OVNI is an acronym which stands for “Objeto Volador No Identificado.” In English we say UFO (Unidentified Flying Object).

This week we have had native Spanish speakers living with us who do not speak English. I am amazed as to how many new words I have learned just by paying a bit of attention.

Tonight at the dinner table we had eaten meat and were sitting around talking. One of the men looked around on the table and then asked for palillos. Instinctively I knew that had to be toothpicks. It can also be used for drumsticks or chopsticks.

SIDA is better known in English as AIDS.

SIDA: Síndrome de Inmunodeficiencia Adquirida

AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Yunque is a word you probably won’t need to use on a regular basis. A yunque is an anvil. The herrero or blacksmith, would use one on a regular basis though.

I only learned yunque today when playing a game which dropped an anvil on a poor cartoon monkey’s head.

In English we use the term United Nations (UN), in Spanish it is Naciones Unidas (NU). The O comes from the full title: La Organizacion de las Naciones Unidas.

Hispanohablante simply means a Spanish speaking person. That one is not too hard to figure out.

An English speaking person is called an angloparlante.

Aventura can be an adventure or a love affair.

This week we are traveling from the Texas border of Mexico down to the Yucatan peninsula. It is a trip of about 1300 miles. We always consider these trips to be an adventure. There is a whole lot more to it than just driving the car down the highway.

Aventuras, not affairs, can be a blast when you have the whole family with you. But since we are on an adventure this week, we will not be writing new words for a few days.