No, this post is not an ode to that old Extreme song, although it's still a great one! The post is a little bit about "code switching," I started hearing about everywhere a few years ago. Code switching refers to the verbal portion of the many personas we all have. The words we choose, the way … Continue reading Say What? Edition 7: More Than Words
Tag: Spanish
Return to Spain
Against my own personal rules for how best to take advantage of a life that is far too short to absorb everything the world has to offer, I have traveled to an international destination twice. Two weeks ago, I went to Spain. Fourteen years ago I lived there, working in a summer camp in Andalusia … Continue reading Return to Spain
Say What? Edition 4: Thoughts From Italy
A collection of random linguistically-related thoughts that popped into my head while in Italy four weeks ago. ******************** Language can provide anonymity in a crowd. One of my biggest linguistic pleasures when in Europe is hearing half a dozen languages spoken around me at any one time. I enjoy it partly because you feel a … Continue reading Say What? Edition 4: Thoughts From Italy
Say What? Edition 3: Thoughts From Switzerland
A collection of random, linguistically-related thoughts that popped into my head while in Switzerland five weeks ago. ******************** Going abroad makes you realize that your language skills aren't nearly as good as they should be. How did I used to be fluent in German but a few weeks ago I couldn't even understand what the Swiss … Continue reading Say What? Edition 3: Thoughts From Switzerland
Say What? Edition 2: The Foreign Language Edition
I used to speak four foreign languages at a high intermediate level. Now I can still hold my own in Spanish, but that’s about it. I went to a French conversation group a few weeks ago to attempt speaking French for the first time in about three years and was mortified that I could barely … Continue reading Say What? Edition 2: The Foreign Language Edition
Lima
I have a friend from Lima. A mutual acquaintance introduced us because I was looking for a tutor to work with me on my spoken Spanish when I was applying for a special appointment in South America with the State Department. She is personable, well-educated, fun, and we clearly had a lot of common interests, and I … Continue reading Lima
Alpha
I never studied Greek, but I meant to. When I was 19, I had a plan. A list of 10 languages and how many years I was going to spend studying and becoming fluent in each to be the ultimate polyglot powerhouse. It was a motley collection of languages from all continents. Norwegian, Swahili, Vietnamese. … Continue reading Alpha
Quoi?
Near the end of sixth grade, the school herded everyone in that grade into the auditorium. Someone explained to us that next year we would start learning a foreign language. Yes, that is a pathetically late time to start, but that decision was out of my control. We were given two choices – Spanish or … Continue reading Quoi?
La lluvia amarilla (Julio Llamazares)
Era la exhumación final de todo lo soñado y lo vivido, el comienzo de un viaje sin retorno hacia el pasado que ya sólo acabará conmigo.
