Tuteo, Voseo, Ustedeo

In English, we have one form of “you.” Whether we’re talking to the president or to a dog, we use “you.” Whether we’re addressing one person or a crowd, it’s “you” (unless, of course, you live in the south, where it’s “y’all” or “you’uns”). Formal or informal, singular or plural, we have one pronoun and one verb conjugation. Spanish, on the other hand, has more variety. Tú, vos, usted, ustedes, and vosotros are all forms of “you”! [ustedes and vosotros are plural forms]

Note the varieties of verb conjugations in the following example (asking “Where are you from?”)

¿De dónde eres tú?
¿De dónde sos vos?
¿De dónde es usted?
¿De dónde son ustedes?
¿De dónde sois vosotros?

In Barranquilla, among other places, the tuteo is predominant, or the use of tú rather than the more formal usted. It’s still common to use the formal pronoun with older people, authority figures, or recent acquaintances, but people adopt the tú form much more quickly than in other places.

In Bogotá, I was surprised to hear how much the ustedeo is used compared to the tuteo. For example, I often heard close friends address each other as usted; even older children would address younger children with the formal pronoun.

Here in Argentina (as well as many other regions of Latin America—see map below), the voseo dominates. After a few weeks I’m getting used to being addressed as vos instead of tú and to hearing verbs accented differently (due to the conjugation). And the voseo isn’t the only difference between Argentine and Colombian Spanish (or other dialects I’m used to). There are different vocabulary words (remis instead of taxi; pileta instead of piscina for pool; remera instead of camiseta for T-shirt); different pronunciations (“y” or “ll”, which are usually pronounced like the English “y” in yes, sounds like “sh” here…so Barranquilla is pronounced “BarranquiSHA); the prosody (or intonation) is more sing-songy, and there are a couple of words that are supercommon in Colombian Spanish that are taboo here, and vice versa.

Thank you (tú, vos, usted, ustedes, vosotros…) for reading :)




Dark and medium blue= Countries where the voseo is predominant.
Green= Countries where the voseo is used in some regions.
Light blue= Countries where the voseo is proporcianally scarce.
Red= (Spain, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Puerto Rico) The voseo is never used

There's no place like home.

“Culture, in its broadest sense, is what makes you a stranger when you’re away from home.” -Phillip Bock and Edward Hall

After almost six months away from home, I have to admit I often still feel like a stranger here. And it’s not for lack of effort on my part to try to integrate. Nor is it because Colombians haven’t reached out to me and welcomed me into their homes. Instead, it’s just an honest realization: cross-cultural living is hard. Moving is hard. Starting from scratch is hard. Making friends, building a community, is hard. And when you’re doing it entirely in a language and culture that’s not your own…it’s exponentially harder. I’m thankful that I’ve had previous experiences abroad, and I’m grateful for my years of Spanish study. But in spite of all that, I’m having to admit to myself that there will be times of homesickness, and that’s OK. Pride tempts me to deny it, to say “I’m independent and self-sufficient;” a nagging voice causes me to question what I’ve always believed in—that multiculturalism is enriching, that deep, fulfilling cross-cultural relationships are possible. It’s tempting to idealize what I’m missing, believing that everything’s perfect in the States, or to become disillusioned about living abroad.

But that’s going to the extreme, allowing a natural phase of culture shock (although that's not really the best phrase in this case) get the best of me. The truth is, though, that home—roots—a sense of belonging—is significant. It’s a central part of who we are. Having a home culture is a privilege, and accepting it--the good, the bad, and the ugly--is crucial in achieving "healthy integration of the new with the old [culture]" (Myron Loss in Culture Shock).

A Brief Report from the Southern Hemisphere

Happy 2011!

What a whirlwind of a New Year it’s been. To recap the last few days:

-On the morning of December 31st, I said goodbye to Emily and the others from “Kiwi House” and headed down to Bogotá to meet up with Eileen. After having breakfast with her dad, sisters, brothers-in-law, and grandpa, we went to the airport. At 1:00 pm we left Bogotá, and at 9 p.m. we arrived in Santiago, Chile. Since we had a 12-hour layover and since it was New Years Eve, we left the airport in search of a celebration. It was so strange to be back in Santiago after 3 ½ years especially considering the time of night and that we only had a few hours there. From the airport we took a bus to the Metro station, where we rode the metro to the Torre Entel, the location of the biggest NYE celebration in Santiago. We got there about 10, found something to eat, and sat down and talked until midnight. The plaza was crazy when midnight rolled around—thousands of people with bullhorns, confetti, champagne, etc. As soon as the firewrosk stopped we decided to go back to the airport, since it didn’t seem like the safest idea to be haning around by ourselves on the streets of Santiago in the madrugada (wee hours of the morning). We walked for quite a while looking for transportation. With the help of a policeman, we caught a cab, got back to the airport before 2 am, and caught a few winks stretched out on airport chairs waiting for our 8 am flight.



