Category Archives: Spanish

better hurry up!

Posted in French, learning tools, Spanish by

hourglass

Though this article reveals the side benefit of learning language at a later age, I choose to focus on its glass-half-empty takeaway: time is running out to become proficient in another language. I better get this show on the road if I ever hope to bavarder with the best of them (not to mention hablar or leh-soh-kheh-ahkh – that’s chitchat in Hebrew).

To that end, I spent my last day off finally figuring out Anki and creating flashcards for the fifty or so words I’ve jotted down so far. I also read a random article about the special needs of refugee children who come to France, and I was delighted to discover that I understood every single sentence if not every single word. And tonight I’m going to queue up another episode of Destinos, which has taken a rather boring turn now that I’m about halfway through and she of the scrunchies and pastel pantsuits, Raquel Rodriguez, is back in Mexico after adventures in Spain, Argentina and Puerto Rico. I’m hoping the energy will pick up again soon, once Raquel is reunited with her Porteño love interest, Arturo, who’s en route to join her at the moment. Not that there is anything remotely sexy about them – I have only ever seen them hold hands and stage-kiss and giggle together. I suppose that’s what’s to be expected from a soap opera made for high school students.

(Photo: Swim Parallel)

:( World Cup sadness

Posted in music, Spanish by

before the World Cup game at Porteno

Well, that was depressing. I watched the final World Cup game at a packed Argentine restaurant in Chelsea. After one brief moment of overwhelming elation when it appeared as though Argentina had scored what could be the Cup-winning goal – unwarranted, because it was invalidated as offside – Germany scored the only true goal of the game in the last minutes of extra time. The room I was in fell dead silent. The owner of the restaurant, who had been leading patrons in rowdy song just moments before, muted the TV’s. We somberly watched the Argentine players cry. I felt fairly awkward knowing I was surrounded by people whose disappointment and sadness knew no bounds, while mine would inevitably be forgotten within a day (though my pity for poor Messi lingers on).

One thing that, unfortunately, will not soon be forgotten as I’m sure it will be stuck in my head for weeks: a gleeful chant taunting arch-rival Brazil, which inexplicably was still considered relevant and applicable for the Germany game and hence was sung over and over and over again til I practically knew it by heart.

To wit:

So at least I learned some Spanish on Sunday.

The words:

Brasil, decime qué se siente tener en casa a tu papá.

Te juro que aunque pasen los años, nunca nos vamos a olvidar…

Que el Diego te gambeteó, que Cani te vacunó, que estás llorando desde Italia hasta hoy.

A Messi lo vas a ver, la Copa nos va a traer, Maradona es más grande que Pelé.

(Photo: before the game, when spirits still ran high.)

este fin de semana, vamos argentina!

Posted in le week-end, Spanish by

Keep Calm Y Vamos Argentina

After Wednesday’s nail-biter between Argentina and the Netherlands that was pretty much the exact opposite of the Brazil-Germany game the day before, I am so excited to cheer on Argentina in the World Cup finals this weekend. (That sounds like I actually know something about soccer and/or have unearthed secret Argentine lineage that would warrant a true emotional stake in this game. I don’t, and I haven’t, sadly.)

In celebration of the footballers I have come to know and love – for their amazing skill, awesome technique and adorable camaraderie as much as for their remarkably good looks! – here are some hispanocentric links for your weekend reading. Though you should really just be watching the Cup.

So, let’s start with one about that: This makes my love for Argentina grow infinitely.

And another: Gooooooooaaaaaallllllll!

And finish it off with something completely unrelated that I’ve never thought about before: language isolation among indigenous language-speaking Mexican immigrants to the United States.

Happy weekend!

weekend weekend weekend yay!

Posted in le week-end, Spanish by

happy jumping dog

I can’t wait for this weekend! I’m heading back to Novecento early Saturday morning for more World Cup watching – this time Argentina v. Iran. To ensure we get seats, we’re arriving an hour ahead of opening time and two hours ahead of the game. Waiting around outside with the rowdy crowd will either be a fun adventure or a big pain in the butt depending on the temperature outside. As for the rest of the weekend, that will be filled with apartment hunting (terrible!), apartment cleaning (horrible!), and hanging out, which is still better than what I did last Saturday so I’ll happily take it!

