Skype Number

Today is a very exciting day! Last night I had the internet installed in my house. I almost can't believe it. Today I set up a skype number in the states. You can call this number and I will receive your call on my computer. If I am not available leave me a voice mail and I will call you back. The number is:

(602) 490 8442

Having the internet in my house also means more blog updates. So, in the infamous words of Scar, be prepared!

Señor Rogers (Or It Is A Beautiful Day in the Barrio)

A phenomenon takes place in El Salvador every time I open my mouth. I turn into a different person each time I speak Spanish.

Eric as I have always known him disappears and I become your favorite, kind, old neighbor rocking a sweater - Mr. Rogers. I had always hoped my Spanish alter-ego would sound more like Antonio Banderas or Gael Garcia Bernal, sleek, mysterious, with sexy dripping off of each word. But no, I transform into the polar opposite of Antonio and Gael, Mr. Rogers. My voice undergoes certain changes when I speak Spanish; it deepens and adopts a warmly formal tone, one that suggests images of cardigans, checkers with your grandpa, and a warm fireplace.

I have always thought of speaking a foreign language as a performance. The mimicry, opportunity to become a new personality, the memorization of vocabulary like lines for a play, always made me feel like I was on the stage. For me, being Mr. Rogers does not really come as a surprise. I always knew I was someone else in Spanish. What is interesting is that now I spend more time in the “performance” than I do as myself. I am Señor Rogers more often than I am the English speaking Eric I have known the majority of my life. The one thing Mr. Rogers and Eric agree on is that language and identity are intimately connected and we recreate ourselves each time we learn a new language.

The real question is would you be mine, could you be mine, oh won’t you be…my neighbor?