La Confluencia de Culturas

I've just come back from Malaga and I am once again struck by the strong Arab and Jewish influence that when I was younger I simply thought of as Spanish, maybe Andalucian Spanish. Andalucia is a fascinating region, of which Malaga is a lovely province. The capital of the province is of course Malaga City. The city is campaigning to be named European Cultural Capital of 2016, so it is doing some wonderful housecleaning, including creating more pedestrian zones, planting more flowers, etc. The fact that Malaga is on the coast is a big plus for the city - lots of restaurants line the beach - from informal chiringuitos in the sand to formal, pricey ones with lovely views.

I went to visit Spanish schools so I would have good places to send our students and so also visited schools in Marbella, Benalmadena and Ronda. Spectacular architecture and design. I learned that the Spanish word azulejo (painted tile) doesn't come from the word azul (many of the first ones were blue) but rather from the Arabic word for tile.

I visited the University of Malaga in Ronda - a beautiful city high atop a mountain, with sweeping vistas that leave one weak. ILI is teaming with the University to offer a course called España: La Confluencia de Culturas. Email me if you're interested this university course at alexis@languageschoolusa.org

Caminante No Hay Camino

My favorite quote comes from an Antonio Machado poem. (It's also sung by Joan Manuel Serrat) "Caminante no hay camino. Se hace camino al andar. Caminante no hay camino, sino estelas en el mar." Sort of translates as Traveler(or one who walks), there's no road. You make the road by walking. Traveler, there's no road, but rather a wake in the sea.

I've been away from this blog since January. People had said it was hard to post so they emailed me with comments, some of which I tried to post to the blog. Recently I got an email from a former TESOL participant that I want to share. Here it is:

In February, I went to Mexico for 2 and a half weeks, and fell in love with San Cristobal and all the city's colors. Three friends and I attended a language school there in Chiapas to revive our Spanish skills - I had reached an upper intermediate level but hadn't studied it for about five years. It came back quickly after being surrounded by it. The school arranged some amazing cultural outings for us - we visited two neighboring indigenous villages - Zinacantan and Chamula, where I witnessed some interesting religious ceremonies and learned how to use the looms that the women use to make beautiful tapestries and clothing. (I also saw some postings in the city advertising for TESOL teachers!)
Then I had a complete change of gears and went to Germany for a month - now surrounded by a language I knew nothing about. I did not pick up much of it, because the people I stayed with spoke English. But it was another interesting cultural experience and again, I had a wonderful trip. I learned many things about the different ways people live, and of course, in turn, about myself.

This is from Heather Carragher. She says she is happy to talk to people who are interested in studying in Mexico. If you're interested in studying in Spain, let me know. I've got some great schools to recommend.

So, this month, if anyone has a favorite quote in another language, please post it. Hasta pronto.

Happy New Year!

I came back from a wonderful time in Algeria and had loads of energy. Maybe it was something in the hot springs bath we visited on Christmas day. A few days back and I caught what everyone else has here so the energy was drained and this is my first opportunity to share some Algeria thoughts.

People were wonderfully welcoming. An older woman stopped me in the market of Algiers and asked me in French if I liked Algiers. She welcomed me and wished me a happy new year. When I was in Setif, people wanted to know if I liked Setif. They wished us a merry Christmas and decorated the school dining hall on Christmas eve. An official from the Dept. of Education in Setif wished us peace and love in the new year. He said that we may practice different religions and celebrate different holidays but where it counts, we're all the same. We felt love from the teachers we trained and kindness everywhere we went. When I spoke Arabic, people were thrilled. And did you know how many English words come from Arabic? I knew a lot of Spanish words came from the language but what about .....

soda, tabby, so long, alcohol, alcove, admiral, arsenal, artichoke, carat, gauze, lute, macabre, masquerade, mattress, tariff, zenith, giraffe, sugar, cipher, syrup and that's just part of my list.

I have the Arabic original words and meanings for these if anyone is interested. Language is a wondrous thing.