Being the product of two Mexican immigrants makes me one of those first-generation Mexican-Americans that speaks Spanish because it is absolutely necessary to communicate with my parents. Spanish was probably my first language, with English following shortly thereafter. And my education, which was mostly in the States and therefore in English, makes me much more comfortable speaking, reading, and writing English.
This having been the case, however, has always meant that I am less than 100 percent confident in my Spanish-speaking abilities. I know sufficient Spanish to get by, and my pronunciation is good, but one of the reasons I came to Spain was to really improve my grammar and gain more confidence in my Spanish. I have this (now not-so) secret fear that when native Spanish speakers hear me, they silently correct my improperly conjugated verbs. When does "dormir" change to "durmir," if ever? What about the REAL difference between "ser" and "estar" and knowing whether I "soy" morena for life or I "estoy" morena after coming back from the beach?
"What better way to really make me as comfortable in Spanish as I am in English than by spending a year in a country where it is the native tongue?," I thought to myself stupidly. Then I came to Spain.
Below is a short list of words I thought I knew -- until arriving in Spain and being "corrected" by a Spaniard. These words are totally different in "Español Mexicano" versus "Castellano" or Spanish Spanish.
*GRAPEFRUIT: "toronja" (EM), "pomelo" (C)
*ANGRY: "enojado" (EM), "enfadado" (C)
*BUTT: "nalgas" (EM), "culo" (C)
*BUS: "camion" (EM), "autobus" (C)
*The verb "TO TAKE": "agarra" (EM), "cojer" (C)
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