Some Funny Moments Re-Lived

One of the first few nights Nico and I shared our room together, I was fast asleep and Nico was just getting ready for bed (I worked mornings, he worked nights). A small thump woke me up so I picked up my head and turned back, peering into the darkness, trying to see what was going on. I couldn't see anything. Everything was still. I was just laying my head back onto my pillow when I heard a little rustle on the floor in the opposite corner of the room. I sat up again.

"Nico?" I asked.

And the tiniest little voice answered, "Me caí" (I fell).

I started laughing.

Apparently he'd been changing his pants with hand and holding his phone in the other. Somehow, his legs had gotten twisted and he'd fallen down with no hands left to catch himself. Amazing.

"But why didn't you get up afterwards? Why did you just lie there silently?!"

"I didn't wanna make anymore noise. I was trying to not wake you up."

The whole image was too much for me and I died laughing. He thought it was funny for about the first five minutes but the next 25 were all me, scream-laughing, with him telling me to be quiet. It was two-something in the morning and everyone else was trying to sleep. Maybe you had to be there...or maybe you had to be me, but I thought it was hysterical.

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A couple months back, a few of my favorite students decided to take me to a Funk (the Brazilian version of Hip Hop or Reggaeton) concert with them and their coworkers. On our way there, everyone was speaking Portuguese, of course, so every once in a while, one of my students would turn to me to either translate into English or at least check to see if I was understanding. They were also explaining cultural subtleties and giving me a sort of  tour as we walked through the city.

When you're speaking your native language to someone who isn't a native speaker/isn't from your country, all of the explaining, translating and teaching can tend to make you feel as if you're talking down to a small child or someone less intelligent than yourself. It's an innocent mistake that can turn into a problem if we don't pay attention to it and none of this is anything new. Traveling to different countries with people from all over the world, I've been on both sides of the above situation.

Anyway, we were about to cross a street (something I've done a time or two in my life) and someone called out something like "help the gringa" as another one of my students frantically turned to grab me and hold my hand as we crossed. They'd forgotten that my crappy language skills didn't translate into me not knowing how to look both ways and make safety calls.

"Guys." I told them, "I'm American. I'm not stupid."

They all burst out laughing, immediately realizing how they'd been treating me.

As our beautiful life would ironically have it, less than five minutes later we were all walking arm-in-arm down the street, still chatting. I was the farthest to the right and looking to my left, focused on the Portuguese conversation when, suddenly--WHAM! I slammed shoulders with a guy walking the other way.

"What do you know?" I mused, realizing I was as incapable of walking as they'd thought. "I am stupid."

Everyone laughed again.

Maybe it was more of an inability to do two things at once (walk and understand Portuguese) than stupidity but, whatever it was, it was hilarious.

Good times. Thanks, life. Always keepin' me humble!