At the risk of sounding stupid

“Cincuenta y cuatro.” (Direct translation: fifty-four)

I looked at my collection of euros and tried to remember what “cincuenta” means in English, and how many bills I should give her. Euros aren’t much different from dollars, but they look so foreign under pressure. I had a five, some tens… cincuenta, is that FIFTY!? My thought progression didn’t seem unusual, at school we regularly pay exorbitant prices for 10-20 pieces of paper bound into a reader. Fifty seems like a lot, I don’t have fifty.

“Centavos.” Duh.

I then spent another minute or so trying to figure out which coin was which. They like coins here in Spain.

So ended my adventure at Minerva Copistería, the place to buy readers at the Universidad de Sevilla. Copistería, as you might discern, is a store that sells copies. In Spanish you can add “ería” onto almost any word and turn it into a store. Perfumería, Fruitería, Zapatería, I see them all on my way to school.

Today I learned that in order to get over my fear of sounding utterly idiotic when I speak to Spaniards, I have to do it anyway. Regardless of how I sound, they can usually understand what I’m saying and I can more often than not understand them. Only with the word “euro” do I draw the line. Spaniards have a unique way of pronouncing it, instead of melding the “e” and the “u” like English-speakers, they pronounce both. I practice when I’m walking the street, when I’m laying in bed, when I’m eating, but I can’t seem to get it right. The first day I was here my señora and her granddaughter laughed at my attempts. When I learn to pronounce euro, I’ll know that I’ve mastered the Spanish language.