A Sample of the Unexplainable- Spanish to English to Spanish
Posted: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
by Ken McCreless
RMS1437
Greetings Fellow Travelers ...
As some of you may know, I work in the health care field as a Registered Respiratory Therapist. The location where I am currently employed is about three or four miles from the Mexican border.
Quite a few of the patients I see on any given shift speak either Spanish only, or Spanish with very little English. I describe my Spanish skills like this. I can order dinner or get in a fight, but that's about it.
What ends up happening is a lot of hand signals and little or no actual speaking- along with a spike in the old stress level, on both sides.
Last night I positioned myself outside the patients room to prepare the medications for her breathing treatment. I could hear her speaking very loudly, trying to get her nurses attention. She was able to do so quite well, speaking only Spanish. I could feel the tension rising already. But, I have a job to do, and I always do my best.
I walked into her room. She looked up at me and spoke something in Spanish, something to do with her scrape with the nurse, I assumed. I inadvertently let out a huge sigh, preparing for the skirmish to come. But it never happened.
She was in her 80's, with long white hair and a wrinkled face that looked like it belonged on a package of candy. She gave me a look of resignation as to our communication gap- then she smiled.
Not just any smile, but a smile that melted me into the floor. Such a sweet, understanding flooded my soul as I approached her. Her smile just disarmed me in an instant, but that's not all.
She still spoke to me in Spanish; BUT I KNEW WHAT SHE WAS SAYING!
For the rest of that shift I felt no confusion when someone spoke to me in Spanish. I would respond in English and was understood.
Sounds strange but it actually happened.
Spooky, huh?
As some of you may know, I work in the health care field as a Registered Respiratory Therapist. The location where I am currently employed is about three or four miles from the Mexican border.
Quite a few of the patients I see on any given shift speak either Spanish only, or Spanish with very little English. I describe my Spanish skills like this. I can order dinner or get in a fight, but that's about it.
Last night I positioned myself outside the patients room to prepare the medications for her breathing treatment. I could hear her speaking very loudly, trying to get her nurses attention. She was able to do so quite well, speaking only Spanish. I could feel the tension rising already. But, I have a job to do, and I always do my best.
I walked into her room. She looked up at me and spoke something in Spanish, something to do with her scrape with the nurse, I assumed. I inadvertently let out a huge sigh, preparing for the skirmish to come. But it never happened.
She was in her 80's, with long white hair and a wrinkled face that looked like it belonged on a package of candy. She gave me a look of resignation as to our communication gap- then she smiled.
Not just any smile, but a smile that melted me into the floor. Such a sweet, understanding flooded my soul as I approached her. Her smile just disarmed me in an instant, but that's not all.
She still spoke to me in Spanish; BUT I KNEW WHAT SHE WAS SAYING!
For the rest of that shift I felt no confusion when someone spoke to me in Spanish. I would respond in English and was understood.
Sounds strange but it actually happened.
Spooky, huh?
Ken McCreless is just a guy who loves to write, and was born to do so. He is a freelance writer with several projects ongoing, including books and magazines. A huge fan of both irony and history, Ken has dedicated his life and his writing to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)Hi Ken.Sounds like you made a profound spiritual connection with her. Not spooky at all ... miraculous and wonderful!Thanks for sharing this,DianneThank you, Dianne.I guess you never know what might happen when you're open to all possibilities, right?
hi ken,that is spooky, and amazing and cool all wrapped into one.did you return to not knowing how to speak and understand spanish?i'd say you've been touched.a nice addition to your spirit.my best regards,sue.The next night it was business as usual. The language barrier was as strong as ever.I would love to be able to bottle whatever it was that gave that me feeling of understanding and sympatico.Thank you, Sue.
Ken, Now this is what I believe the bible calls the gift of interpretation of tongues :-) yay for you! You give me hope on my journey to speaking Spanish, currently is a sad state of Spanglish. Thanks for sharing this inspirational story! Big hugs to Janie!!!Wow, Sis, I never thought of that! The Lord sure does move in mysterious ways, right?Affirmative on the hugs. Just might take her out on the Harley this afternoon.Thank you, T.
Ken, this is so you and nothing short of an amazing man with a tender heart. While I can do a bit more than order a meal and get into a fight, I long to be fluent in Spanish. Your loving heart is one that attracts just as a smile does. A smile comes in all languages and so does love. You were both connected through Love. As Dianne said, no, not spooky at all!Avis, I'm humbled at your very kind words. I feel that a large chunk of "the wall" came down that night.Hmmmmm, what does our Lord have in store for me?
Ken, I wanted to add on to your response comment but it only has an edit feature for whatever reason....anyway, I have had the same thing happen to me with the opening of the language barrier (mainly Spanish) but when working with families in a criminal atmosphere, so it must be a universal thing ~ kind of like pets coming to comfort the dying. One thing for certain is that you can never outgive God when he decides to shower the suffering with his huge umbrella of comfort and understanding SuzyThere is a verse that mentions how "great are His mysteries." Too often we limit ourselves with our humanity.Thanks, Suzy
Hey Ken, this was great, and something typical of you. I think I can feel what you are saying, because I too live just a few miles from the Mexican border. It's amazing how you can pick up what they are saying when frustrations are extinguished, and I understand the warm smile. I encounter this allot at work, as most of the agents there are hispanic anyway, and I of course have picked up some phrases, not fluently you understand, but enought just to get me in trouble. (No fights yet tho) lol. This was a delightful story, and I enjoyed it immensly and as usual, you never disappoint me....Great story, and the REAL Spooky part is that I can relate! I enjoyed the read, and keep them rolling in....your pal, and fan......Gary.» left by Ken McCreless from Event Horizon 2 years 222 days ago.
85 fans. Follow Ken McCreless on twitter!I can remember fighting a kid when I was a boy. He only understood Spanish so I kept telling something about his mother, my only phrase at the time!Thank you, Gary, always a pleasure.
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