En Español Por Favor...

"It's just difficult because the voice in my head is in Spanish."

"Yes, I understand. It slows you down a touch to always have to translate your thoughts to English before answering."

"It's weird though, right?"

"No, not at all, actually. Most people who are bilingual, or multilingual, think in their primary language, or their first language. It's more common than you would think."

"But Spanish isn't my primary language."

"Oh, then that's just a sign that you are really fluent. How long have you spoken Spanish?"

"I don't."

"What?"

"I don't. That's what I'm trying to tell you. It's difficult because the voice in my head is in Spanish and I don't speak Spanish."

"I...I've never heard of this before. If the voice is in Spanish and you don't speak Spanish how do you know it's really Spanish?"

"It started with recognizing a few words. Like también."

"Oh! También, I remember that one. It was one of the first pieces of dialog we learned in class, sí y tú también. Yes, and you also. So you are probably just remembering that and it's stuck in your head for some reason."

"Sure, that would sort of make sense. But I didn't take Spanish in school."

"You have never taken Spanish?"

"No, I took German."

"Why did you take German?"

"Everyone else was taking Spanish and French. And my grandmother was from Germany and my mother used to talk about how much she missed it. I thought maybe I'd get fluent and tour the country."

"And are you?"

"Oh not at all. German is really hard. I took a year of it and then bailed."

"Do you speak any other languages other than English?"

"Nope, not a single one. As long as you don't count thinking in Spanish."

"So how did you recognize también if you don't speak any Spanish?"

"It just stuck out, like I had heard it before. So I looked it up. It took a little bit because I wasn't really sure of the spelling but I got it."

"So are you thinking in Spanish right now?"

"It's not like that. Like everything is in Spanish. It's just a voice in my head that speaks in Spanish. Like you know when you are just sort of thinking of random things and you get that narrator voice? First I need to wash the dishes, then I will walk the dog...that sort of mental list making? That's when it pops up the most."

"So it's like a to do list?"

"Yeah...maybe."

"Okay, you're right. That seems odd. Maybe try and see if you can catch the rest of it. Translate it all. Maybe it's from a commercial or a song or something you've heard and it's just sort of stuck in there like and earworm."

"Maybe. Okay, so now let's talk about something else besides the weird voice in my head that nobody else seems to have..."

She changed the subject and they moved on. All the while the voice in her head repeated:

"Ábrenos tu mente y tú también serás librado de lo que está por venir. Recompensaremos a aquellos que nos dejen pasar."

It had assumed she'd taken Spanish as well. Who takes German?