Traveling is fantastic, but coming home to this is pretty rad too. San Francisco FTW!
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
I regularly listen to the language-focused podcast produced as an offshoot of PRI's The World. I find linguistics and language-learning generally fascinating, but I'm obviously even more interested when the show features Spanish-related content.
This week's show led with a story on the Spanish spoken in Bogotá (qué casualidad) and its status, in the eyes of many, as the clearest/most crisp Spanish. Se dice que es un español bastante neutro -- it's described as being pretty neutral. As such, it's not just a great variety for students to begin learning but Bogotá has become a popular place for Latin American companies to base their call centers (in other parts of Colombia people speak with more of a Caribbean accent, which is more difficult for a lot of learners to comprehend).
It's a bad idea to start talking to Latinos about the "best" Spanish, but I do think that the Spanish spoken in Bogotá is about as good as it gets. The capital cities of Ecuador and Perú also are home to pretty clear Spanish, especially among the formally educated. As much as I love Spain, the accents throughout birthplace of the language are typically tough for many students (as is the accent in Argentina, with its Italianized cadence and voseo, and in Mexico, where the slang, especially in Mexico City, can be overwhelming).
The World's story was interesting, but for the love of God, people reporting on (commonly spoken) languages really should have at least a fundamental understanding of that language. It drives me crazy when people perpetuate the myth that Spaniards pronounce every 's' sound as a 'th.' Sure enough, this reporter, in making a point about the difference between Latin American and Iberian Spanish, mentioned that zapatos would be pronounced thapatoth in Spain, when it would actually be pronounced thapatos. Z and c = th, but s = s.
Also mentioned in the podcast: The soon-to-be-released book What if Latin America Ruled the World? Oscar Guardiola-Rivera, a Colombian who teaches law at the University of London, argues that "few people have noticed that with Spanish language and culture in the ascendant the US is quietly but quickly becoming the next Latin American country." In the book, which comes out in the fall, he says the next Obama is likely to be Latino. In the podcast, he brought up the totally insane way the GOP is ignoring demographic trends and pushing an anti-immigration agenda despite the knowledge that, even if the borders were closed today, the country's population will be majority-minority by the middle of this century (and, of course, the group with the most dramatic gain is expected to be Latinos). Locos.
This week's show led with a story on the Spanish spoken in Bogotá (qué casualidad) and its status, in the eyes of many, as the clearest/most crisp Spanish. Se dice que es un español bastante neutro -- it's described as being pretty neutral. As such, it's not just a great variety for students to begin learning but Bogotá has become a popular place for Latin American companies to base their call centers (in other parts of Colombia people speak with more of a Caribbean accent, which is more difficult for a lot of learners to comprehend).
It's a bad idea to start talking to Latinos about the "best" Spanish, but I do think that the Spanish spoken in Bogotá is about as good as it gets. The capital cities of Ecuador and Perú also are home to pretty clear Spanish, especially among the formally educated. As much as I love Spain, the accents throughout birthplace of the language are typically tough for many students (as is the accent in Argentina, with its Italianized cadence and voseo, and in Mexico, where the slang, especially in Mexico City, can be overwhelming).
The World's story was interesting, but for the love of God, people reporting on (commonly spoken) languages really should have at least a fundamental understanding of that language. It drives me crazy when people perpetuate the myth that Spaniards pronounce every 's' sound as a 'th.' Sure enough, this reporter, in making a point about the difference between Latin American and Iberian Spanish, mentioned that zapatos would be pronounced thapatoth in Spain, when it would actually be pronounced thapatos. Z and c = th, but s = s.
