Caray, Caray!

Thanks Melinama for the reminder to our gentle readers that this isn't, like, a full-time job or anything.

I once saw this on a license plate and I kind of like the sentiment, "Speak only kind words and you need not whisper." Posting something like a whining complaint anonymously is kind of like whispering, dontcha think--Not anonymous, just promiscuous...the promiscuous reader.
 

Before I started recapping, I had no idea how much time was involved. I won't speak for the others, but I know it takes me about 4 hours to complete one recap. It took me longer at first. Again, I won't speak for the others, but I am far from fluent in Spanish. That means I have to re-play scenes several times and look up all the vocabulary words before figuring out what happened.

Melinama is correct, many of us have full-time jobs and families. Some of our lives even rival the telenovelas! Perhaps the complainers can step in and help with recapping.

Many thanks to all of you who have taken the time to include kind words and positive feedback. It means a lot!
 

Klee's words were much gentler than mine, thanks klee for the reminder that I was too irascible.
 

Most readers know the recaps are a volunteer service and none of us should complain. This is a true labor of love and I am so grateful to have the recaps and comments.
 

Thanks, Melinama. In my case, this is a time when doing the recap will be a welcome diversion from real life. Unfortunately it looks like I might be getting a stinker of an episode. ;-)

Strangely enough, knowing more Spanish is causing my recaps to take more time, not less. I guess because now I have a better idea of what's going on, so there's more to write. :o)
 

Right On, Melinama!

There's a B-tch-r in every group.

Hey KLee, I'm encouraged. The fact that your not fluent and do such a fantastic job with recaps gives me confidence that may Spanish will improve.

Thanks for all your efforts.
Rhonda
 

Julie that explains everything then. Like you I understand perfectlly (with the exception of a few words here and there) what's going on. That would explain why my recaps take me long and are detailed.

I tottally applaud you guys for dedicating a lot of time to this blog and all you do.
 

My husb asks, "hey hon, why do you do this when it takes so long and you don't even get paid?" I always answer, "hey sweetie, shut your pie-hole and get the kids to bed already, can't you see I'm busy writing?!!"

JUST KIDDING!

Yes, it's takes lots of time and some dereliction of other duties, but it's fun and I know our cyber-fiends are out there counting on us!
 

Melinama, I'm so glad you used the word "irascible." Ha!
 

To all the recappers out there....I would like to say a big thank you! You've put in loads of time and made this fun for us. For those who are impatient: how about contributing to the recapping effort, rather than complaining?

Susannah in CA
 

Thanks for the kind words, readers. It really helps. I loved this blog since last year, and it really helped me get up to speed with the shows and my Spanish. To all you beginning Spanish students out there, please keep at it, even if you make small increments in knowledge each day by looking up words in the dictionary. I've now reached the advanced intermediate level.
 

It does take forever to do a really good, detailed recap. And the more Spanish I learn, the longer it takes me, as someone else said.

Recently it may seem that I am writing too quickly and being careless. That's because I have a lot going on in my life right now, including the fact that my father has been hospitalized several times recently. So I have to do my recaps fast or not at all. I think it would be better if I took a few more hours to do a better job.

So I hope everyone will listen to Melinama and remember that the recappers are human and have other pressures on them. It can take hours to watch the show and analyze every scene, looking up words to make sure you don't miss anything important, and I'm in awe of all the people here who do it so well.
 

After 10 years of making a New Years resolution to finally become fluent in Spanish I decided to begin mid 2006 and this telenova was recommended by my hairstylist who would watch it while blow drying my hair. At first I understood little, finally learned about your website and I am hooked. Since I learned to turn on the subtitles along w/ reading your reviews at lunch time my Spanish has improved dramatically. Thank you so much, you have saved me the $$$ it would take to go another community college class and this is more fun. Like everyone else I am hooked. Lots of love and thanks.
 

Recapping is a labor of love. I like being able to help others understand, while at the same time improving my skills. I've come a long way this past year, thanks to this site. It's been a great way to test my understanding.

I've also learned some very useful words:

Traicion - treachery
Disparo - shot
Esconderse - to hide
Muerto - dead
 

Personally I think one of the best things I've learned is to BOIL DOWN the recaps so you write about the stuff that matters and don't get bogged down in stuff nobody cares about. Remember, I started by doing Alborada all by myself day after day month after month - I couldn't afford to be too inclusive... My fun (besides learning things like "no me engañes") is to try and be brief and clear. Takes less time and if anybody misses the stuff I leave out, they add it in the comments!
 

To all the whiners out there - get a life? If you want to urgently know what is going on in the telenovelas, learn Spanish on your own. Otherwise appreciate the generosity of others and be grateful for their kindness.

Melinama - you go girl!
 

Melinama...your reproof was well worded and NOT at all too strong. The "entitlement" attitude of some of these readers (always anonymous, "verdad">) is so wrong.
I want to especially thank you because today when I was out, I was suddenly thrown into a situation where I had to explain to a man in spanish that someone's battery was dead and she needed a start.
I'm sure I mangled it but I ripped right in without hesitation and he gave a big smile when he knew I spoke Spanish!
Yea!!! for all your recaps and helping us learn. Mucho mucho gracias...Judy B.
 

