In the first episode, Alessandra, her mom (Veronica), and her grandma (Evelyn), talk about their lives and professions. Veronica and Evelyn tell us about their origins in Colombia, and about stories of when they moved to the U.S. and met their husbands. Alessandra expresses her journey learning Spanish and her difficulties with the language.
Alessandra: Hi everyone and welcome to the first episode of Madre Mía! I’m very excited to start this podcast! I’m Alessandra and I’m here with my grandma and my mom. Mom, tell us, what is your name and where are you from originally?
Veronica: Hello, I’m Veronica and I’m from Barranquilla, Colombia.
Alessandra: How many kids do you have?
Veronica: I have two daughters, one is 24 years- old, and you, 22 years-old.
Alessandra: Yes, I’m 22 years-old. And Oma, what’s your name and can you tell us a little bit about you?
Evelyn: My name is Evelyn, and I live in Pennsylvania.
Alessandra: Okay, I was born in New Jersey where I currently live with my parents (Veronica and Mitch) and my sister, Ariana. We are here in my grandparents’ house in Pennsylvania.
Veronica: So, Alessandra, what is the purpose of Madre Mía?
Alessandra: Well, there are two purposes. The first is that I personally want to improve my conversational skills in Spanish because I was born in the U.S. and I’m not perfectly fluent in Spanish, like you’ve seen -- have heard already. So, please Mom and Oma, correct me if I say something incorrectly. Okay. The second purpose is to offer to people like me, who already know the basics of the language, a way to advance their Spanish through listening to people talking about everyday topics. Learning a language in a classroom is good to learn the grammar and the vocabulario, but there is nothing more effective than listening and speaking. So, Oma and Mom, how did you feel when I told you that I wanted to do the podcast with you? Oma?
Evelyn: To me it was a fabulous idea, I loved the idea. I said, “What an original thing.” Well, you told me there were other podcasts, but it still seemed like a great idea to be able to continue with -- for you to be able to continue with your Spanish studies. I loved the idea.
Alessandra: Oma always has been my biggest… “fan” -- how do you say that?
Evelyn: Fan -- your… I’ve always been your --
Alessandra: Fan?
Evelyn: Fan, exactly, fan, and I try to encourage you as much as I can so that you continue advancing your studies and so that you continue learning to talk better and better every day.
Alessandra: Yes, yes. Mom, how did you feel?
Veronica: Well okay, I felt a bit nervous because I am already forgetting Spanish a lot, and since I have been in the United States for a long time and I don't speak it much, I am forgetting it. So that's why I'm nervous because I don't know if I'm going to be able to express myself properly.
Alessandra: Yes Yes. Well, tell us, how did you end up in the United States? Why did you leave Colombia and in what year? Oma?
Evelyn: Well, we've been in the United States since 1979. At the time before that, there was a lot of terrorism in Colombia, the FARC issue was getting worse and worse. And your Mom was a girl of about twelve, thirteen (fifteen) years old, your uncle was a young boy too, and I was very scared to stay in Colombia because I did not see much future in Colombia. I was really frightened. And the company I worked for gave me a position here in the United States. And as an American citizen that I already was, I could easily do that and bring your Mom and your uncle to the United States.
Alessandra: And you arrived in New Jersey?
Evelyn: We came to New Jersey, I had a job in New Jersey and your Mom went to high school in the city where we stayed, as did your uncle. And the years passed and well, finally you came one day.
Alessandra: Yes, yes. And before my mom responds, tell us, how did you learn English in Colombia?
Evelyn: Well, I did not learn English in Colombia. I learned English, and this is a very curious thing, I learned it in the ... in what was an English colony in the Bahamas when I was little. I went to Saint Francis school, and I was just five years old, and that's where I started with English. Later, I went with my family to Peru, where I went to a school of American nuns in Villa Maria. And at Villa Maria we spoke English, and we learned English and Spanish. And those were my beginnings with the English and Spanish languages.
Alessandra: Was that difficult for you?
Evelyn: It was not difficult at all because when you are very young, you learn languages easily. One assimilates languages very easily.
Alessandra: So how was the change for you two when you left Colombia and arrived in the United States? Mom, how was your experience at school in the United States?
