Читать книгу Cubanisms - Pedro García-Menocal - Страница 18

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Cuban kids like to go to la escuela (the Spanish word for “school”) about as much as kids from any other part of the world. Which means, of course, not much. Aula is a Spanish word for a classroom, though in Cuba it is also used to describe a group of students. A kid that skips school, or plays hooky, might be barqueando (from the word barco, which, as described elsewhere in this book, refers to an irresponsible or unreliable person ) or “pelando la guásima” (peeling the elm). Barco can also be used to describe a bad student.

Not all students are bad, of course. A kid that is abelardito or pajuato is a really smart kid, usually nerdy and shy. A really intelligent person. Abelardito also could describe a kid that is very book smart but has no street smarts or common sense. If you are abelardito, then you are usually also meche, or ready for that pop quiz your teacher dropped on you on Monday morning after your girlfriend’s

“Kids, from the Classroom to the Playground”

Oído en la Escuela