Telemundo: Career Highlight
03.1.2011 So help me God if this does in fact happen, I will post it here.
Today, the managing editor of Telemundo, which is housed in the same building as NBC Bay Area, came up to me and said, "We would love a SOT from your story for tomorrow." (SOT is TV lingo for 'sound on tape' which is more TV lingo for 'soundbite')
I'm like, "Sure! The breastmilk one?"
Raul: "Yes."
Me: "You mean you want a soundbite from one of the interviews?"
Raul: "No--"
Me: (interrupting, as is my nature, annoying though it may be) "You want it in Spanish?"
Raul: "Yes--"
Me: "Wait, you mean you want one of my SOTs in Spanish? Because everyone spoke English in the story. But we can get it translated."
Raul: (Patiently) "No (you idiot) we want to interview you about your story."
Me: (Incredulous) "You want me to talk about my story? IN SPANISH???????"
Raul: (Expectantly) "Yes."
Me: (Si Se FREAKING Puede!) "Um, OK. But I will have to practice. Is that OK? I think I can do it but I want to make sure I know what you want and then if you can help me translate it I should be able to say it."
Raul: "OK."
So today I am waiting for a Telemundo reporter to interview me about my story on the breastmilk black market. And I am going to RESPOND EN ESPANOL. FOR BROADCAST ON TELEMUNDO!
Does it really get any better than this?
I have no idea why Raul thought I could do this, as my only Spanish training was a year in junior high with Mr. Fabela and 3 years in high school with the effervescent Ms. Patti Michiels who took us on field trips to panaderias in the Mission district. There's no way Raul could possibly know my sketchy past, and I don't know what gave him the impression that I can speak any Spanish at all. Other than the fact I'm good friends with Damian Trujillo and I can occasionally be heard muttering "Dios mio!" to Jessica Aguirre. Oh, and I'm Facebook friends with Blanca Garza and she complimented me on my blog post about the Samsung Epic while we were doing our makeup in the green room. Is that what the managing editor of Telemundo sees in me?
But seriously, I love Spanish. I love being able to very, very limitedly communicate in a language that I only studied as a kid. And Spanish, unlike English, is full of delicious rolling r's and logical rules that make it easy to remember and learn. It doesn't have stupid words like "bear," which can mean a noun or a verb or be used an idiom and sounds just like "bare."
So, to be on TV, as a Vietnamese-American immigrant who speaks English as a primary language being interviewed about my story in Spanish--it's such an only in America moment.
Tangent: This reminds me of the first time I saw a black woman speaking with a British accent. I was like, 12, and she was on MTV. I thought it was the CRAZIEST thing I'd ever seen. Second only to the insanity that I witnessed when I was like, 9, and I met some other Asian kids in Santa Rosa who could speak English perfectly with zero FOB accents. Which should not have been at all surprising or strange, given the fact I, also an Asian immigrant kid, could speak English just fine. But I'd been around so many immigrant kids in San Jose that I couldn't believe these Asian kids talkin' like white kids. I was all, "Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Willis?"
Now, as long as I don't give my Spanish interview with a valley girl accent, I'm bueno.
Reader Comments (8)
Senora Michiels would be proud. I imagine she's doing a Chicken Dance in your honor.
Bish? Eres de Sra. Michiels clase tambien?
Um, can you post a link to this when it's available. This I'd like to see!
Si, pero este es about as much Spanish as I remember. I didn't do the 4th year, as I figured us 3rd year students got enough from having you 4th years in the same class as us.
Bish: Aha.
Clinton: Si.
Husband learned French while in the Peace Corps in the former Zaire. Everyone tells him he speaks French like a black man.
I'm Chinese, and I remember how shocked I was to see a white guy speaking Cantonese on Ch. 26. This was about 86 or 87. He was a lawyer (I think) drumming up business in the APA community. Blew my freakin' mind! Grandma didn't waste the opportunity. She let me know how ashamed I should be that his Chinese was better than mine.
Tricia, isn't that funny? I speak Vietnamese like a white girl. Not as funny, I'm afraid.
Scott, Tiger Grandma!