the bull

i was in front of the computer with my niece when the phone rang.  it was for me.

i gave brief instructions to my niece and she explained something back.

my caller notes, "english-speaking pala pamangkin mo..."

i go, "nope"

"how come she talked to you in english?"

"not always.  unless it's school, her usual medium of communication's tagalog."

i tell her that when they were young (my nephew and my niece), we talked to them in english.  when they started going out to play, however, it became tagalog-time as that was their playmates' language.

i have a funny memory, actually.  with us in the house is my mama in (mama linda).  she joined our household way back when i was still a baby (yup, more than four decades ago!).  she's visayan and her "o" sounds are not so smooth.

one time i overheard her shouting to my nephew, "get the bull!"

huh?!  ball!

so much for english... LOL!