Episode 70: We Sit Down With Multilinguist - Claire Spooner

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Ian: Hey everybody, welcome to “Coffee with Gringos.” I'm Ian Kennedy.

Paige: And I'm Paige Sutherland.

Ian: And today, we have with us a special guest: our good friend Claire Spooner. Claire, how are you today?

Claire: Fabulous.

Ian: Great, thanks for coming to the studio today. I hope you liked the coffee we have here at “Coffee with Gringos.”

Claire: Yeah, it’s fabulous.

Ian: Good, perfect. So, you have an interesting story. So how about you tell us and our listeners a little bit about yourself.

Claire: Well, I was born in London. Then I went to Mexico when I was nine months old. I was there until eighteen-ish. And then I decided to start traveling a bit, travel and work and study. Because, you have to study, according to my parents.

Paige: And where did you study?

Claire: In China. Well, part in China, part in Spain because you could move across. So, yes that's what I did. That's what I did.

Paige: You studied hospitality?

Claire: Yes, I studied hospitality. It was cool. I mean, I like it. I like hospitality. But I don't think we ever fit in one job. And I want to do other jobs. I don’t think one university is enough.Paige: It's interesting, I actually met Claire, because her boyfriend, who's Portuguese. They live here together, they met in Spain—at university. And I was playing paddle with my boyfriend and her boyfriend was playing paddle and heard us speak English. And he was like, “Oh”—because he went to an English-speaking school—so he's like “Oh, where are you guys from?” We started talking and he's like, “Let's play a paddle game, my girlfriend plays paddle.”  So, like, a couple of days go by, we play this game and he told me, “Oh, she's Mexican…blah blah.” So, I'm expecting this, like, Mexican girl walking on the court and she's like this red-head, bubbly English speaker. And I was like, “Did you say she was Mexican?”

Ian: Why England to Mexico? Why that move when you were so young?

Claire: My parents decided they wanted an adventure. And they were going to go there for a couple of years, then ended up falling in love with Mexico. Because the food is good, the people are nice—it's a good place.

Ian: Yeah, it's a great country.

Claire: You have to be fat there.

Paige: If someone has to ask you what your native language is, what would you say it is?

Claire: I think I change. I think I never say the same thing to the same people. I think I tell different people, different things depending on how I feel.

Paige: Do you feel stronger in one language? Like, maybe not even just, like, academically. Like, do you think your personality is stronger in one language as opposed to the other?

Claire: No.

Paige: Do you have different personalities?

Claire: Yes, many. Yeah, maybe I do have many for it. I think I do have many personalities.

Paige: But, like, is it different at all when you're speaking Spanish than when you're speaking English?

Claire: In Mexico, I grew up being a little bit more, we call it “fresa.” “Fresa” is the “cuicos” here. It would be like…

Paige: A little snobby.

Claire: A little snobby, yeah.  So I grew up being a little snobby, I guess. And then, so, then when I speak in Spanish, I naturally sound a little snobby, maybe. But, I don’t know if that’s true. I think so. And then in English, I do sound weird. It's strange because when I grew up, I had a very British accent. I lived with British parents; I went to British school. But what, kind of, I think, changed it all, was when I moved to China. Some people don't change it, but I did because simple things like trying, because I worked there in a hotel and stuff, so I had to have to make everything easier. You can't say the full sentence—at least, I didn't. I mean, you should probably but I didn’t. So, like, “Where bathroom?” And that kind of sticks to me. Like, China was the first thing that kind of deviated me from being British. Then, my partner Diogo who went to an American school. I mean, I copied people. So, this is my accent from him.

Ian: So, your boyfriend is Portuguese, have you dabbled in Portuguese? Can you speak a little bit or is this still a work in progress?

Claire: No, I can speak. I mean, I use a lot of Spanish, but yeah, now I can get by, I can understand everything. Again, there'll be things that I don't know, but, like, especially with slang. Yeah, I like it. It sounds like lazy Spanish to me—lazy, sick, Spanish—but nice. Like, yeah because like, “uhhhhh”, and then you've got the nasal sounds, so it's kind of a bit like you're a bit sick.

Ian: It sounds like you have a cold.

Claire: But then I love how it sounds, so I don't know. But, yeah.

Paige: It's so it's interesting because you, I mean, you're native Spanish, but obviously English. And your boyfriend's native Portuguese, but he sounds like a native English speaker. What language do you guys use when you talk?

Claire: The three, we use all three. Like, when I speak with my brother, we speak in Spanish, always. When I'm angry, I speak in Spanish. So, with Diogo, it happens the same. When I'm angry with him, I speak to him in Spanish.

Paige: I’ll have to remember that.

