Speaking in Code

When you date someone from a country other than your own, it can sometimes feel like your dating a secret agent or, better yet, a spy. One reason is because at any given moment, your secret agent can and will begin speaking in code. It's really just their native tongue, but it might as well be code because a new language isn't something that can be easily deciphered.

I find it sort of cute when Vin gets the opportunity to speak in code. He does it when he calls back to Puerto Rico or when he meets another Latino out on the town. When we are out in public and hear other Spanish speakers, Vin always listens in to see if he can determine the origin of the accent.

"They are from Argentina," he says to me about some random couple on the street.
"You can tell this from the few words you just heard?" I ask.
"Oh, yes," he replies with great certainty. "The accent is very distinct."

It's as if I get a free pass into another world, into another culture.

Watching TV is a unique experience. I've been trying to get Vin to become a Sex and the City addict like me. I have the complete series on DVD and sometimes watch the show as a way of unwinding after a long day of work. Vin's English is excellent, but the show is filled with rapid, complicated dialogue. So to make the experience more enjoyable for him, I change the language to Spanish with English subtitles. It turns out to be an even more enjoyable experience for me. It's as if I am watching the show for the first time. I hear Senior Big greet Carrie (pronounced Car 'ree). "Hola, Carrie. Que pasa?"

Sometimes, we'll watch Univision or some other Hispanic channel, which is an even more fun. I spend more time watching Vin watch TV, especially when he starts laughing at something and I have no idea what has just transpired. He probably does get tired of me always asking him to translate. "What did he just say? What was that? What does this mean?" My list of questions are endless. I don't want to miss a thing.

Although, it is not as if I am completely in the dark when it comes to his culture and language. We share of love of Latin music and dance. I've visited Puerto Rico. I studied Spanish not too long ago and will pick up things that he says here and there.

"Did you just curse?" I'll ask and laugh with him. People always remember the swear words even if they forget everything else about the language. Funny, how we gravitate to the crude and perverse, isn't it?

So, the adventure continues for my secret agent and I. Don't tell Vin, but I'm studying up on his secret code. I just need to make sure that when he is speaking in code, it isn't about me.