Veronica: Oh, well. Many of the schoolmates were curious about where I came from. I remember a teacher from, I don't remember if he taught social studies, he was very interested that I was talking to students about Colombia and well, that seemed like a good idea to me. But no, everything was normal, there were only certain things from school that were different from what I was used to, how-
Alessandra: You already told me about the cafeteria?
Veronica: Yes, the experience the first day of the cafeteria in the United States, in the schools they had the cafeteria where you stand in a line and ask for what you want. And that didn’t exist in Colombia, that is, I was used to taking my lunch to school, and then I did not know what to do on the line, I did not know how things worked, and I asked, “Can I take that, the bottle of milk, how is this? How does it work?”
Alessandra: So you were in heaven? Did you look like in heaven?
Veronica: No, I didn't know how it worked, that is, you pay, but I didn't know what it was like. The same with the "fast food restaurants," the restaurants, the pizzeria. In Colombia at that time if you wanted pizza you would go to a restaurant, sit down and order pizza like in a restaurant. Here I had no idea what it was like to go to a counter and order a slice of pizza and that you pay for right there and they deliver it to you.
Alessandra: What is “la tajada de pizza,” for our listeners?
Veronica: Tajada is a pizza slice, a slice. A “slice.” In Colombia you didn't ask for “slices,” they were whole pizzas, so that was something else that I thought was different.
Alessandra: Weird.
Veronica: Yes.
Alessandra: And Oma, do you have anything more to add about that?
Evelyn: Well, I had an experience in the United States, a year of college, between my life living in different countries. I spent a year here in the United States, and here I learned what cafeterias were like, but it never occurred to me that my children didn't know about it. Because I did know and thought that, well, that would be natural for them. But I didn't know it had been something, not shocking, but a surprise to them. That is something that is part of the transcendence of when we change from one country to another. They are things that we learn, interesting cultural changes, and we adapt.
Alessandra: Okay, and yes, many of the family members still live there in Barranquilla and we visit every two years, around there. And so Mom, excuse me ... how do you say excuse me "for what I'm about to say, what I'm about to ask you?"
Evelyn: Excuse me.
Veronica: For what I’m about to ask you.
Alessandra: Yes, yes, but why did you not speak to me and my sister Ariana in Spanish when we were little, which is the reason we are not fluent in Spanish?
Veronica: Well, I did speak Spanish to you. The thing was, I don't know at what moment, I felt when we were with other children during "playdates" and gatherings like that, with you I felt I was being, how do you say "rude?" Speaking to you --
Evelyn: Rude, bad manners.
Veronica: Yes, rude to speak to you in another language, in which my friends did not understand what I was saying. That's how, I don't know why, I stopped doing it. And also at home it was difficult because your dad is not Spanish-speaking and we always spoke in English, so it was natural for me to speak English, and my Spanish was also being forgotten. At the same time if I forgot a word, if I was speaking in Spanish and I forgot a word, I started again with English, and so little by little I stopped. But I did at first speak to you in Spanish. And luckily, you, I mean, you have always been interested in continuing to learn it. And now also, I mean, you are the one who is pushing me to practice, keep practicing it, and I really appreciate it.
Alessandra: Yes, every day.
Veronica: Yes.
Oma: Alessandra, now, where did you learn Spanish?
Alessandra: Well, for the most part, I learned Spanish in high school and had very good teachers. And it is also true that when I was growing up, you and Mom sometimes spoke to me in Spanish at home, but not much and not all the time. Also, I like to watch Spanish series, read in Spanish, and listen to Latin music, especially reggaetón.
Evelyn: Which?
Alessandra: Reggaetón. But that is for another episode. So, we continue. Recently, I studied in Seville, Spain and lived with a Spanish family, and so that experience helped me a lot with the language. And now I can improve my Spanish with this podcast!
Evelyn: Fantastic! How glad I am. Hopefully we can continue to do this!
Alessandra: Yes, yes, me too. And as you may have noticed, I call my grandmother Oma and I call my grandfather Opa because Opa, or his name is Frank, is from Hollandia.
Verónica: Holland.
Alessandra: Holland, forgive me. (Your) My mom's father passed away when I was very little, right?
Veronica: Yes, you were three years old when he passed away, but you did get to know him. He still lived in Barranquilla, Colombia, and we in the United States. At that time we were living in Massachusetts. But you did get to know him when we baptized you there in Colombia.
