I am a retired gentleman (hah!) who has published a few titles, Kindle/electronic and their CreateSpace hard copy service. The target readership was limited, something I knew when I wrote them. I am currently working on something with much broader (potential) appeal and hope to get some feedback. I was born and raised in Northern California but have lived in Costa Rica for the last nine years. My two "careers" before retirement were musician and computer programmer/analyst. My current project is in need of some objective feedback. I suppose it could be called a biography, or perhaps a memoir mostly focused on the life of someone close to me, specifically, my brother, and his heroin addiction. I will leave it at that for now. I am hoping to find some writers willing to read a rather long excerpt and answer the basic question "is it interesting?" I will gladly reciprocate by reading a longish excerpt from anyone willing to read mine and give whatever feedback they desire. I don't consider myself a great stylist but I can give an honest opinion. Thanks to all. I am new here and I hope this is not a violation of a rule or etiquette, but if you have something for me to look at and are willing to reciprocate, send me a message. Meanwhile I will cruise around the site and participate where I think I can be of use.
Welcome to the forum. A friendly wave across the miles of blue water in the Gulf that separpates us, you in Costa Rica, me in Puerto Rico. I vacationed once in Costa Rica. Had a spectacular time. Stayed in El Hotel Herradura in San José, saw a spider bigger than my splayed hand in the rain forest, did many things, saw many wonders. Please have a look through the Forum Rules, and the FAQ as a start. Have fun! Wrey
Thanks for the welcome. I live in downtown San Jose. It's definitely not the post card part of the country, but I like the convenience (no car required) and I can take a bus out of town and within an hour or so be in a rain forest, a beach or hot springs. Are you from around here GingerCoffee?
No, spent a month there years ago and it was my favorite Central American country. San Jose was beautiful when I was there, I loved the cool of the mountain air and all the colors of the marketplace. I saw a dance performance at the Teatro Nacional, beautiful building. I also spent time in Cahuita, Limón, Quepos and of course had to see Irazú which was the first active volcano I looked into the throat of.
Buenos dias. Como Estas? Before you unleash your Spanish on me, my Spanish is very limited. I know some words of contradiction, numbers to 499 and primary and secondary colors. I can ask very simple questions: Como estas su brazo?
I don't believe 'estas' and 'su' go together. ¿Cómo estás tu brazo? o ¿Cómo está su brazo? Except I think one asks, how goes the arm, not, how is the arm. That's alright. It took me forever to quit saying, "un otro".
What does otro mean? And from the Spanish speakers I work with, they fully understood "Como Esta(s) su brazo." Tu = you Su = your Yo = I Mi = my Mi casa su casa is literally, my house your house. So, Como estas su brazo should translate into "How is your arm?" But, my understanding of Spanish grammar is absolutely nil. I'm stumbling along, looking like a child learning Spanish.
I hate you...while I'm posting from freezing Kentucky. Welcome to the forum. I did lots of research on retiring to Costa Rica, only to find out they changed the minimum retirement monthly wage to get citizenship.
So as to not hijack the thread, see this site for a quick explanation of tu y su. Otro means another and un otro is like saying, 'an another'. If you ask, how is your arm, I believe (though Wrey may correct me) it's like asking how does your arm think it is. I love the idiosyncrasies of translations. They reveal different ways people think about things.
Strange, because when I tested "Como estas su brazo" with a native speaker, she understood and only asked if I intended to ask how her arm was. Another person I ask, "Tu dormir bien" "You sleep well?" and she understood perfectly. She and I both have tendonitis and the pain can keep us up late.
Anyone would understand, the question is would they correct you? Native Spanish speakers I've met are the most kind and generous with people who try to speak their language. It would be rude to correct a person unless they asked to be corrected. English doesn't have the same verb/pronoun agreement like Spanish does. So it's hard to come up with an exact analogy. Would you understand a foreign speaker who said, "he be six years old"? Of course you would. But whether you would correct them or not would depend on the circumstances and your cultural politeness.
Ok, most of the time, I'm so far out of the loop, I spend my workday in complete silence, crawled inside my head, conceiving the personalities of the scene I'm trying to compose. I know so little Spanish, I'm on the outside looking in at chaos.
Wow, lots of replies here and a discussion of Spanish grammar! I speak decent Spanish but am not a native speaker. I can tell anybody that there are things that don't translate literally. And as was said before, you can be understood even if your Spanish is terrible. My roommate gets by, and his Spanish is worse than Tarzan's English. Just as most of us can understand mangled English, Spanish speakers can understand mangled Spanish. Regarding retirement here, if you have a pension you need $1000 a month and you have to join the public health system. However, it will run you a lot less than Medicare. There are other ways to get residency but msg me if you want further details. There are nice things about Costa Rica, and right now I think the weather would rank #1. Mid 70s outside and sunny. Other than the sunny part, that's basically how it is year round. Anybody with any more questions about Costa Rica can msg me, assuming I have that privilege here yet. Still a newcomer.
Spanish verbs change form depending on the subject. "Estas" is second person singular, familiar. "Tu" can mean you as subject, or your as a possessive pronoun. "Su" is the formal and version of "Tu" and also 3rd person singular, goes. It would always be "esta" because you are asking about the arm. "Estas" would refer to the person, not the arm. A literal translation of "Como estas su brazo" would be "How are you his arm?" But the listener knows gringos have a problem with the language and can figure our what you mean. If they don't correct you, it's out of politeness or they can't be bothered.