I’ll leave you with this fascinating article I just read in the New York Times, about how people make moral judgments differently depending on whether the scenario is presented in their native or a foreign language. The reason for the discrepancy, the author posits, “is reminiscent of Nelson Mandela’s advice about negotiation: ‘If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.'”

Eeenteresting. And now I’m off to start the weekend – have a good one!

(Photo: Emery Way)

World Cup: rooting for the wish-it-were-my-home team

Posted in Spanish by

Watching the Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina gameAfter a highly unpleasant Friday and Saturday (which did end in good news, at least), Sunday was a breath of fresh air. Spent Father’s Day in Princeton with my family, the highlight of which was taking selfies with my two year-old niece. Then headed back to the city for the Argentina v. Bosnia-Herzegovina World Cup game at Novecento, an Argentine bar and restaurant in Soho.

Watching the Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina game

After waiting outside for more than an hour, my friend Lisa and I managed to snag a table and immediately made friends with a guy named Pablo who was decked out in an Argentina jersey and whose parents are from Mendoza. I told him I was here not because I am Argentine myself but because I had been to Argentina for a measly two weeks in February, loved every second of it, and just wanted to be amongst Argentines again. Even though I felt a little foolish admitting I was a wannabe, he approved and we got along great.

Watching the Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina game

The game was awesome in that BIH scored against themselves within 3 minutes, and Argentina held the lead for the rest of the game. The adorable, bedimpled, cartoon-like elfin cutie Lionel Messi scored a goal in the second half, and then BIH scored a goal towards the end, and then there was a nail-biting ten minutes of praying the game would not be tied up and go into overtime. It didn’t, and everyone was joyous.

Watching the Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina game

Being amongst people whose country you are deeply enamored of, while they are winning their beloved game and everyone is best friends with everyone else, is a pretty amazing thing. I knew that if I went it would reaffirm my commitment to learn French and Spanish and that it would motivate me to pick up where I left off about a month ago. And it did. I went home and watched an episode of Destinos, the telenovela for Spanish novices that is actually quite engaging in a strange and silly way.

Additional delights of Sunday at Novecento: I ate a huge hunk of lomo, or beef tenderloin, my steak of choice in Buenos Aires. I admired legions of handsome Argentine men both in the bar and on the soccer field. And I decided there would be worse things you could do than making Argentina your adopted homeland and blowing all your vacation funds visiting on a yearly basis. Thinking perhaps next February will find me hang-gliding in Cordoba or hiking in Patagonia…

¿Quién sabe lo que nos depara el futuro?

[I cheated and did that in Google Translate so I have no idea if it is nonsense or not.]

One thing I do know: next Saturday will find me back at Novecento for brunch and the Argentina v. Iran game. Vamos vamos Argentina!

Watching the Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina gameThat’s me in the foreground and my new buddy Pablo behind me. The fuzzy focus captures my warm fuzzy feeling. 🙂

in a slump

Posted in French, inspiration & encouragement, Spanish by

Scarlett O'Hara vows never to go hungry again

It’s been about three months since I committed to doing an hour of French and/or Spanish every day. I kept it up almost every one of those 90-something days – I guess that’s a good run. But now I’ve hit a period of sluggish, zero-motivation, would-rather-be-doing-anything-else apathy.

I know enough about myself to know that this happens whenever I take on challenging projects, and that most of the time I come out of my slump and get back on track, until the next dip, from which I eventually emerge, ad infinitum. There are highs and lows and I just need to take the lows with a grain of salt and the assumption that I will get back on the horse when the spirit moves me.

So for now I am giving myself a reprieve from my hour-a-day rule because I’ll only get mad at myself for inevitably breaking it. But this coming Monday I will force myself to attend a French Meetup and try to use that momentum to start up those Anki flashcard thingies soon thereafter.

Avec Dieu comme mon témoin, j’apprendrai le français! Because after all…

Tomorrow is another day quote from Gone with the Wind

I have like five readers but I would welcome your words of keep-on-keeping-on, even from strangers! Especially from strangers. That would be neat.

why learn Spanish

Posted in Spanish, travel by

Spanish speaking corzuela pardas

There are a million reasons to learn Spanish. Here are some of mine:

Let’s start with the obvious. Because it is the second most spoken native language in the world, because it is the official language of 20 countries, because it is one of the UN’s six official languages, and because 20% of my hometown speaks it for god’s sake.

