The other day, I was talking with one of my student's Moms. Her name's Lucy and she speaks Spanish. I asked her if she was coming to the kids' swimming field trip next Tuesday.
"Vas a ir al paseo de nadar proximo Martes?"
"No, es que...yo no puedo...."
She started mumbling something that I didn't quite get. I kept prompting her in different ways, trying to get a clearer answer. Finally, it came out as this:
"Es el tiempo del mes." Translation: It's that time of the month.
Needless to say, I was intrigued. A Mom has just told me she was on her period. Simultaneously though, I wasn't shocked. It takes a lot to shock me nowadays. I just took it in stride as if she told me she loved strawberries.
Then I did something I always do--and maybe I should step back from, I'm not sure--I probed further.
"Hmm, usas tampones?" No translation necessary, right?
"No, no me gusta." So, we're getting pretty close. She's on her period. She doesn't use tampons. Sweet! And I am not being sarcastic.
I went on to relay this story with my co-workers. We're pretty close and all, after all. Their reaction was normal: "Too much information!!!!" Lots of laughing and eeewwwwing and I-can't-believes- and covering of eyes, shaking of heads. I get it. It's crossing a fine boundary. It's usually a topic that's broached only by the most intimate of girlfriends...while drunk and eating McDonalds.
So, I get it. People don't like to cross boundaries. It's way too intimate. Way too personal. But in my mind, it's beautiful. I loved that she felt comfortable enough to share that with me. Hell, I told her I was on my period too. I am. It's nasty. But it's a part of being a woman. It's common. It's shared. Like a language. I think it's one small step in creating a shared language for women--whether it's in English or Spanish. Oh, here's how you say period in Spanish. In case you were wondering, like I was:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080812155125AAVh9Hx
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