Alessandra: Aha, yes, I don't remember much about that time of my life.
Veronica: You were eight months old.
Alessandra: Yes, eight months. And Oma, do you have something to tell us about that, or can you tell us the story of how you and Opa met?
Evelyn: Well, your mom and I lived in an apartment in New Jersey and I worked not far from there, and your mom was studying at Rutgers University. So, from the balcony of my house, we could easily see what was happening in the parking lot below the apartments. And your mom and I noticed a man who came every weekend with three very cute little boys and he always came alone, he didn't come with any lady, and we saw them a lot. And one day your mom said to me, she said to me, “Mom,” she said to me, your mom, “Mom, how interesting is that man, look, why don't you get to know him, maybe you’ll get along.” And I said, “Well, no, not now, but someday maybe,” and then that day he came and your mom told me, “Look look look, there comes that man. Come down, grab this garbage bag and take it to the garbage dump.” So, then, your mom insisted so much that I grabbed the garbage bag, went down the stairs, I met Opa, Frank, who is now your grandfather, or grandfather, and then we started chatting and he invited me to go bowling with the boys and him that same night. So that's how we went out and we continued to see each other after that. And we got married a year later.
Alessandra: And how many years ago was that?
Evelyn: Thirty-many, thirty-something years.
Alessandra: Oh wow, many years.
Evelyn: And then of course, came ... your mom got married and then you were born. And Opa has been with me since you were born. And we were practically there in the hospitals when you, your mom gave birth to these two beautiful girls.
Alessandra: And Mommy, how did you and your husband, father, Mitch, meet?
Veronica: Oh, I lived in an apartment while I was studying at university but I was just graduating. And one day in the pool, I went to the pool and I saw this boy with a friend and we were looking at each other across the pool, from the other side of the pool. And finally when I was leaving, he chased me and spoke to me and asked for my phone number, and if we wanted to go out. So we got out and from there--
Evelyn: I think I wasn't chasing you, I was following you.
Veronica: Oh, he followed me.
Evelyn: Yes, he followed you, he didn’t chase you.
Veronica: Oh, okay.
Evelyn: Yes, because "chasing" has an ugly connotation. While he followed you, he simply followed you along the path, along the path where you were walking.
Veronica: Yes, by the exit of the pool, to reach me, to say hi to me.
Evelyn: Exactly. It is important to know those differences.
Alessandra: Yes, we are all learning together.
Veronica: Yes.
Alessandra: Okay, I love those stories. Now we are going to talk about our professional lives. I graduated from the Pennsylvania State University a few months ago in May, and I studied marketing, I say, and digital media. And because of the coronavirus, I work from home with a company that sells health and hygiene products, which is very good, especially during this difficult time. We will talk more about the coronavirus in another episode. So, Oma first, what is your profession?
Evelyn: I am an interpreter in the judicial courts in New Jersey. I am also a supervisor of the team of interpreters.
Alessandra: And you always have interesting stories for us.
Evelyn: Very interesting, they are very interesting because when one is interpreting, well I have to make this note: interpreting is one thing, and many people confuse interpretation with translation. Translation is of documents, it is when one translates a document into another language, for example a birth certificate or a court order. Interpretation is what is done with the voice. You interpret a person verbally and you can do it simultaneously, that is to say interpret at the same time, that for example the judge and the lawyers are speaking, you are interpreting the person who needs you at one hundred and seventy-five words per hour if it is necessary. And that is interpretation, so if there is a witness, then you interpret the witness, what he is saying, and you interpret that to the judges and the lawyers. That's what I do. From English to Spanish and Spanish to English.
Alessandra: Okay, very interesting. And mom, what do you do?
Veronica: I am a pediatric nurse. I take care of children with disabilities, but I take care of them at home, at home.
Alessandra: Now we come to the game section of the podcast called, "What's Your Favorite?" Each of us is going to do a speed round and say our preferences. Today we have five four categories. First, for example: favorite food -- mine is pasta! And mom?
Verónica: Ajiaco.
Evelyn: Mine is also ajiaco but also sancocho.
Alessandra: And what are those?
Evelyn: These are typical foods of the Latin American regions. Or rather, from the Caribbean and South American countries.
Veronica: But ajiaco is more ajiaco from Bogotá. From Bogotá, ajiaco from Bogotá in Colombia. Sancocho is more from the coast, right?
