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donde las únicas estaciones encontradas eran la frustración y la impotencia
Peristalsis TR

Glossary entry

Spanish term or phrase:

Esta soy yo (in this context)

English translation:

Thinking: \"This is the life!\"

Added to glossary by Richard Vranch
Nov 2, 2016 03:07
7 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Spanish term

Esta soy yo (in this context)

Spanish to English Social Sciences Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
From a police interview transcript:

PENSÉ: ESTOY DE VACACIONES, ME ESTÁN DANDO UN MASAJE: ESTA SOY YO

this will be for a U.K. audience...

It's a woman who was on holiday when an incident occurred.

I'm thinking along the lines of "this is the life", "this ain't bad at all" kind of thing..

I'm looking forward to hearing your creative suggestions...
Proposed translations (English)
4 +5 Thinking: "This is the life!"
4 +4 This is the real me
4 +4 I was in my element
4 +2 Now, this is just my cup of tea
4 here I am
4 This is who/what I am
2 This is me right now / This is my life right now

Discussion

Carol Gullidge Nov 2, 2016:
@ormiston she was probably in the conservatory with Colonel Mustard - who is doubtless a dab hand at massages... :O))
ormiston Nov 2, 2016:
I personally think she did it Where's her alibi?!
Richard Vranch (asker) Nov 2, 2016:
James You're totally right, James. Let's just say the holiday went downhill from there...
James A. Walsh Nov 2, 2016:
It would be good to know what happened next... I get the impression it was a "what could possibly go wrong?" sort of scenario, but this is just my impression. Any chance you could let us know, Richard? I'm intrigued!
ormiston Nov 2, 2016:
maye she's being on the defensive We don't know how she is implicated in the 'incident'. The phrase might mean 'this is the sort of person I am' (not like....dot dot dot).
Wendy Streitparth Nov 2, 2016:
Feeling quite sorry for you Richard, having to choose between so many good suggestions!
Carol Gullidge Nov 2, 2016:
waxing philosophical... in a police interview? Hmm, doesn't sound very natural to me.
I think the girl is simply making the most of her holiday and enjoying being pampered for once in her life! And thinking that is how her life ought to be (if only!). At last, she is living the life that she was intended for.

Well, that's my interpretation and it makes sense to me!
neilmac Nov 2, 2016:
I've agreed with 3 options so far ... and I think all of them could work. It would be interesting to know what hapened next....
Charles Davis Nov 2, 2016:
@Carol Why do you say that "the context seems to make it clear that nothing deep or philosophical is required here"? (Actually what she says here is not terribly deep or philosophical, just a bit more significant than passing physical pleasure.) How can you tell how she would be reacting without knowing anything about her or her circumstances? Some people might well find such a moment "meaningful" rather than merely pleasurable. I have even had such feelings myself. One might be deluding oneself but one might still feel it. Your argument seems to involve projecting your intuitive sense of the nature of this experience ("pampering") onto the text from the outside, rather than working from what the text says.
Carol Gullidge Nov 2, 2016:
My whole life has been leading to this
...

perhaps something along these lines?
Carol Gullidge Nov 2, 2016:
This is the life This is the life for me

I think if you simply add 2 words: "for me", it would bring the whole thing together, the implication perhaps being that this is what has been missing from her life so far, or this (pampering?) is what she was always intended for.
The context seems to make it clear that nothing deep or philosophical is required here.
Richard Vranch (asker) Nov 2, 2016:
The feel So the feel of this one is not down the Sueño de Morfeo Song route... (which is like, this is who I am, deal with it)... the speaker seems happy

Proposed translations

+5
14 mins
Selected

Thinking: "This is the life!"

www.dmotioninfo.com/video/.../amy-macdonald-this-is-the-lifewith-lyrics
Jul 3, 2015 - Lyrics. This is the Life. ... thinking this is the life and you wake up in the morning. http://www.amymacdonald.co.uk/gb/lyrics/this_is_the_life.
Peer comment(s):
agree neilmac
6 hrs
Thanks, Neil!
agree Carol Gullidge
7 hrs
Thanks, Carol!
agree Darius Saczuk : Life could not be any better?
8 hrs
Thanks, Dariusz!
agree Wendy Streitparth
10 hrs
Thanks, Wendy!
agree James A. Walsh : When I read Richard's first utterance of this phrase, I instantly thought "yeah, that's just what I'd say." But then went and over-thought it, and probably shouldn't have. Isn't hindsight a wonderful thing. This fits like a glove, and if it's not broken..
1 day 19 hrs
Thanks, James!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "There were so many good answers, and at least four of them would definitely fit, but I think you captured the spirit of it, and it certainly fits in with the greater context, which I couldn't disclose here for confidentiality purposes. Thanks so much!"
7 mins

