In addition to studying Spanish in class, I've been building up my "restaurant vocabulary" at our local Jalisco's. I start by asking a native speaker how to say something useful, then I repeat the phrase about a bazillion times.
Lesson one was learning how to ask for my favorite meal: dos tacos polo de queso y crema solo (two chicken tacos with only cheese and sour cream).
Since I've mastered that, I asked my very patient language coach (our regular waitress) how to say "To Go Box".
She told me several times, but I couldn't quite catch what she was saying. It sounded like she was speaking a foreign language! Oh, that's right... she was. I just wasn't getting it. We both got a good laugh out of my efforts, though.
Registering exactly how dense I am she eventually wrote the phrase down on a piece of paper: It's exact translation is "box for to carry" but I'm diggin' the Spanish version.
caja
para
llevar
The closest I can pronounce it is "Ca-ha pa-dah yeh-vahr" but I can't hit the impossible little tongue roll to the "para" and "llevar".
Still, the three words together have a rather catchy cadence.
I find myself practicing them in crazy ways: singing them in a silly sing-song voice; saying them mysteriously as if I'm about to reveal something wonderful to a breathless audience; even pretending I'm Harry Potter memorizing a new spell at Hogwarts.
But my favorite way to use them is in imitation of Gandalf's last stand against the Balrog.
Whenever Rob is trying to get past me in the hallway, I plant myself firmly in his path, throw my arms wide and yell commandingly:
"CAJA PARA LLEVAR!!!!"
For one frozen moment in time I am in complete command of the hallway, and my new phrase.
Then Rob simply picks me up and sets me aside, reminding me that I've got a long way to go.
For one frozen moment in time I am in complete command of the hallway, and my new phrase.
Then Rob simply picks me up and sets me aside, reminding me that I've got a long way to go.
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