Intercambio

Back when I lived in Spain… a lifetime ago, I remember sitting across the dining room table from my roommate Pilar.  Pili, as we called her, liked to practice her english with me.  Which I was more than willing to do as every evening I was so mentally exhausted from constantly concentrating to communicate.  Early on, I acquired an addiction to CNN, the only english-language channel on our tele.

So Pili and I would talk about very basic things during our “intercambios.”  I remember one particular conversation around the word “girl.”

She would say “ghoul.”
And I would say, “no, giRL.”
And she would say “glll.”
And I would say “guRL”
And she would say, “ghOOl.”
And I would say, “g-iRL.”
On and on it would go until she would utter this strangled, stiff sounding “grrrl.”

Great!  (Close enough.)

I really hadn’t ever considered the challenge of this most basic childhood vocabulary word.  Then little Jakey was learning to talk and we were having the exact same pronunciation battle, only this time it was across the coffee table.

A few months ago, Jake and Nate and I were doing whatever it is that we do, maybe brushing teeth?  I think we might have been talking about our newest cousin on the way.  At the time, we weren’t sure if it would be a boy or a girl.

And Jake exclaims, “I said it!  Girl!”

“Wait, wait.  Say it again?  Ga-wol?”

“No Mom, listen.  I can say girl.”  He is beaming that charming, self-satisfied smile.

“Me, too.  Me, too!”  Pipes-up Nate.

“What?  You, too?  Nooooo!”

“I can say it, too.  Ga-wol!”  Nate replies.

Phew.