International Dinner

I just finished eating possibly the most interesting and silly dinner of my life...

My señora has taken in another student. His name is Benjamin and he is French. He has only studied Spanish for two months, so he doesn't speak much of the language yet. He joined us for dinner today. 

Anika, the German exchange student, also ate dinner with us along with her boyfriend who is visiting for the week. 

So at the table sat Gloria (my Señora), Anika, Anika's boyfriend, Benjamin, and myself. Gloria speaks only Spanish, and speaks often and quickly. Anika speaks German, pretty good Spanish, pretty good English and a tiny bit of French. Anika's boyfriend speaks German, a little bit of French and a little bit of English. Benjamin speaks French, a little Spanish, and a tiny bit of English. And of course, I speak English and Spanish pretty well. 

And so, as we started eating, the conversation stayed mainly between Gloria, Anika, and myself in Spanish, while Anika's boyfriend and Benjamin sat quietly trying to get a clue of what we were talking about. But when Gloria asked Anika's boyfriend a question in Spanish, he of course did not understand. So Anika translated the Spanish into German for him, at which time he answered to Anika in German and Anika relayed the answer to Gloria in Spanish. Then, Gloria turned to Benjamin, who understood the question but did not know how to say the response in Spanish. And so, Benjamin responded to Anika's boyfriend in French, who then told Anika the answer in German, who then told Gloria in Spanish. Then, when I tried to ask Benjamin about what he was studying, he did not understand me very well. So, I asked my question in English to Anika's boyfriend, who then asked the question in French to Benjamin. Benjamin then of course answered in French to Anika's boyfriend, who then relayed that to me in English, at which time I of course relayed that to Gloria in Spanish.

Our conversations proceeded in this manner through the rest of dinner. It was interesting for me because I find it incredible that Europeans like Anika can speak three or more languages pretty easily. It was also really silly to watch Anika switch between sometimes four different languages, and moreover to watch the translation process travel around the table. It was definitely a great way to enjoy our meal together, and I look forward to more dinners with my international family.