As many as 62 indigenous languages are still spoken in Mexico. Most people realize that the national language of Mexico is Spanish and that Mexico is the world’s largest Spanish speaking country. In fact, its population, now numbering 100 million, represents about one-third of all the 330 million or so Spanish speakers in the world. […]
Continue ReadingWhereas the Canadian and US educational systems have been influenced by their British ancestry, the Mexican educational system is based on its French and Spanish ancestry. The different beginnings have produced different approaches. For the Mexican, the educational base is deductive reasoning; moving from the global towards the particular. However the last critical step of […]
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aguayón rump agujas para cocinar boiling beef carne para asar round steak chambarete hind shank chambarete de mano fore shank concha rolled flank steak costillas ribs chuletas rib steak cuete eye of round paleta chuck shoulder falda flank steak filete fillet pecho de res brisket pecho curado corned beef milanesa cutlet molida ground pescuezo rolled […]
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Whether you live in Oaxaca or vacation here on a regular basis, if you’ve begun to integrate into the community, eventually you’ll be asked to be a padrino or madrina (godparent) to an ahijado or ahijada (godchild), so you’d better familiarize yourself with “compadrazgo,” or co-godparenthood. In a nutshell, it’s a web of mutual rights and obligations of monumental importance throughout Mexico and […]
Continue ReadingWalking the Walk, Talking the Talk O.K. I admit it! I love ‘dichos’ (sayings or proverbs). Not, ‘nachos’ or ‘ponchos’, but dichos! Yes, those little nuggets of folk wisdom distilled down through generations of wise Mexicans. O.K. I developed a taste for sayings in English even before I found their equivalent in Spanish. You know […]
Continue ReadingThe reasons to learn a foreign language are many. “For those of us traveling or living in Mexico, there is no doubt that learning Spanish enriches our lives,” says Ohio native Anne Meyer, a social studies teacher. Spanish differs from region to region, so studying Spanish in Mexico gave her advantage for retiring in the […]
Continue ReadingShort of finding a Spanish-speaking partner to live with, the next most effective method of learning Spanish is to enroll in a true immersion program. There are many excellent ones. Most programs not only provide an immersion in the language, but they also provide a cultural experience as well. The programs in Canada and the […]
Continue Reading” Mexicans prize the individuality and the intellectual and emotional uniqueness of each person. They regard the innate alma or “spirit” of the individual as the most important of all human qualities and their culture is fashioned around this concept even in the face of the conformity of Mexican etiquette.” *(Footnote) If this statement is true […]
Continue ReadingMexico – Canada – USA – Spain IMAC Spanish Language Program in Guadalajara Choosing a Spanish school in Mexico Learning Spanish by immersion: Does it work? Telenovelas, my secret obsession: learning and practicing Spanish Speaking Spanish Like a Native – Golden Zone Publications and available on Amazon.com here Carl Franz’s review of books for learning Spanish Hints on […]
Continue ReadingCorazoncita, or little heart, is a Mexican expression of affection, similar to ‘sweetheart’. This is a story of my first visit to Mexico, and how a sweet, little Mexican girl became mi corazoncita. The only deviation from reality is the use of a false name for her, necessary because of her current participation in Mexican politics. […]
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