Also mentioned in the podcast: The soon-to-be-released book What if Latin America Ruled the World? Oscar Guardiola-Rivera, a Colombian who teaches law at the University of London, argues that "few people have noticed that with Spanish language and culture in the ascendant the US is quietly but quickly becoming the next Latin American country." In the book, which comes out in the fall, he says the next Obama is likely to be Latino. In the podcast, he brought up the totally insane way the GOP is ignoring demographic trends and pushing an anti-immigration agenda despite the knowledge that, even if the borders were closed today, the country's population will be majority-minority by the middle of this century (and, of course, the group with the most dramatic gain is expected to be Latinos). Locos.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Faced with the task of crafting a short bio to run at the end of an article, I came up with the following:
T.J. is a San Francisco-based freelance writer who recently logged multi-month stays in Buenos Aires and Mexico City. The ultimate goal is to make it to every capital city, del taco al tango.
That last bit was taken from a Spanishpod podcast I listen to occasionally. I wasn't even sure it was a goal, to be honest. But the more I think about it the more I would love to make this happen. Or, to be completely accurate, I guess I'd like to travel to *most* of the capital cities from taco (Mexico) to tango (Argentina). Those two are done and dusted. But there are a ton of others I'm dying to check out. First on the list probably is Santiago, Chile. But I've also become way more interested than I used to be in Lima, Peru, and Quito, Ecuador. Even Bogotá, Colombia, has piqued my interest recently.
Obviously, it's not so easy to jet off to a Latin American capital for an extended stay, so I'm traveling via blogs. Here are current favorites for Colombia, Chile and Argentina.
T.J. is a San Francisco-based freelance writer who recently logged multi-month stays in Buenos Aires and Mexico City. The ultimate goal is to make it to every capital city, del taco al tango.
That last bit was taken from a Spanishpod podcast I listen to occasionally. I wasn't even sure it was a goal, to be honest. But the more I think about it the more I would love to make this happen. Or, to be completely accurate, I guess I'd like to travel to *most* of the capital cities from taco (Mexico) to tango (Argentina). Those two are done and dusted. But there are a ton of others I'm dying to check out. First on the list probably is Santiago, Chile. But I've also become way more interested than I used to be in Lima, Peru, and Quito, Ecuador. Even Bogotá, Colombia, has piqued my interest recently.
Obviously, it's not so easy to jet off to a Latin American capital for an extended stay, so I'm traveling via blogs. Here are current favorites for Colombia, Chile and Argentina.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Saturday, May 8, 2010
I'm not much of a solo diner (although I have learned to suck it up for lunch every once in a while), so while J was here I made sure to hit a variety of recommended restaurants in Buenos Aires.
Hidden away in one of the less popular of the central neighborhoods, Villa Crespo, Almacén Secreto is a "closed-door" restaurant that offers traditional food from all over Argentina. With tamales, humitas and other dishes that might surprise those who think Argentine food is all about the cow, this restaurant/art gallery seriously delivered. I particularly loved the bowl of potatoes of surprisingly different sizes and flavors. Everything was tasty (especially my tamal) and Saturday night music really made the taxi ride worthwhile.
Cabaña Las Lilas, in the modern riverside neighborhood of Puerto Madero, took us forever to find and probably cost the most, but it was worth the effort and the extra pesos. The steak here was amazing and the portion was insane -- basically two filet mignons. The terraza overlooking the water was cute and the service, not always a strength in Buenos Aires restaurants, was very good. Props to J for getting us out of the slightly shady couvert situation -- read the menu before you dig into the bread etc., folks.
Bonus birthday dinner at Francis in Montevideo, Uruguay: This was all J (part of my birthday present was that I didn't want to have anything to do w/ Montevideo -- Buenos Aires was taking up enough of my planning/prep time) and he chose well. The restaurant, in Punta Carretas, was cute, the (cheap) wine selection was expansive and the (inevitable) steak I had was delicious. And, bonus, like most places in the two cities we visited, this restaurant was more than happy to call a cab for us.
Some of my favorite foods were at very nondescript joints. For example, probably my favorite pizza moment of the trip (and there have been many, best believe) came right around the corner at Pizza y Espuma. My personal-sized mozzarella pizza was super good with the perfect mix of mozz and parmesan for me. J's "ñoquis" also were fantastic. And the cheap wine! Probably my favorite of the trip, and about 4 bucks?
