The following is taken from an interview between me and my friend, Javier, who is from Nicaragua. We were sitting in the lobby of the Caruso Catholic Center. He decided to tell me about a certain Spanish saying.

Javier: “Okay, so there is this saying or, like, not proverb but, like, saying that goes, ‘Camaron que se duerme se lo lleva la corriente,’ which basically means, ‘the shrimp who falls asleep… uh, at the seashore get to the ocean…? Wait, what’s a seashore? How do you call that, uh…?”

Me: “Like the tide?”

Javier: “You know how, like the waves come and then leave…”

Me: “Yeah, yeah like the tide.”

Javier: “Yeah, that, yeah, ‘…then the tide will take it to the ocean.’ So it basically means that, um, like whoever, like, goes in life and not being like, um…like awake to, like, whatever is happening, like, surrounds them, or who is, like, not on top of, like, their work or so, then if they, like, took a lot of time and they just, like, fall asleep and, like, fall behind and stuff, then… the… the thing– what’s it called?”

Me: “The tide?”

Javier: “Then the tide (laughs) will, uh, yeah…will, like… yeah, will get them and then they won’t be able to, like, get their work done right.”

Me: “Okay, cool, who told you that one?”

Javier: “Uh… yeah I definitely– probably some– oh, probably, like, some, like, teachers back in high– back in middle school.”

Me: “To get you to work harder?”

Javier: “Yeah, yeah. Actually, I remember, like, there was, like, a class full of sayings and so, and then, like, what would you… how would you, like, interpret them or so.”

This saying is definitely a relatable one and a fair warning for anyone overwhelmed by school work. I wish I had heard this saying before I turned this entry in late for an assignment. Oh wait, I did…