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Take my shower... please!
Studying languages is often an exercise in embarrassing yourself. You have to make mistakes in order to learn. I lived with a family in Latvia for a year between high school and college as an exchange student. While I prided myself in being a quick study, I would sometimes find myself latching on to phrases before I knew their true meaning. Other times, it seems I got ahead of myself trying to put phrases together on my own. There was one bathroom in the apartment where I lived, with the shower, sink, and toilet all in one room. When I wanted to take a shower, I would warn the rest of my family in case they needed to use the facilities. I was trying my best not to be an inconvenience to anyone. My host sister, who was fifteen at the time, was the one typically at home. I'd find her in the front room, and say to her quite proudly in my best Latvian: "Es ņemšu dušu!" (I'm going to take a shower!) And skip off into the bathroom. I began to notice that this always made her smile. I'd say "Es ņemšu dušu!" (I'm going to take a shower!) and a big grin would spread across her face before she went back to reading her book or watching TV. I always assumed she was so impressed with my grasp of the language that it made her smile. Or maybe she just appreciated my dedicated approach to hygiene. One day, my host mother was the one home when I wanted to shower. "Es ņemšu dušu!" (I'm going to take a shower!) I said to her. She laughed and shook her head, stopping me before I made it into the bathroom. "No, no, no. In Latvian, we say 'I'm going into the shower' (es iešu dušā). Es ņemšu dušu makes it sound like you're physically taking the shower with you somewhere else." Which explains my host sister's smile: taking the shower out of the apartment every other day would indeed have been a great inconvenience to everyone. - Suzanne (Ohio) Tags: language, Latvian, newsletter, study abroad
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