And Then I Sweetly Misspoke...

Sunday
Originally uploaded by Blue Dragonfly Girl

I got to participate in another youth group this afternoon. It involved more painting and in my standard style I managed to get white paint on my jeans, my bracelet and of course way up inside my fingernails.

It was fun!

Before everyone left, E., the coordinator, asked me to teach an English word to the teenagers that I thought might have some resonance. So I chose "sweet" explaining how though it literally refers to yummy-tasting food it also can be used to describe good things. Saying "That's sweet!" can be like saying, "That's cool!"

Everyone thought it was a sweet word and repeated it out loud (sometimes adding a bit of a vowel sound at the end because that's what Portuguese speakers like to do to all words that end in consonants). Sweetchi!

As we continued to talk about it I said that it was kind of like saying "bacana" (great).

Except that everyone paused and looked at me strangely when I said "bacana."

The art coordinator, T. said, "Uh, no that's not the same I don't think."

I realized that I had put the emphasis on the wrong syllable.

Instead of saying bacána, I had said bacaná.

"No, no, I meant to say bacána," I quickly added. 

Everyone started laughing, initially I think in surprise, then it got louder but remained pretty good-natured in tone. Still, no mistaking it, they were definitely laughing at me and not with me.

I realized that what I said had sounded just a little too close to comfort to the word, bacanal.

But, truth is, I didn't know what bacanal meant. I just knew that everyone was laughing so that clearly I'd stumbled accidentally upon something inappropriate.

I said, "Hmmm, I'm guessing that I should be embarrassed by what I just said, shouldn't I?" Some kids nodded. No one explained to me what I had said. I couldn't help but blush as I started laughing too.

Still, while I turned a darker shade of red I mused that there's nothing like embarrassing yourself in front of a group of teenagers. I hoped and rationalized that they would see that I could handle it and keep on going on.

Whatever it was I said, it must have been funny.

E. gracefully made some comment about all the craziness of carnival from the weekend messing with our brains and, laughter subsided, we moved on to another topic. They certainly didn't force me to stay with my embarrassment too long. One kid even asked me how the war was going in our country...I certainly had to pause before responding to that one, but came up with a decent answer I think based on the kids' body language while I was talking.

"See," said E. "With Alison we can talk about silly things and we can talk about serious things."

When leaving one girl wanted me to write the word "sweet" down for her so she could remember. All in all, I left feeling good about the afternoon and looking forward to seeing everyone again.

When I got home I looked up "bacanal" online (it wasn't in my Harper Collins which I find rather prudish of them) to see what I'd compared the word sweet to.

So, as it turns out, it means....orgy. Yes, orgy.

I told 15-year-olds that saying "sweet" is very similar to saying "orgy." Meu deus!

I turned bright red and had a return laughing attack as I sat here alone in my room in front of the computer, thinking perhaps it was better that I only find out now what I had so sweetly misspoken before.