Something that becomes clear once spending any significant amount of time around me is that I often switch from topic to topic within my head, and get frustrated when others don't switch as easily. For example when debating I tend to bring facts together from several different disciplines, rather than sticking to one specific theme. Although this is not directly related to what I'm about to say, I do think it will help the reader to better understand. Dialogue between my host mom and I (she's M and I'm R): M: "How is your Peruvian literature class going?" R: "Pretty good. We don't really study literature though, we mostly focus on history." later in the day R: "Mom can you help me with this story? I don't understand something?" M: "Sure let me go get my glasses." *comes back* M: "What do you need help with?" R: "I don't understand this passage. The woman turns into stone halfway through the story. I don't understand how the man can still be looking for her when he knows she's already stone, so obviously she's still in the same place she was when she became stone." M: blank stare *pause* M: "You realize this isn't Peruvian history right? Its a myth. Everything in here was made up. People really can't turn into stone." R: "Yes... I know that. But why does he still look for her when she never moved?" M: *reads more of the story* "You realize animals can't talk right? This whole story is fake. Its just a myth." R: "Yes I know, I'm just still confused about why the story still continues after the woman becomes stone. I really don't understand how the man wouldn't know where she was?" M: *stares at me* "the whole story is fake. This is not what really happened in Peruvian history." R: *sudden realization* "Oh no, I mean I know this is just a story. Everything else we've learned in my literature class has mostly been Peruvian history. M: "Oh thank God you're not crazy."
Moral of the story: Spanish makes things more confusing than they should be.