Sometimes English phrases do not translate so well into Spanish…

For me, switching between English and Spanish is not simply turning on and off a language light switch in my brain. Usually, I need to be speaking Spanish for a certain amount of time in order to speak with a higher level of fluency. In English terms, I need to be “warmed up” in order to properly speak Spanish.

When I begin to speak Spanish, I need to spend some time translating from English to Spanish in my mind. Therefore, I do not speak with as much ease as I do after having a 10 minute conversation with a Spanish speaker. After a few minutes, my brain becomes accustomed to the new language, and I am officially “warmed up”.

Oftentimes, if I would struggle at the start of a Spanish conversation, I would excuse myself, and say that I need to be “warmed up” in order to speak better. Of course, I would say this phrase in Spanish. My brain’s google-translator resulted with:

“Lo siento, necesito estar caliente a hablar espanol” I’m sorry, I need to be warmed up to speak Spanish.

Little did I know, “estar caliente” is Spanish for “to be hot”, which also means, “to be horny”.

I’m sorry, I need to be horny to speak Spanish. 

I. NEED. TO. BE. HORNY.

Keep in mind, I’ve used this phrase multiple times until someone finally corrected me. So, learn from my mistakes, and know that direct translations do not always work with other languages!!!