This is me right now / This is my life right now

Just adding up to your line of thought

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Note added at 8 mins (2016-11-02 03:16:15 GMT)
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Not too sure because I would think there is a, erm, more British way to say that.
Something went wrong...
3 mins

here I am

I would say in this context

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 mins (2016-11-02 03:13:14 GMT)
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which would fit in with what you're thinking but I would cover my bases with this

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2016-11-02 03:15:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"here I am" and whatever happens next

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 mins (2016-11-02 03:20:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

don't tnink "this is the life" cuts it

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 mins (2016-11-02 03:24:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

and there I am
Peer comment(s):
neutral neilmac : This says nothing to me. "This is the life" is how I feel when on the receiving end of a massage...
6 hrs
Something went wrong...
+4
4 hrs

This is the real me

I am very tempted to go with "This is the life", because it's just the sort of thing you would expect someone to say in that situation. But the trouble is that I don't think it can be what it means. "Esta soy yo" doesn't mean "this is great", "I'm having a nice time". What it means is "the way I feel right now is the way I really am, in this situation I can really be myself, get in touch with my real self", with the implication that the routine of daily life when I'm not on holiday having a massage prevents me from really being myself. So I think that if possible we want a natural phrase, something a person might actually say or think in that situation, that expresses this idea and that also conveys a sense of wellbeing. "This is the real me" fits the bill, I think. There are several songs with this phrase in the title or the lyrics, for example: just google it.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 hrs (2016-11-02 07:33:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"This is the real me" can imply an uncomfortable facing up to the truth, a stripping away of comforting illusion, but it can also express the joy of not having to pretend any more and finding inner peace:

"This is the real me, I'm home again… again"
http://www.imagesofeden.com/lyrics3.htm

And a quote from Marilyn Monroe:

"Why do I take all those pills? Why do I worry about what all those men think? Why do I let myself get pushed around? This is how I ought to feel, every day of my life. This is the real me . . . isn’t it, Colin?"
http://www.myweekwithmarilynbook.com/?p=4
Note from asker:
I see what you mean Charles, nice reasoning... I suppose the English expression, "I could get used to this" might transmit the idea...
Peer comment(s):
agree ormiston : I share your thoughts about the actual phrase. I was thinking of posting "I'm in a good place" but in reflection I think it's not a 'feelgood' thing, she's saying "I was in holiday mode, having a nice massage...THAT'S THE SORT OF THING I DO /PERSON I AM
2 hrs
Many thanks! // Could be, though if so I think she'd probably have said "Así soy yo". I read it as part of what she was thinking. What I do feel is that this is not a creative writing exercise; it must reflect a plausible interpretation of the Spanish.
agree neilmac : In Glasgow you can hear things like "See me? That's been me all day"...
2 hrs
Thanks, Neil. So do I, but that's not what she says (there are plenty of ways she could have said it if that was all she meant). Maybe she's a bit dippy or going through a crisis or something; we don't know. We can only work from what she says.
agree Darius Saczuk
4 hrs
Thanks, Dariusz :)
agree Michele Fauble
12 hrs
Thanks, Michele :)
Something went wrong...
4 hrs

This is who/what I am

In the sense...this is how it should be!
Something went wrong...
+2
6 hrs

Now, this is just my cup of tea

IMHO, this sounds more like what the British might say.
Peer comment(s):
agree Carol Gullidge : or "just up my street" :)
1 hr
Thank you, Carol
agree Wendy Streitparth : Preferably without the "now" and I like "just up my street" too.
3 hrs
Thank you, Wendy
Something went wrong...
+4
6 hrs
Spanish term (edited): Esta soy yo (in this context)

I was in my element

This phrase is often used in situations like this.

Definition: be in your element
​to be happy because you are doing what you like or can do best:
Kate, of course, was in her element, making all the arrangements.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/be-in-you...
Peer comment(s):
agree neilmac
10 mins
Cheers Neil
agree Carol Gullidge : I think this fits perfectly!
35 mins
Thank you kindly, Carol!
agree Darius Saczuk
1 hr
Thanks, Dariusz
agree Wendy Streitparth : Though I tend to think this is used when one is actively doing something rather than being on the receiving end of a massage.
3 hrs
Thanks, Wendy. I guess you could argue that she was "actively relaxing", as in she made an effort to relax :)
Something went wrong...
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