The Initials/Acronyms Might Not Mean What You Think They Mean

Posted on by mexpatcom

Me, frustrated trying to do stuff on a laptop

Throughout much – or maybe all – of human history, language has been a living thing. Words are invented, modified, combined with other languages and even change their meaning. Many words in English have non-English origins. One is RSVP from the French “Répondez s’il vous plait”.

In English we have been using acronyms of pure English, such as ASAP – As Soon As Possible.

In the Internet World, there are more and more groups of letters that stand for a phrase, such as NSFW (not safe for work) which is a warning not to open a message when there are other people around. And it becomes more complicated when you are in a country in which your language is not the official language.

There are other types of acronyms specific to particular businesses or professions, of which I fell victim today. Because I was a nurse for 45 years, medical acronyms immediately come to mind when I see a bunch of letters anywhere. DNI becomes “Do Not Intubate” instead of “Do Not Inventory” when I’m in a store, or “Director of National Intelligence” when I’m reading something about government agencies.

I am a member of several internet groups – some English-speaking, some Spanish-speaking and some bilingual. A member of one of my groups posted a request for a recommendation for a cardiologist and then posted “BBB”. Because my specialty was heart failure, I answered with a recommendation and answered another member’s question with an explanation that BBB stands for Bundle Branch Block – a blockage of a specific set of nerves in the heart. Turns out – oops – in Spanish BBB stands for Bueno Bonito Barato – something of good quality but not too expensive.

Well, I learned something new, and a little too late by a few days. Recently my boiler needed replacing after springing a leak, and I could have just used that phrase instead of a long-winded explanation of what I wanted – something of good quality but not horrendously expensive. Definitely, I’ll know for next time, as there always is a next time for repairs and replacements.

I am constantly learning new vocabulary and phrases here in one way or another. That is why I don’t charge for my English tutoring lessons, since I learn just as much Spanish from my students as they learn English from me.

In addition to acronyms and words across many languages as well as your own, the meanings can change within your lifetime, leading to some awkward instances. The word “funny” meant strange. A friend of mine had died in a car accident and about a year later I mentioned to some other friends that it was funny not having her with us. I was admonished that there was nothing funny/humorous about it, when I had only meant that it felt strange. Made me feel like I had turned into my mother, using language that our elders had used.

I also had to explain the above quote to a co-worker who was not that much younger than I was at the time. I was in my 50’s at that time. Oh, well, I am trying to keep my brain active, changing with the times, learning slowly what I can about computers, continuing to learn Spanish, and maybe if anyone is interested, I can write about what it was like growing up without computers, etc. and what medicine was like 59 years ago when I entered nursing school. So many changes can happen in one lifetime. My grandmother was born before the invention of the airplane, and she lived to see a man walk on the moon. So many changes in my lifetime and it will be interesting, if sometimes frustrating, to see and experience what changes will occur in the future before I am gone – hopefully changes for the better Until next time………….

Me, when the lightbulb finally goes on and I understand what I am doing. And this will be you, too

Expanding your internal and external world through chance meetings with strangers and being a better observer

Posted on by mexpatcom

I have now lived in Mexico for a little over 9 years and, honestly, I am running out of new things to post. There are only so many times I can post about Christmas, Easter, Mexican culture, daily village life, etc., etc., so I will be starting to write about other aspects of life in general. And given that I can be long-winded, I will probably break this up into two or three posts

I’ll begin with expanding your horizons through chance meetings with strangers. Many years ago, on one of my flights, I met a Danish-American woman and we had a very nice conversation. She told me about the Danish American Society and how the town of Rebild, Denmark holds the only authentic American Independence Day celebration outside of the United States. I was intrigued by this and vowed one day to attend.

Fast forward to 2018, and I would be going on a trip with my granddaughter Brenna. I asked her parents’ permission to include the 4th of July on our trip. Permission granted. And so we spent that 4th of July in Denmark, with celebrations over several days, ending with a fancy dinner and fireworks over the water in Aalborg (I believe). We met many wonderful people and tried the Danish cuisine – except for hot dogs and hamburgers on the 4th.

We also learned a lot about the history of Denmark in general and Rebild in particular.

stairway in the very health-conscious hotel
drinking song. Every so often, we would start singing and then take a swallow of Akvavit – heavily flavored with anise

The people we met were surprised that we have not a drop of Danish blood, and they wondered how we had come to be there. I explained to them how I had met a Danish woman on one of my trips and that is how we learned about the festival and decided to come,

For my second meeting-with-strangers story, last month I went to visit my son in the U.S. While waiting at the gate to board, I sat next to a woman who needed to charge her phone. I offered the use of my portable charger, and we began talking. As it turned out, she was the author Norma Alicia Gallegos.

Throughout her life, she had become progressively deaf and wrote a book about it – “Voces en el Silencio, Pensamientos de Amor” (Voices in the Silence, Thoughts about Love). It is also available in English – I’m not sure if it is available in other countries in other languages.

She has also co-written with two other women a book titled “Resilientes” (Resilient). The three women tell their histories each one dealing with her individual challenges. I would recommend this book to anyone facing serious challenges.

I would recommend Voices in the Silence to anyone who is experiencing, or knows someone who is experiencing, various degrees of hearing loss. And while I am promoting books, I would also recommend a book I am currently reading – “A Heart that Works” by Rob Delaney. He tells in great and honest detail the story of their lives after his one-year-old son Henry was diagnosed with a brain tumor. I would recommend this book for anyone working in hospice or any person who is dealing with a serious illness of a child. I learned about this book when I was listening to interview he gave online.

So I think I will end this post here, as I don’t want it to be overly long and become boring. More in the next post about expanding your horizons. Take care.