Thanks for sticking up for us Melinama!! You get to be irascible cuz you feel protective of us. Also thanks to the huge percentage of our beloved readers who faithfully read the recaps, patiently wait for our posts, and are putting in their two cents worth now.

Yep, you wouldn't believe how time-consuming recapping can be. Honestly, they are a labor of love. I'm not complaining, I'm just saying what it is.

Carmel, you do the most fabulous job of getting right to the heart of each scene. I'm trying to be more like you, so please don't apologize for your super busy life. I demand that you stop it right now! (Apologizing, not recapping.)

Gee Alma, I'm much snarkier with my honey when he gripes about me hogging the TV and computer on recap night. May I use your sweet phrase? heh heh
 

Kudos...to the recappers...who do the dialogue...I could never do it..I only post mine so early because I do them completely from memory and I gotta do it or lose it..besides it's not actually like I can understand the audio Spanish anyway. I basically just know the root form of a verb and try to figure the pronoun thing out..thanks to closed captions. Yes I have been a constant source of disappoint most of my life. So mine are really hit & miss. So as for the other recappers, I mean you get some serious detail there.

Anyway I like doing it...cause I just like being snarky & mocking & rooting for bad people behaving badly.
 

Melinama, there was nothing too strong in your reminder to the gentle readers, and to the not so gentle ones as well. You know those of us who are addicts to Caray, Caray! are patient folk who adore the work you all are doing to give so much pleasure to so many folks around the world. The compensation you all get, if it works for you, is our heartfelt thanks and admiration for all this.

Periodic reminders are a humbug for you, I am sure. Nevertheless, your Faithful Followers applaud the reminders.

Jeanne (FF)
 

Melinama, I'm always trying to boil down so I'm glad you think that's OK. And Sylvia, thanks so much! -- you are such a nice person.

Everyone has their own recap style and that's what makes this site so fun and informative!
 

Hey all,

For my part I just want to say that I thought I was the only one who took like 6 hours to do a recap (less now) but during the critical episodes of "the letter" (LFMB) coupled with the novelty of recapping back then and no caption help, that's what it was. Anyway, I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one that takes a lot of time, and hopefully since everyone has chimed in together about it, more of our readers are more aware of what our efforts entail. It's funny because even when I think I've got one outlined to be covered in an hour, by the time I get through it, it turns out to be three, because of the stuff I need to clarify.

I have never been good at summarizing, because, well, darn, every little thing could be important to someone. I don't know, it's definitely a writer's skill to be terse and succinct, though and a goal for me as well.

Anyhow, we do this because we enjoy it, and I think everyone takes the recapping "responsibility" seriously enough such that if the recaps aren't posted quickly it's for a reason. Life, sleep, family, work, school, you name it. I'm sure we would all love to just zip it up there and have it be stellar, but alas, we are human, and living human lives, interacting with other humans (and ok maybe some animals too).

Anyway, thanks Melinama for your words on our behalf, and thanks to all our positive readers who patiently await our posts. Please know that we do care very much about what we do, and we always want you to enjoy our recaps as quickly as possible and if we don't get them up until later the next day it's not on purpose or to spite anyone. Something else just needed attention, that's all, we still have you all on our minds! Thanks again!
 

Well said K! If it takes more than a night, a day, hell several days to post a recap, who cares? It will get done in good time.

Luckily the snarly and impatient readers are few and far between. I'm thinking of "Disappointed" who jumped all over the Duelo recappers for not being PC, then I compare that with Schoolmarm Jeanne who has gently and carefully guided us into a more enlightened state concerning deafness and mental disabilities, or Susanlynn who is quick to add comments and input based on her teaching history, or any number of readers who are happy to share their areas of expertise with the rest of us.
 

Muchas gracias.
I just now found this site today.
I was searching trying to see if was on DVD asnd stumbled on it.
Have been watching the show for quite some time while I've been taking trying to learn spanish classes. I watch with the closed caption on so I can get more hints

So thanks! I've been reading a lot of the old ones to see if I "got it" and claro que no!

Will definitely be back :)
 

Pelita, how nice you have joined in the fun!

Thanks, Sylvia. You are so nice!

Jeanne
 

Wow! I am sorry I missed all the excitement and cannot now find the post that started all of this. I was also relieved to see I wasn't the only one who takes hours to review and to write these recaps in order to post them.

Hats off to all my former schoolmarms for all those essay assignments in my English grammar classes with their parsing of sentences, punctuation and proofreading. (I appreciated it even if it appears now from these that I was asleep for most of them.) ;?p
 

That person's "where is the recap" complaint was not cool. I am so grateful for this sight. I don't speak Spanish but started watching LFMB. One does not need to understand the language to get swept up in the Fern/Lety romance (or anything to do with Fern, for that matter). But I would have no clue of the story without you wonderful recappers
How pleased I was when I googled "english recpas of telenovelas" and found this blog.

