Tag: learning spanish

Of Destinos and Destinations

M's Adventures
Famous street in the La Boca harbor area of Buenos Aires.
Famous street in the La Boca harbor area of Buenos Aires.

Living in Colombia, in a world of Spanish, when my doorman still sounds like he’s speaking Mandarin to me (I don’t speak Mandarin), I’m reminded of Spanish class and watching Destinos, the telenovela made for Spanish learners.

So when I visited Buenos Aires, I decided to make a pilgrimage to the Destinos locations, as part of my own “Hollywood tour.” It’s not the Oscars but it certainly is cultural.

The hotel where the main character stayed in Destinos.
The hotel where the main character stayed in Destinos…?

I also decided that this gives me a good reason to visit Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Spain… not that I need one.

 

Learning the Local Spanish in Bogota – Carbonated Pig?

M's Adventures
A "carbonated pig?" to non-Spanish speakers?
A “yes, here rich lecher at 3,000 and 5,000 with carbonation?” to non-Spanish speakers?

Having a non-Spanish speaking friend visit is the best language training. After all, it was up to me to figure out how to communicate. Here are a few of the Spanish phrases that I hear all the time.

effectivo = “cash”

tres quarto = how I like my steak cooked

muy amable = “so kind”

a la orden = what the shopkeepers cry out to get your attention, and so much more. It’s like “sure” or “okay” as well.

listo = okay or “ready.”

But, just when I think I’m getting less baffled, I go to Carulla or Jumbo, and I can’t understand what the cashier is saying when they ask me if I have a membership card? At least now I understand them, I just don’t actually know what they are saying…

Artfully Learning Spanish Two

M's Adventures

Here’s another doodle about learning Spanish. The previous one was not as much fun to draw as this one with the octopus.

A glass of juice with squid, por favor.
A glass of juice with octopus, por favor.

It makes me laugh to think how delighted I would be if I used this phrase incorrectly and someone actually brought me a glass of juice with an octopus in it (that would be a lesson I would never forget!). Considering my “100 challenge” to match my 100 in Dhaka, I imagine that I have many glasses of juice in my future. I don’t think any new list I compile will match the popularity of my list of 100 restaurants in Dhaka… but, who can predict what the google bots will pick up?