The crowd gathered at Torre Entel in Santiago, Chile on New Year's Eve.

-By 11 am on New Years, we were in Buenos Aires, Argentina! Eileen’s friend Andrés (a Bogotano who lives in Buenos Aires) picked us up, we rode the bus for 2 hours, and arrived at the apartment of Andrea, a Colombian student involved with Cru in Buenos Aires. That afternoon the three of us girls headed out into the city for lunch. We walked a ton, but it was great to see the city. From the little I’ve seen, I LOVE Buenos Aires. Its architecture is very European, and it feels like Bucharest in many ways. Really, it’s like Europe in Latin America—can you beat that? The city has so much character, and right now (the middle of summer) the temperature is perfect.



Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires

-On Sunday Eileen, Andrea and I met up with some Brazilian friends of Eileen’s who happened to be in Buenos Aires. We saw the Plaza de Mayo (which is super-important in Argentina’s history; if you’re interested, read here) and strolled through the Feria de San Telmo, an endless row of vendors selling everything from handmade crafts to antiques.



One of the random things you find at a street fair--a Chik-fil-a apron, Spanish style!

-At 8 pm on Sunday, along with about 30 students and staff, we set out from the Crusade headquarters. Twelve hours later, we arrived in Córdoba, the site of the national conference, or “campamento de verano.” Well, about 15 minutes away from the destination our bus got a flat tire, so we had to be ferried to the conference site little by little in cars. The conference kicked off on Monday, and it’s been awesome already. Having grown up in Campus Crusade, there’s something so “homey” about conferences, no matter where in the world they take place. Aside from the welcoming event, we’ve had one plenary session and one workshop (I signed up for on aimed at professionals, about integrating faith and work), and a couple of small group/debrief meetings. It’s exciting to be here, among over 200 students and staff from Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, the U.S., and Colombia. There’s so much to learn, and I know both Eileen and I are looking forward to bringing ideas and tools back to Barranquilla to put into practice this coming semester.



With Eileen and a new firend, Maria Sol, in Cordoba, Argentina

Dragon Skin

So, who’s seen “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader?”

Next question: who’s read it?

Since the Chronicles of Narnia is my all-time favorite book series, and since it’s deeply ingrained in my childhood memories (I used to pretend to be Lucy—I even made myself a vial necklace), I waited eagerly for the “Dawn Treader” to come out. To my happy surprise, it came out on December 8th in Colombia.

Like always, there are incongruencies between the book and the movie. Aside from the issue of the invented green smoke (the producers must have seen too much LOST), the movie is lacking in its interpretation of the Eustace the dragon episode. Read Eustace’s vivid description of being “un-dragoned” as he recounts the experience to Edmund.

But the lion told me I must undress first. . . .

I was just going to say that I couldn’t undress because I hadn’t any clothes on when I suddenly thought that dragons are snaky sort of things and snakes can cast their skins. Oh, of course, thought I, that’s what the lion means. So I started scratching myself and my scales began coming off all over the place. And then I scratched a little deeper and, instead of just scales coming off here and there, my whole skin started peeling off beautifully, like it does after an illness, or as if I was a banana. In a minute or two I just stepped out of it. I could see it lying there beside me, looking rather nasty. It was a most lovely feeling. So I started to go down into the well for my bath.

But just as I was going to put my feet into the water I looked down and saw that they were all hard and rough and wrinkled and scaly just as they had been before. Oh, that’s all right, said I, it only means I had another smaller suit on underneath the first one, and I’ll have to get out of it too. So I scratched and tore again and this under skin peeled off beautifully and out I stepped and left it lying beside the other one and went down to the well for my bath.

Well, exactly the same thing happened again. And I thought to myself, oh dear, how ever many skins have I got to take off? For I was longing to bathe my leg. So I scratched away for the third time and got off a third skin, just like the two others, and stepped out of it. But as soon as I looked at myself in the water I knew it had been no good. . . .

“Then the lion said — but I don’t know if it spoke — You will have to let me undress you. I was afraid of his claws, I can tell you, but I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.

“The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I’ve ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was jut the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off. You know — if you’ve ever picked the scab of a sore place. It hurts like billy-oh but it is such fun to see it coming away.”