Evelyn: Yes, more from the coast, yes.
Veronica: They are soups, they are some soups.
Alessandra: Yes, very good. And the next: animal. Mom?
Veronica: It depends, I like dogs, pandas…
Alessandra: Me too, those two! And Oma?
Evelyn: I love all animals, all animals. Above all, when they are puppies.
Veronica: Yes.
Alessandra: Cachorrito is…?
Evelyn: Cachorritos, or when they are --
Alessandra: Puppies.
Evelyn: Yes, cachorritos, puppies, but I mean that when they are little. They melt my heart.
Alessandra: Yes, me too. Yes, we had a --
Veronica: And you?
Alessandra: Mm, I would say dogs, like many people. But yes, we had a dog named Sugar, or Azúcar in Spanish. And color? Mine changes a lot, it was yellow and now it is “teal,” a type of blue, between blue and green.
Veronica: I like the color blue.
Alessandra: Yes, always, always.
Veronica: Yes.
Alessandra: Oma?
Evelyn: It all depends, because if it is for the house, well that can vary. I like warm colors because we live in a country of very cold winters, and warm colors are very cozy during winter. Now for clothes it is something else, it depends. I like any color, but I love black, I love white, I love blue, red, whatever.
Alessandra: Well actually, after I lived in Seville, now --
Verónica: Haber vivido.
Alessandra: What?
Veronica: Having lived.
Alessandra: Yes, yes, yes. After living in Seville, me enamoró..?
Veronica: I fell in love.
Alessandra: Yes, yes, yes, I always say that. I fell in love with orange.
Veronica: Ah, okay, yes, orange.
Alessandra: Because of the oranges in the trees. And do you have a favorite sport? To see or do -- practice.
Veronica: Well, I don't practice any sport, but I like to watch futból, soccer, yes, not American football, what they call soccer in English.
Alessandra: I played soccer almost, or more than, ten years of my life, so --
Veronica: Do you miss it?
Alessandra: Yes, but not practicing almost every day of the week. But yes, I have a lot ... I don't know the word, but my heart will always love that sport.
Evelyn: You are very fond of it.
Alessandra: Yes.
Evelyn: Well, I used to love diving, but I haven't done it for many years because of my age. But walking is basically what I do, but I also like to watch soccer games, especially the World Cup, and those games are phenomenal. I love them, they are so much fun.
Alessandra: Walking is really good for the body.
Evelyn: Yes. I remember the World Cup match when the Netherlands and Spain played in the final, and you were sitting between me and Opa. Opa is Dutch and I am of Spanish descent, so I was rooting for the Spanish, Opa was rooting for the Dutch, and you were sitting between us because we were yelling at each other and I had gotten you a vuvuzela, you remember the vuvuzelas?
Alessandra: Yes.
Evelyn: From South Africa. So you played every time there was a goal, you played the vuvuzela.
Alessandra: How old was I?
Evelyn: You were... that was... when was the match between Spain and the Netherlands in the World Cup?
Alessandra: In which year?
Evelyn: I don’t know.
Veronica: 2010?
Evelyn: Maybe 2010.
Veronica: I don't know, I don't know because we were in Colombia in ‘14, it was before -- no, I don't remember.
Alessandra: Yes, yes.
Evelyn: But it was very funny! First you rooted for Holland and then you changed parties, you decided to root for Spain, and Spain won.
Alessandra: Haha, okay. I think we have already reached the end of the episode. I hope you, our listeners and new friends, have enjoyed our podcast! We will have new episodes every Monday. Oma and Mom, do you have anything to end the episode?
Evelyn: That was fun. Hopefully we do more episodes, and a good idea, Alessandra. I congratulate you.
Alessandra: Thank you.
Veronica: Thank you Alessandra for doing this and for also pushing me to continue, continuing Spanish so that I don't forget and so that you continue learning.
Alessandra: Thanks to you! And yes, my advice to people who are learning Spanish is: hold on / endure! I know that it is very difficult and you will feel that you will never achieve your goals but, trust me, it is a very long journey, but it is worth it in the end. The journey never ends. And finally, have fun with it! Well okay friends, until next time!
Veronica: Madre Mía! Thank you!
Evelyn: Madre Mía, what a thing!
Alessandra: Bye!
Veronica: Bye!
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