Claire: Yeah. Then, when we're having a serious conversation or not serious, but something that I don't know that's interesting or whatever to us, it sounds interesting, will be more in English. Because, I guess, we both grew up in English-speaking schools. So, that's where you debate, that's where you do all that kind of stuff. And then Portuguese is just, like, in and out, in and out. Like, I just grab words that I like in Portuguese and just throw them in.

Ian: It's like, I talk about my friends all the time, you know, like, compared to my European friends who typically speak two to three languages and their English is phenomenal—it makes me feel pretty stupid, just because, you know, we have English in the US. We learn a little bit of Spanish but besides that, you don't have many bilingual speakers. And so, when I hang out with Europeans, I feel like, “Uh, geeze.”

Claire: Sorry for saying that, it's okay. What sucks when you learn a language, if you if you grew up like in the UK, in England, or in the States, I think, I think it's a disadvantage. No, because you do, English is the world language so it's comfortable. So, if you don't have a need, it's hard to create a need, right? Tdo learn a language if you don't need to learn it. I think I didn't start learning Portuguese, for example, until I was bored, going out to eat with to spend time with those friends, and eventually, they’d switch to Portuguese and I would be super bored. I think that's, kind of, what, like, made me want to learn it.

Ian: Sure.

Claire:  I mean, I would learn it every night. You know, a few words and whatever. But actually, wanted to be able to communicate, was because I had a need. I think that's why in the States or in the UK, you're comfortable.

Paige: Because you speak a lot of languages, what language do you think in?

Claire: And the same thing happens depending on what I'm thinking about, it will be a different language. I realized this because I was asked this a couple of years, a few years ago. And yeah, it depends on what I'm thinking about. So, if I'm thinking about something that I usually do in Spanish, I’ll think in Spanish. So right now, when I'm thinking about this podcast that we're doing I'm thinking, English because I need to speak in English. But if I was thinking about, I need to go to the supermarket, I'll be thinking, like, “huevos, queso, pan…”

Paige: Yeah, ok.

Claire: Whatever, I guess. Yeah, Portuguese doesn't come into it. Unless I'm thinking about my vows, wedding vows. Because I'm getting married and I think I'm gonna say it in Portuguese. Does that make sense? I think everybody does that.

Paige: I think you do that if you've mastered the language. I think, like, for me I'm pretty basic, intermediate Spanish where I'm always translating into English because English is my native language. So, like, I think once you subconsciously think in the language you're speaking, that's when you've, like, really successfully mastered it. Yeah, which you have, obviously.

Claire: Yeah.

Paige: Ian, do you think in Spanish when you speak Spanish? Or are you translating still?  

Ian: It's, for me, it's a little bit of both. For certain things, I'll think in Spanish or, you know, if I'm talking to a friend or my girlfriend. If someone who doesn't, who mostly just speaks Spanish, then also think in Spanish. But, yeah, probably the majority of the time I'd say still probably in English most things. But yeah, a little bit of a mix there. And just a quick reminder if you are interested in taking private classes with Dynamic English, go ahead and check out our website at dynamicenglish.cl. And there you can sign up for private classes in your apartment, in your house, in your office. You can even now take classes online. Sitting on your couch, you can log on and practice English. It's very easy. So, if you're interested, check us out also, on social media through Facebook or Instagram.

Paige: So, Claire, you've lived quite an interesting life. You've lived in so many different countries. I guess, tell me some stories about growing up in Mexico. Claire, your brother's a little, let's say, eccentric.

Claire: Fun!

Paige: Okay, fun.

Claire: Yeah, I don't know. The mice story was just, you know, we used to buy mice and put them in the cinema. But that was just evil—that was just pure evil.

Paige: Claire is very spontaneous. And you just, like, think of things that just come to your mind and you just do them. And they're usually not normal. Like, I remember you, Diogo was in class or something, and you were on his computer and you decided to write an email to a banana company and say how great their bananas were using his account.

Claire: Yeah, I sent a Facebook message to Chiquita Bananas. I think they're worldwide. I mean, I see them here, in the Mexico, in the UK. I think, they're even an American company, probably. Anyway, but yeah, I sent them an email, a message to them, talking about how I love their bananas, they’re the best thing in the world from Diogo’s account. And then I deleted it so he couldn’t, like, see it. I don't know if I deleted it. I don't know how to delete things.  But I think I did something there. And then about, I don't know, a couple of weeks after, Diogo was on his phone and he was like, “What?” Because he received this message of Chiquita Banana saying something like, “We're so happy that you're our number one fan. That you love our bananas. And blah, blah, blah.” And, it was funny. It was really funny. That was good.

Paige: But like, what made you think of that? Like, does Diogo really like bananas? What was your…it just came to mind?

Claire: Yeah.

