Hola chic@s,

Espero que estén bien 🙏

Back in 2016, I lived in a flat in Santiago with 4 gay Chilean men and my friend Stu (the same Stu we met a few newsletters ago).

It was one of the funnest times of my life.

On my very first night, I was upstairs chatting with the couple I was renting from when one of my new flatmate’s walked in.

He smiled.

“Hola, soy Felipe.”
“Soy sacerdote.”

I had no idea what sacerdote meant.

What I did notice what that he was wearing a black shirt with a white collar, carrying a plastic bag full of beers and heading out at 9pm.

Something felt odd.

But instead of asking what he meant, I smiled and replied:

“¡Qué bacán!”
“How cool!”

Everyone laughed.

I had no idea why.

When I got back to my room that night, I immediately looked up the word sacerdote.

It means priest.

Suddenly, the outfit made sense.

What didn’t make sense was everything that happened afterwards.

Over the next few weeks, I realised Felipe was perhaps the least convincing priest in the whole of Chile 🇨🇱

He loved a party.

He was rarely home at weekends.

And I don’t think there was a single week where he didn’t bring someone home.

Safe to say, he wasn’t actually a priest.

Looking back, I wasn’t embarrassed because I didn’t know the word sacerdote.

I was embarrassed because I didn’t want anyone to realise I didn’t know it.

So I did what so many language learners do.

I nodded.

I smiled.

I pretended.

After more than 10 years of living Spanish, I’ve realised that the people who improve the fastest aren’t always the ones who understand everything.

They’re the ones who aren’t afraid to admit when they don’t.

Curiosity beats pretending. Every time.

These days, if I don’t understand something, I stop the conversation and ask.

People almost always enjoy explaining things.

And every question leaves me with one more word, one more story and one more reason to keep speaking.

That’s how you start living a language.

Not by pretending you know everything.

But by being curious enough to interrupt.

To ask.

To look a little silly.

So next time you’re chatting in Spanish and someone says something you don’t understand…

Don’t just smile and nod.

Ask.

You might learn a new word.

Or you might discover why someone’s dressed as a priest with a bag full of beers on a Tuesday night.

Either way, you’ll remember it more than another page in a textbook.

Un abrazo,
Harrison

Spanish for living, not just learning


P.S - You can find a list of Chilean slang here. They’re called ‘chilenismos’ and are worth learning for fun, even if you’re not going to Chile. If you are going to Chile or know anyone who is then feel free to reach out and I can sort you out 👊 🇨🇱

Enjoyed this story?
Join 700+ people learning to live Spanish, not just study it.

Know someone learning Spanish?
Forward this email to them.
Because Spanish is better lived together.