You’re weird if you to talk to yourself in America…
…well, it’s the same in Bulgaria.
A way that I practice my Bulgarian is reciting conversations I have had during the day in my head. That way, I can think of new ways to answer common questions or at least work on switching up my grammar – so I don’t continually repeat myself. It really does help. But, there is a downside.
I talk out loud sometimes. Usually it is not very loud; but, I am defiantly unconsciously using my vocal cords. The worst example of my stupidity included a baba (the all encompassing word for ‘old lady’). I was walking behind a baba over a particularly nasty slab of ice. It was the concentrating on not falling that allowed my mind to slip and my mouth to say, ‘get out of here.’ Was this verbal slipup said in English? Oh no. We were full on Bulgarian. Needless to say, it got uncomfortable when she turned around and started screaming at me. I wanted to say, ‘I was just talking to myself.’ But, the last thing I need here is a newspaper headline reading: American admits he is crazy. So, I just repeated, “I’m sorry” until she continued on her way.
It is not like I need more attention around here. I am already the walking human spectacle. (Luckily, I can understand enough to know if the comments are kind or malicious.) So, I can’t wait to hear from someone that ‘rumor on the street is, you hate old people.’ Or, something equally distorted and cruel as that. Time will tell.
Hope all is going well,
Mark
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A way that I practice my Bulgarian is reciting conversations I have had during the day in my head. That way, I can think of new ways to answer common questions or at least work on switching up my grammar – so I don’t continually repeat myself. It really does help. But, there is a downside.
I talk out loud sometimes. Usually it is not very loud; but, I am defiantly unconsciously using my vocal cords. The worst example of my stupidity included a baba (the all encompassing word for ‘old lady’). I was walking behind a baba over a particularly nasty slab of ice. It was the concentrating on not falling that allowed my mind to slip and my mouth to say, ‘get out of here.’ Was this verbal slipup said in English? Oh no. We were full on Bulgarian. Needless to say, it got uncomfortable when she turned around and started screaming at me. I wanted to say, ‘I was just talking to myself.’ But, the last thing I need here is a newspaper headline reading: American admits he is crazy. So, I just repeated, “I’m sorry” until she continued on her way.
It is not like I need more attention around here. I am already the walking human spectacle. (Luckily, I can understand enough to know if the comments are kind or malicious.) So, I can’t wait to hear from someone that ‘rumor on the street is, you hate old people.’ Or, something equally distorted and cruel as that. Time will tell.
Hope all is going well,
Mark
[Email to a Friend:
]
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