Many thanks,
Teresa
 

I agree I am not completely fluent in spanish myself. I can speak and understand most but att times I miss or do not understand something and recently found this blog. Thanks. So anyway I love coming here and reading the recaps. Humorous and on point. Anyway it is wrong to complain because it is so nice of everyone to take time out of their day to recap for us readers. It does take time. So just wanted to say thanks for the hard work and overlook people that just want to complain instead of thank. Love the site and great recaps guys.
 

I felt fortunate to stumble into Melinama's recaps of ''Alborada.'' I had surfed into ''Alborada'' one night and was attracted by a goodlooking longhaired guy in some kind of period costume. I had no idea what was being said because I knew only about 20 Spanish words that my students had taught me over the years. Of course, I fell down the rabbit hole and was suddenly enmeshed in the world of telenovelas...''Amor Real'' ''Heridas'', ''Mundo,'' ''Duelo.'' I still don't understand a lot of Spanish, but sometimes I actually get whole sentences [e.g. ''I am Alina , and I am not your daughter.''] However, I've certainly enlarged my Spanish vocabulary : impactada, ramera, hoven,heridas, etc. More importantly ,I've ''met'' a lot of articulate, friendly, funny, goodnatured , fascinating people whom I look forward to ''talking '' to on a daily basis. I, for one, am always grateful for the time and effort that the very dedicated recappers put into translating each episode. I can't wait to check to see how each recapper interpreted the scenes from the night before. Muchos gracias!!!! ~~~Your devoted fan~~~Susanlynn
 

Wow, Thursday's my night out and I always end up watching a day late (and avoiding reading caray until after I have watched the epi on Tivo.) I gotta admit that there are times when I'm like, "where's the duelo recap?!!!" But being a recapper myself, I know it's not something you can just toss off, and if somebody did, I'd be dissapointed. So no recap before it's done. And it's done when the recapper posts it. End of story. It's a special kind of insanity we have over these shows that goes beyond the excuse of "learning spanish." We're all hooked. By the way, I am on central time and post sometime between midnight and 4am Eastern the same night, depending on when I finish up on my other work.
 

Susanlynn, you hit the nail on the head when you talked about falling down the rabbit hole! I have officially become a telemundo junkie!

At first I lurked about Caray Caray in silence, then I put my toe in the water and actually created ***gasp*** a post! Melinama then encouraged me to take the full plunge.

There's not a place I'd rather be than here. OK, so that may be an exaggeration, but telenovelas are like black holes that suck you in!

Thanks to all the people (new and old) who have been so supportive. You all make it rewarding!

Bring on "Ooozing Love!"
 

How dare whiners/complainers say things like that? All you wonderful recappers take so much time out of your busy lives to do such generous and thoughtful recaps for the viewers/readers; and for that, you get some whiners/complainers who are impatient and inconsiderate! That’s just ridiculous! Well, I want to say thank you so much for being so kind and taking the time out of your lives to do these recaps! I’m so glad and thankful that I found this blog! I’d be so lost without it. You have no idea how much this means to me. I appreciate it! Thank you again and keep up the spectacular job!! =)
 

I've been a fan of Melinama's since the early episodes of "Alborada" and straight through to the end.
You recappers do the best job.
Don't let some grouchy person make you feel bad.
We devoted followers of the telenovelas (who are struggling with our Spanish) admire and love you.
Alice
 

Melinama, I would have wished over the years some sales managers were as supportive of their reps as you are of your volunteers!!

To Margaret and the other trusty recappers, I agree and, in the spirit of Julio Gallo (pardon the pun): "No recap before its time!" --Mine is aging right now while I take some personal time to ready my flower beds for spring.

Doing these is my great escape and a way like the rest of you to force myself to improve and test my Spanish comprehension. (At my age those memory cells die off fast. I started at the ripe old age of 50 and am pleasantly surprised to find how much of a new language my brain can still retain 4 years later. Nothing wrong with "slower but just as steady," I figure.)

Thanks especially to all those lurking fans of the website out there, too. What great encouragement you've given us! I would like to think that Antsy Anonymous is such a fan of this site that he/she simply couldn't wait to find out what had happened, rather than they needed a translation on a cheat-sheet for an exam in some Spanish class that morning.... -?: > /

I am a fan of this site, too, and I am really thrilled to find out how much of a help it has been to all you out there in the ethernet. Thanks again for breaking your silence.
 

I agree with Jardinera, it's been great to get so much support from y'all! Makes it all worth while!
 

Three cheers to Melinama for starting the team blogging of telenovelas with Alborada on her blog, and then creating Caray Caray as a spin-off for all these wonderful recaps.

Muchos aplausos y grandes abrazos to all the recappers - whether you are like me and post that very night or take a day or two, it all seems worth it in the end with great friends and appreciative readers posting their comments and thank you notes.

J.R. :)
 

Muchas gracias to all the recappers! As others have said, most of us appreciate your time and effort. Keep up the great work! Klee you have also inspired me to perhaps try recapping some time, even though until last year when I started watching a telenovela or 2 regularly, I hadn't used Spanish for more than "Hola", "Commo esta Usted?", "Gracias" or ordering Pollo Loco since high school.I googled "Alborada" because, though I could understand some, I wanted to know more and found Melinama's site. I've been a faithful reader and occasional poster ever since. Thanks again to everyone!