"Comer" by Lario Duerme

Comer

By Lario Duerme

Columban Student on First Missionary Assignment (FMA)

I spent four months in Cochabamba, one of the cities in Bolivia. As I learned the language, I immersed myself with the local culture, history, art, music, dance and the people.  I was hopeful that at the end of the course, I will be able to communicate with the locals.  One of the perks of learning a new language is that anyone can be your teacher.  

Cebuano is my mother tongue, but I learned to speak Filipino and English in school. When my family moved to another province, I also learned Surigaonon. For my First Missionary Assignment, I have to learn Spanish. I never imagined that I would need to swallow my pride while learning a new one because I initially thought that it would be easy due to its similarities with Tagalog. However, I found myself sitting in my classes every morning, five days a week, and struggling to catch up with the topics.

I remember the first time I took the public transport in the city (alone). I panicked because I forgot how to say “stop” and went beyond my destination. To catch the driver's attention, I stood and gave him the fare. It was a relief when he noticed and stopped the vehicle one block away from my drop off.

It isn't easy to initiate a conversation with my host family at the dinner table.  In the first month, I always had my cellphone nearby for a quick translation. In another instance, I was walking to the language institute when a woman stopped me and said something in Spanish. I could somehow understand that she was asking for direction, but I had difficulty responding to her query let alone give instructions in her language. My only response was, “lo siento, yo no hablo espanol” (sorry, I don’t speak good Spanish) as my excuse. I was frustrated that day. Not long after that encounter, I was standing on the road when a man asked a question. I did not catch what he said, and since I did not respond, he stopped and pointed to his wrist. Only then did I understand that he was asking for the time. I looked at my wristwatch and told him the time, and he smiled and continued walking. 

 Days went by quickly, and soon it was the primavera spring season. At that time, I felt like it was only a week since I arrived. As it moved to a different season, I was hopeful that I may be able to communicate with the people better.

It is during that when I also decided to join my foster mother in Comedor Infantil as a volunteer. It used to be the parish church but it now serves as the place where  80 schoolchildren are fed lunch five times a week. Every Thursday after my language class, I go straight to Comedor to help. One day, a group of kids was talking at one of the assigned tables. I walked near them, and as I handed a plate of food to one of the kids, I said “tú come.” One of the kids laughed and said, " ¿come? no es come, comes."  The Spanish present indicative declension for the verb comer which means “eat” is: “yo como" meaning I eat; "tú comes" means you eat; and "él/ella come" means he or she eats. Since I was addressing the person directly, I should have used comes. When I realized my mistake, I laughed with them and narrated to the other volunteer what had happened. It was a teachable moment because I know at that moment, I learned from her.

Learning a new language is not easy. It is  an amusing and, at the same time, a humbling experience. It changed my attitude from being easily frustrated - to learning how to laugh at my own mistakes. Like the word comer itself, I just have to swallow my pride.