“Well, he peeled the beastly stuff right off – just as I thought I’d done it myself the other three times, only they hadn’t hurt – and there it was lying on the grass, only ever so much thicker, and darker, and more knobbly-looking than the others had been. And there was I smooth and soft as a peeled switch and smaller than I had been. Then he caught hold of me – I didn’t like that much for I was very tender underneath now that I’d no skin on — and threw me into the water. It smarted like anything but only for a moment. After that it became perfectly delicious and as soon as I started swimming and splashing I found that all the pain had gone from my arm. And then I saw why. I’d turned into a boy again. . . .”
- - - - -

C.S. Lewis is a genius when it comes to metaphors; what an amazing analogy for the process of sanctification. Becoming the people God designed us to be is a feat that we cannot accomplish on our own. Countless times, I've decided I need to change something about myself. With hard work and self-discipline, I may be able to see an improvement...but it never lasts; there's always another dragon skin hiding underneath (Romans 7:21-24). But when I (with willingness and submission) allow God to work in me, real change--beginning at the heart level and working outwards--takes place. We have to "put off" "put to death" and "rid ourselves" of wrong thinking and behavior (Colossians 3, Ephesians 4), but God is the only one who can make us righteous (Philippians 2: 12-13).

The State of Affairs

I don't know how many of you have seen the news lately, but Colombia is in the middle of a huge crisis. Heavy rains have plagued the country for months,and currently 28 of the 32 departments are in a state of emergency. Rivers have overflowed their banks, and thousands of people are left with nothing.

Here in Atlantico, the department where I live, several villages have "disappeared", covered almost completely by water.

This is a pueblo named Campo de la Cruz.




Bello, a town near Medellin, experienced a landslide a couple of weeks ago that covered dozens of homes.


To add insult to injury, these stagnant waters have become breeding grounds for all kinds of diseases and water-borne illnesses. Rural Colombians are losing their livelihoods of cattle and crops as well.

Events like this tempt us to despair; natural disasters are relentless, and we as humans have no control. We can ease the symptoms of pain, and even that is daunting when we see the numbers of people affected.

Please join me, and thousands of people in Colombia and around the world, in praying for relief from this weather and help for its victims. And if you are able to contribute financially, there are many organizations working faithfully to help those suffering in Colombia.

Vision Mundial Colombia http://www.visionmundial.org.co/eContent/home.asp

Here and There

Though I feel like I’ve been in a time warp of perpetual summer, it’s somehow the middle of December. Christmas is in a week. That just doesn’t seem right, since I went to the beach this week. And I’m sweating under a fan right now. But anyway, December is in full swing.

The highlight of the month has definitely been a visit from my parents. We packed a lot into the eight days they were here, spending a few days each in Barranquilla, Santa Marta, and Cartagena.
Here’s my top 5 list from their week here:
• Showing off the many beautiful places Colombia has to offer.
• Introducing them to my friends.
• Being able to have meaningful conversations with zero language or culture barriers.
• Relaxing on the tranquil beach in Taganga.
• Exploring the enchanting streets of Cartagena.



Now that Mom and Dad are back home, I’m gearing up for my next adventure. I’ll be in Bogotá for 10 days, spending Christmas with my cousin Emily. On December 31st, along with my friend Eileen, I head to Argentina! Somewhat of a spontaneous plan, the two of us will be attending Argentina’s national Campus Crusade for Christ conference, followed by a couple of weeks in Buenos Aires. I'm expectant and excited about this trip--God has worked so many things together to allow me to go!

So though this December and Christmas will be a little different--it's the first one in my life away from home--I'm sure it will be filled with new and unforgettable experiences. But most importantly, the reason for celebrating is the same:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Isaiah 9:6

El Camino

Sometimes, I feel like my mind doesn’t have a “play” button—only “fast forward.” When I ought to be delving into the present moment, I’m consumed by the thought, “But what’s next?”

Though I’m not even half-way through my time in Colombia, I’m easily preoccupied by questions regarding the future. Forgetting that God has faithfully led me into each consecutive stage of my life, I worry that I’ll miss out on his will for me.

On a recent hike, as I relied on a guide to show me the way to the destination—to tell me where to step, to hold my hand as I climbed up rocks, even to carry me across a rushing river—I was impacted by the thought of what a great Guide we have in Jesus. The book of Hebrews reveals Jesus as a better sacrifice and a better high priest—superior to his human counterparts. In the same way, he’s a better guide. I was impressed by our guide’s knowledge of the path, by his strength and seemingly endless energy. But he’s a human being, and his wisdom and strength are finite. God, on the other hand, created the paths, he created us, and he leads us perfectly on the paths he has laid out for each one of us.

So the challenge is to listen carefully to his guiding voice, to hold tightly to his firm hand, and to trustingly and confidently walk on this present path, leaving the future up to him.

This is what the LORD says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the LORD your God,
who teaches you what is best for you,
who directs you in the way you should go.” (Isaiah 48:17)