There are many dialects of Spanglish. My specialty (Gringo-Ecuadorian) is born when two or more native English speakers meet in Ecuador. Spanish gets thrown around when it's convenient, logical, funny, or when they forget how to speak English. What results is a hybrid language that uniquely represents the experience of being a gringo in Ecuador. Here's a partial attempt to catalog this linguistic phenomenon, dedicated to the 20 or so individuals who practice with me on a regular basis.
The Campo:
1.) The country, or something rural. So if a gringo says, “I’ll be in the campo next week," it means they’re going to a rural area and won’t be able to update their facebook status.
2.) Campo can also mean "field." Anthropologists keep a “diario de campo” or a “field journal,” where they take lots of notes about mundane things and make all the locals feel awkward.
Campo cheese:
THE cheese in Ecuador. It’s a white, fresh cheese, packaged in water, so it’s usually wet when served raw. (note: it probably doesn’t come from the campo… but accuracy is not what Gringo Spanglish is about). After some digging, I’ve decided there is no equivalent cheese here in the United States-- the queso blanco/queso fresco at the Mexican grocery store is a bit different. I suspect it's the stinky cousin of fresh mozzarella. WARNING: Many arguments have ensued between gringos about the relative value of campo cheese. Personally, I find it nauseating, and my body can't digest it.
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