Journal 3-- Lost in Translation

I was quite surprised how much I connected with Lost in Translation by Eva Hoffman. The way she felt about her position in her new surroundings was very similar to how I felt throughout elementary school. Her account of trying to fit in, of dressing differently, of trying to translate jokes, and of staying to the side all fit in with my experiences. I didn’t have as much trouble with switching languages because I was only four and a half when I moved but I can relate. There are times when I find myself translating Serbian phrases I hear at home. One of the best examples was when I went to a restaurant with my family for breakfast for the first time in the US. I ordered eggs and the waitress asked “How would you like them?”. I responded “eggs on an eye” and the waitress looked at me blankly. My family, naturally, completely understood what I was saying so they didn’t find anything wrong with my response. Eventually the waitress realized what I was trying to say and she taught me the phrase “sunny side up”. Another example was the Serbian translation “screaming colors” instead of “loud colors" or "sour  cabbage" instead of "sourcraut". Some Serbian phrases simply don't make sense 
or are really funny when translated into English. Translating directly becomes very dangerous when my parents are scolding me because it is so hard for me to resist from laughing at some of the phrases: "The train went in the corn field" "That is like a spanish village to me" etc.
It also works the other way around. When I was in Macedonia, I was telling my cousin a story in Serbian and said “my friend threw a party” at which point she started laughing. She understood what I was trying to say, but she found it so funny how I was translating directly. People can’t physically throw parties. Hoffman also mentioned how she got stuck sometimes when searching for the right feeling behind certain English words. She knows the feeling and the meaning behind some Polish word but can’t find a word that fits just right in English. Similarly, there is one word in Serbian that I can’t find an English equivalent. It bothers me so much! The word is mazi (maza, maziti, mazis). It is a word that can be used as a noun, adjective and verb. It is a combination of the words cuddle, love, pet, and hold in English. In some sentences like “ja mazim macku” it would translate as “I pet the cat” but that translation simply wouldn’t do. “To pet” is such cold, mechanical term. It doesn’t show the tenderness, the affection and the warmth like the word mazi does. “Mazilismo se” would translate to “we cuddled” but cuddle is such a fluffy word in my opinion. I really don’t know, there is simply much more to mazi. The phrase “ona je velika maza” would translate as “she is a very cuddly person” but eh, again, it doesn’t cut it.
I was very touched by Hoffman’s account because I could see exactly where she was coming from. I also wish that I could eventually write like she does. She might talk about having been detached from the English language but now she has mastered it to the fullest. I’m a bit insecure about my writing and hope to improve as much as I can. Even though I’m bilingual, I really don’t have any talent with languages and with writing. I’m a much more visual person, and if it were possible, I would trade in my artistic talents for a writing and language talent. Since its not, I guess I’ll just have to work with what I have (including spell check :- ) ).