Then the practical. Because once you know English and French you’re only a hop, skip and a jump away from knowing Spanish, too. It would be quite a waste to have such a jump-start on a language and not bother to learn at least a little.

The aspirational:

Spanish Mediterranean coast

Because the Mediterranean is, when it comes down to it, the best place on earth. And quite a large chunk of the Mediterranean runs along the Spanish coast.

The personally appealing:

Because my favorite genre of literature, magical realism, has distinctly Latin American roots and I wish I could read it in its native language. Especially my beloved Gabriel García Márquez.

Because Spain seems to operate on my night owl clock.

interior of Gaudi house

Because then I could live in Barcelona and visit Gaudí houses every day. (I know they speak Catalan there. I know that is different from Spanish. I’d work it out.)

Argentina World Cup teamBecause Argentine men are beautiful. All of them. I know this from personal experience.

provoleta grilled cheese

Because provoleta – a grilled hunk of cheese with a crunchy outside and gooey inside, seasoned with oregano – is the best invention in the history of food.

And finally, because I started learning it and now I want to finish learning it. Simple as that.

(Photos from top to bottom: Me; Maria Rosa Ferre; Trey Ratcliff; R. Mazalan; Wally Gobetz)

foreign food festival friday

Posted in foreign food festival, Spanish by

Because food is culture, and culture is its own important language.

First up, pan de queso aka chipás! Or: cheese bread for the gluten-free (a group of which I am, sadly, a member).

pan de queso aka cheese bread

These little buns are more commonly known as pão de queijo and most people think of them as Brazilian but I first encountered them on the Argentinian side of the Argentina/Brazil border when I was visiting Iguazu Falls (the most jaw-droppingly awe-inspiring place I’ve ever been, by the way – you won’t be convinced from the pictures – you just have to see it to believe it).

Sadly, I didn’t try chipás at the time even though they were touted as “traditional Misiones food: tapioca flour cheese bread” on the little English sign in the hotel’s breakfast buffet. I couldn’t be sure they were 100% gluten-free without asking someone to tell me exactly what was in them, and in order to do that and to understand the response I would have had to speak way more Spanish. Yet another reason why it is useful to learn other languages – to avoid accidental ingestion of substances toxic to your body.

When I got home I did a bunch of googling and confirmed they were indeed gluten free and felt really sad. I had tragically foregone alfajores because of my condition but I hadn’t needed to miss out on cheese bread.

So I decided to make them at home, using this recipe from the Kitchn. If you have given up gluten consumption I think you’ll find, as I did, that these little cheese buns are a delicious consolation prize. If you’re used to eating whatever kind of bread you want, you may not see what the big deal is. As for me, I’ve now made them three times, dumping in more and more cheese with every batch. (I wouldn’t recommend this – last time got a little out of hand and now I’m going back to the original recipe.)

Happy Friday!

(Photo: Rodrigo Gianesi)

the best of words, the worst of words: maracuyá and chancleta

Posted in best words & worst words, Spanish by

This is the first in – I hope – a series in which I ask Spanish and French-speaking strangers to write down their favorite and least favorite words in their language and then tell me – in Spanish or French – why they chose them. A ploy for me to learn new vocabulary and force myself to get some conversational practice. Full disclosure: this first time we talked in English because I am still muy patético at speaking Spanish. But – one day!

Félix is a Colombian linguist who would rather be behind the camera than in front of it. Hence you’ll have to create your own mental picture of him through his disembodied hands, his remarkably varied handwriting and his interesting word choice. 🙂

Félix’s favorite word:

photo (1)

Why? “Because it has a very flowing sound and it has an accent at the end and I like agudas, where the stress is in the last syllable. And the fruit itself is delicious.”

I googled it: agudas = oxytones, if you’re interested.

Félix’s least favorite word:

photo (2)

“It is onomonopoetic. I don’t like it because of the sound. The combination of strong consonants and open vowels.”

Spoken like a true linguist.

thoughts on duolingo

Posted in French, learning tools, Spanish by

Duolingo app screenshots

I downloaded the Duolingo app right after I booked my ticket to Buenos Aires. I really wanted to be able to say more than four words in Spanish when I got there, and I had heard it is a good tool to kickstart language learning. Because it works offline I could continue to use it in Argentina, though it is finicky and much better when running through an Internet connection.

It turns out that Duolingo is the best thing ever and gives me a heretofore unfelt appreciation for my smartphone.  Continue reading →