either be German or American. Who knew?

That is because a little Austrian guy with a funny moustache told the world that Germans are tall, blond and have blue eyes.

 

[Girino]

That is because a little Austrian guy with a funny moustache told the world that Germans are tall, blond and have blue eyes.

Little, black haired and with dark eyes. If that wasn't crazy enough!

 

[sesamosinsal]

That is because a little Austrian guy with a funny moustache told the world that Germans are tall, blond and have blue eyes.

Arnold Schwarzenegger?

 

[andesmandes]

Little, black haired and with dark eyes. If that wasn't crazy enough!

 

[Dada]

The thing that I absolutely hate is the out-of-the-blue "De dónde sos?" and all of its out-of-the-blue variants. It just happened to me at the "chino" on my block. Some guy just looks at me -- I hadn't even said a word -- and asks me in English, "German or American?" Even though I am from the U.S., I responded, "Ninguno," without even looking at him.

Evidently, if you're almost 2 meters tall with blond hair and blue eyes, you must either be German or American. Who knew?

You wouldn't ask some random person what her/his name is on the street -- and that would probably be a more polite question to ask randomly anyway! Why would you ask random strangers where they are from, especially based simply on their appearances?

To be fair, I must give the Argentines credit for generally showing much better manners than that. At least, compared to what I'm used to from other countries Here, they usually start with a greeting, introducing themselves, a compliment or something sensible. You're likely to get a hug and a kiss before the dreadful question comes.

The absolutely worst were UK and USA, trust me! Sometimes I felt surrounded by parrots who only know that one line. Over my long years as a migrant, I had to develop complex coping strategies. My responses largely depended on how tired I was and lunar phases, and ranged from ignoring the person to direct attack, along the lines "Are you police?" or "Where I come from, we say hello and introduce ourselves before asking personal questions!"

Compared to that, the odd Argentine who now starts by "de donde sos" usually gets away with it. I just smile and say "mucho gusto". Or maybe I've just grown B)

 

[sesamosinsal]

Usually I say I am from China, but decided not to given that I was in a "chino"...

I love the "Are you the police?" line.

 

[nlaruccia]

If they try to speak to me in English I usually respond: "Que???? No te entiendo. Hablame en castellano, por favor". They promptly repeat themselves in Castellano once they realize their English isn't as good as they thought it was.