The New Me!

The first lesson I am developing for my English classes is a getting-to-know-you worksheet and exercise. I have to complete a worksheet for myself to model what I want them to do. Among other things, there is a section in this worksheet where students can draw whatever they want, like a self-portrait or original design. On my worksheet, I created self-portrait by creating a Yahoo! avatar.

What do you think?

Viva Vosotros!

I'm glad I have this forum to stand up to all the Spanish teachers I've had in the past and those who are currently teaching in the United States.

First, I was always taught in high school and college the vosotros verbal form (plural you, familar).

Second, I was always taught that vosotros was used mainly in Spain and was rare in other Spanish-speaking countries (among other differences).

Third, I was told that vosotros was only used with close friends and family and, therefore, would probably never have a situation in which I needed to use it.

Fourth, I know from experience that the vosotros form is omitted from Spanish language classes in high-schools and colleges across the U.S.

So, imagine when I arrive in Spain a few years later and hear vosotros all over the place! I hear it in both in casual conversations with my roommates in Madrid and serious meetings with the principal and teacher's union representative at my school. I feel so misinformed.

I do have a slight leg up on those who have never learned this verb form, but I still resent teachers who, from choosing not to teach vosotros, imply that students will never travel to Spain to use their Spanish or cannot grasp cultural differences among Spanish-speaking countries.

Perhaps I should start a petition to bring back vosotros to the U.S. for good?

Long live vosotros!

Que Bonita Segovia!

I took a short trip to Segovia during my first weekend in Spain with two of my companeros de Simmons College. Intrigued by talk of an aqueduct, a castle that inspired Walt Disney and the city's famous conchinillo (roasted suckling pig), we took a one-hour bus ride north from Madrid's Principe Pio station to take a look (and taste) for ourselves.


After a 10 minute walk down a main street from the bus station, we were greeted with the dramatic sight of the city's Roman aqueduct, built at the end of the 1st century BC.



A little further up the winding, narrow, shop-lined street that also happens to accommodate cars (!) is the Segovia Cathedral. This Gothic cathedral was build in the mid 1500s.

A little further up the street was the stunning Alcazar, built toward the end of the 11th century. Although the name is a relic from the Moors who occupied Spain for almost 500 years, I haven't found definite information that they made it as far north as Segovia. Historians say that the Romans initially built on this site originally. It has been the home of Castillian Kings, and the influence for Cinderella's Castle at Disney World. Both the building and the view from the Alcazar are stunning!

Of course, by the time we walked from the aqueduct, to the cathedral, and to the Alcazar, we were quite hungry. Restaurants featuring menu del dia lined the path; most featuring the dish the city is known for; Conchinillo. It is served different ways in different places (i.e., whole versus pieces) and we expected the most dramatic entrance; snout, tail and all. Instead, at Restaurante La Catedral we got a chunk of the leg that featured fork-tender, full-flavored pork and a wafer-crisp, caramelized skin.




You can see the main sites of Segovia in a day, which makes it a perfect day-trip from Madrid. It's beauty is a true payoff!

No Bull

So, we have health insurance through a Spanish health care company called MAPFRE. One of the stipulations written into the contract, curiously, is that we cannot do anything with bulls. No running , no petting and I bet if they could, they would say no looking at a bull. I think it is unbelievable that they had such foresight on this detail that they wrote it into the health insurance policy. Yet at the same time, I understand it completely.

Fortunately, they didn't go that far because I'm trying to rally some troops to go to the bullfights in Madrid at Las Ventas in early October.

So, I found the mini-application (at the bottom of this page) where I can simulate running with the bulls if I ever get the urge. Try it...it's fun!

This Place Rocks for Drugs!

600 mg of ibuprofen, over the counter: 2, 97 Euros (4.15 USD)