Last week was an off week. It included losing my classroom to another teacher because I didn’t reserve the room and a stare-down to the death with a lady at the post office.
Plus, one day I walked into the secretary’s office and one of my students Matias was there (who is actually a pretty awesome student). He looked at me and smiled and said, nosotros tenemos pelos revueltos. And everyone in the office started laughing. Uhhhhh, cómo? He pointed to my hair. Turns out pelo revuelto (literally, scrambled hair) is bedhead. Thanks for reminding me, kid.
My students taught me a phrase for this kind of thing: me cago en la leche. Which literally means, I shit in the milk (it’s moderately vulgar). It’s a phrase you use when you screw something up or when things are going badly. Well, last week me cagé en la leche. It happens.
Then on Friday I ran into Matias in the hall and he said: mira, hoy no tenemos pelos revueltos.
Me: No? (I put my hand to my hair in disbelief.)
Matias: (laughing) Hoy, no me cago en la leche. Mañana quizás, pero hoy no.
Today I don’t poop in the milk. Tomorrow maybe, but not today.
Anne Foster 