Also noteworthy are the many delivery options Buenos Aires has to offer. My faves: Pollo Trak, Almacen de Pizzas, Empanadas Gourmet and El Club de la Milanesa. Let's not forget that you can get ice cream delivered, too. Freddo FTW! (Dulce de leche granizado + chocolate amargo = heaven.)
Hidden away in one of the less popular of the central neighborhoods, Villa Crespo, Almacén Secreto is a "closed-door" restaurant that offers traditional food from all over Argentina. With tamales, humitas and other dishes that might surprise those who think Argentine food is all about the cow, this restaurant/art gallery seriously delivered. I particularly loved the bowl of potatoes of surprisingly different sizes and flavors. Everything was tasty (especially my tamal) and Saturday night music really made the taxi ride worthwhile.
Cabaña Las Lilas, in the modern riverside neighborhood of Puerto Madero, took us forever to find and probably cost the most, but it was worth the effort and the extra pesos. The steak here was amazing and the portion was insane -- basically two filet mignons. The terraza overlooking the water was cute and the service, not always a strength in Buenos Aires restaurants, was very good. Props to J for getting us out of the slightly shady couvert situation -- read the menu before you dig into the bread etc., folks.
Bonus birthday dinner at Francis in Montevideo, Uruguay: This was all J (part of my birthday present was that I didn't want to have anything to do w/ Montevideo -- Buenos Aires was taking up enough of my planning/prep time) and he chose well. The restaurant, in Punta Carretas, was cute, the (cheap) wine selection was expansive and the (inevitable) steak I had was delicious. And, bonus, like most places in the two cities we visited, this restaurant was more than happy to call a cab for us.
Some of my favorite foods were at very nondescript joints. For example, probably my favorite pizza moment of the trip (and there have been many, best believe) came right around the corner at Pizza y Espuma. My personal-sized mozzarella pizza was super good with the perfect mix of mozz and parmesan for me. J's "ñoquis" also were fantastic. And the cheap wine! Probably my favorite of the trip, and about 4 bucks?
Also noteworthy are the many delivery options Buenos Aires has to offer. My faves: Pollo Trak, Almacen de Pizzas, Empanadas Gourmet and El Club de la Milanesa. Let's not forget that you can get ice cream delivered, too. Freddo FTW! (Dulce de leche granizado + chocolate amargo = heaven.)
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
So, I spend more than an hour retracing my steps because of a train mix-up (which came after major ticket-purchasing confusion), finally get myself to this stretch of riverfront in the BA suburb of San Isidro, relax with my delicious choripan and licuado de frutilla, only to be stung by a bee for the first time since I was, like, 6. Very nice, Argentina.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
I made my way to Tigre on the commuter train to check out what the Buenos Aires suburbs have to offer. Tigre is a popular day trip because it's reachable quickly (about 50 minutes on the direct train) and cheaply (about 35 cents for my one-way ticket) and because it's a jumping-off point to explore the river delta by boat. The town itself also offers a nice riverwalk area, a small theme park and a casino. At the casino, where I stopped before taking the pricier but cuter Tren de la Costa back toward Buenos Aires, I had a truly awkward conversation while ordering a coffee and pastry.
When I sat down and realized I had forced the woman to give me more change than I deserved because I didn't understand one word she had said right away (she asked if she could give me 3 "fichitas" because she didn't have "monedas"), I felt like a real tool. But then I chilled because, as I am getting better at remembering, language learning is all about making mistakes. If you're not screwing up every day, you're not doing it right.
And also, really Argentina, make more effing monedas so I don't have to have retarded conversations with service workers anymore. THANKS.
When I sat down and realized I had forced the woman to give me more change than I deserved because I didn't understand one word she had said right away (she asked if she could give me 3 "fichitas" because she didn't have "monedas"), I felt like a real tool. But then I chilled because, as I am getting better at remembering, language learning is all about making mistakes. If you're not screwing up every day, you're not doing it right.
And also, really Argentina, make more effing monedas so I don't have to have retarded conversations with service workers anymore. THANKS.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)