Paige: Do you have any other similar instances where you had a, maybe different idea and acted on it?

Claire: I created a problem in the university. I decided to name a carrot. Like, I don't remember the name of the carrot and I did a Facebook account for the carrot. And I added a lot of people in the university. And it became this polemic where they used to, they all thought, everybody thought it was a scheme of the university—board of directors or whatever. Or teachers trying to research what people, what the students, are doing.

Paige: A carrot?

Claire: Then the carrot Facebook page was teachers trying to research on their lives, but it became a thing. Like, I remember Diogo telling me because this was after those, “Are you the carrot?” And he was like, “Oh my God. Everybody used to say that it was a teacher trying to research what we are doing, what students are doing and so this carrot became this thing.

Paige: Like, a legend. Like, you were….so you, like, pretended to be a carrot and had its own Facebook account? And then friend requested a bunch of students?

Claire: Yeah. And people thought it was a teacher or director.

Paige: What was the name of your page? Like, did the carrot have a name?

Claire: Yeah, it did.

Paige: See that's pretty random. Didn't you also have another Facebook with Diogo where you, like, took photos of weird places?

Claire: Yeah, it was a poo blog….about different, like, different qualities and ratings of toilets.

Paige: In what city?

Claire: In Shanghai.

Paige: What was the best one?

Claire: I know many ones that I didn't like. Because they had weird flushing systems where you got a river of everybody's poo going by.

Paige: Yeah, so that's, that's interesting. I've never created an obscure Facebook page. Definitely not about pooping or carrots or bananas.

Claire: I don’t know. I think we have to have fun sometimes and sometimes, you have to invent fun. My carrot Facebook, I mean, I did a lot for that carrot Facebook thing. I mean, we did a, I mean, it had a house—a carrot—it was an actual carrot. It had a house, it had its birth, then we would feed it. Like, we had with it so many things that carrot.

Paige: So, that's Claire, just telling some interesting stories. Definitely has quite the life. Has lived all over the world, and has thousands of different Facebook pages, so look out.

Ian: Quite the interesting guest today. It was a great to hear at all.

Paige: Well, thanks, Claire, for being here with us. We appreciate it.

Claire: It's a pleasure.

Paige: Well, as you know if you get lost check out that transcript and audio guide online. Thanks for listening.

Ian: We'll catch you next time.

Paige: “Coffee with Gringos” was brought to you by Dynamic English, where you can learn English simply by using it. If you’re interested in taking classes or just want to learn more, go to our website at dynamicenglish.cl. Thanks for listening.

Key Vocabulary, Phrases and Slang:

1.     fabulous (adjective): amazing, really good.

a.     The coffee here is fabulous.

2.     eighteen-ish (adjective): close to the age of eighteen, but not exactly.

a.     I was eighteen-ish when I got my first car.

3.     paddle (noun): a game played with a wooden paddle and ball.

a.     We love to play paddle when we go to the beach.

4.     bubbly (adjective): full of cheer and energy, full of high spirits.

a.     She has a very bubbly personality.

5.     snobby (adjective): arrogant, feeling superior to someone else.

a.     Her sister acts so snobby whenever we go to the club.

6.     to deviate (verb): change direction or position, to separate.

a.     The car deviated on the highway.

7.     to dabble (verb): to casually involve or take part in something.

a.     My friend dabbles in rock climbing when he has free time.

8.     slang (noun): informal words that are specific to particular places.

a.     British slang is so weird for me to listen to!

9.     lazy (adjective): lack of effort or activity.

a.     Her brother is so lazy, he never does anything!

10.  nasal (adjective): sound coming from the nose.

a.     Portuguese is a language that uses many nasal sounds.

11.  debate (noun): discussion, argument

a.     The debates in our school have been very interesting.

12.  phenomenal (adjective): incredible, extraordinary

a.     He is a phenomenal basketball player.

13.  wedding vows (noun): promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony.

a.     Claire wants to say her wedding vows in Portuguese.

14.  eccentric (adjective): outgoing and unusual personality.

a.     Her brother is very eccentric.

15.  spontaneous (adjective): doing something without planning it before, suddenly making a decision.

a.     Her brother is so spontaneous and their family doesn’t ever know what he’ll do next.

16.  carrot (noun): orange-colored vegetable.

a.     She likes to eat carrots with all her meals. 

17.  polemic (adjective): controversial debate or dispute.

a.     The entire school was involved in the carrot polemic.

18.  scheme (noun): plan to make something particular happen.

a.     The company came up with an interesting marketing scheme.   

19.  random (adjective): something without any reason or conscious decision.

a.     They decided to talk about a random topic instead of the chosen one.

20.  obscure (adjective): uncertain, not clear.

a.     The obscure Facebook page confused the students.