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To El Pochote! |
Learning Spanish in Oaxaca
How can you not like a language where the word for carrot is ‘zanahoria’? Almohada, alfombra, alacran…all roll off our Spanish maestro’s tongue in a whirl of Arabic influence. This is what I love about learning new languanges; the serendipitous discovery of delightful treats such as this.
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The ‘Centro’ in Oaxaca |
My “official” reason for learning Spanish is to be able to read Borges in his native language. (That, and the fact that we will almost exclusively be in Spanish countries for a year). Language is the key through which you can understand a culture and see “into the minds” of people. I remember distinctly when our Italian teacher asked, “Which is your favorite word in Italian?” The fact that Italians pay attention to the sounds of their language may be the reason that their language is so beautiful.
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Spanish school |
We couldn’t have selected a better place to learn Spanish. Oaxaca, a colonial town with great food, weather, spectacular ruins and crammed full of artists is a vacation in itself. The school, Solexico, an afflilate school of Don Quixote in Spain, holds small classes in a colonial house. The maestros – socialogists, linguists, agronomists, all are ready to expound on the political situation in Oaxaca, tell jokes and advice us on the best places to try Oaxacan delicacies. Just around the corner is Cafe Antigua, with the best organic coffee in town to fortify us when struggling with irregular verbs.
At the end of a month, we will hardly have the ability to converse fluently in Spanish. I hope, however, that we will be in a better position to understand the people and the culture.
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I’m sitting next to you in the cafe Teatro; could you pass my drink over to me please?
Thanks,
Fred
You three are funny!
Hope the pasta and paella come out separate at the end of immersion.
Great post! I wanna do immersion too! Sounds like you are having a great time!
Hey Vinay,
Come on down! We plan on doing a couple more weeks in Antigua. Although we won’t know exactly when, it’ll probably be in the end of March.
Madhuri, its called itanol. I am sure we will get it all mixed up 🙁
Color me jealous, Shreesh and Neena! And, can you send some sun up this way?
Ciao Trottamundos
Bonitos sitios very nice making
Happy to coming to se yours trip to penguinland…la terra dei pinguini
Salute e Fortuna Amigos…La Familia Global