Cultural Connections

This week, we have the privilege of hosting two visitors in our American home in México.  Henry is a student-pastor from Medellín, Colombia and Juan Jose is a pastor from Torreón, Mexico. They are both in León to participate in the LATTE workshop of seminary training to pastors.

We have special connections to both of our visitors. Nate has been teaching Henry an online course for a couple of months, so they know each other, but more by voice recognition and not appearance. This is the first time they have met face-to-face. This is a precious time as we get to know Henry and his family as he Skype’s them every night, so we can also chat with his wife and 2 sons. Juan Jose was a pastor in Torreón at a sister congregation while we lived in Torreón. Now, he is also the pastor of the congregation we attended in Torreón, along with his previous congregation and a preaching station.  He is a caring shepherd and good friend.

Since Spanish is the common language between Henry, Juan, Nate, and me, we are only speaking Spanish in our home this week. I am learning lots of new vocabulary from Colombia, as many things have different names in Spanish, depending upon the country. Blueberries are known as moras here in México, but in Colombia, moras are blackberries.  Usually the differences are subtle. Sometimes, however, a word can be completely harmless in one country, but have a terrible meaning in another.

As we eat meals together, Henry prefers things not-so-spicy, whereas Juan is used to spicy foods common in México. So I try to do a compromise as I prepare Mexican food, but in an American style. Our conversations are interesting, comparing differences in education, politics, security, crime, family life, technology, ministry, and personal stories.

Julia, Nate, Henry, & Juan

I enjoy our house guests and look forward to getting to know them better throughout the week. We are thankful to the Lord for our fellowship in Christ beyond borders.

 

Expressões Idiomáticas

A meus amigos que falam português, aqui é um teste do expressões idiomáticas pra vocês.  Todas as respostas são cores.

1. Vamos almoçar! Estou ________ de fome!
2. Todos o aplaudiram, mas como ele é muito tímido, ficou ________ como um pimentão!
3. Esperei duas horas na fila e ninguém me atendeu. Fiquei ________ de raiva!
4. Negócios, negócios.  Amizade à parte.  Vamos registrar ________ no branco.
5. A – E aí? Tudo bem? B – Tudo ________ ! E você?
6. Nossa, que susto! Ficou ________ como o papel.

Você pode escrever suas respostas na seção de comentários. Vou escrever as respostas corretas na próxima semana.

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To my Portuguese-speaking friends, here is a quiz of idiomatic expressions for you.  All the answers are colors.

1. Let’s eat! I am ________ of hunger!
2. Everyone applauds, but he is very shy, he became ________ like a pepper!
3. I waited two hours in line and no one attended me. I was ________ with anger.
4. Business, business.  Friendship aside.  Let’s register ________  and white.
5. A – And how are you? B – Totally ________ ! And you?
6. Wow, what a fright! He was  ________ as paper.

You can post your answers in the comment section.  I will post the correct answers next week.

 

First Day of School

On Monday, many children headed off for their first day of the school here in León, México.  It was neat to see students of various ages in their school uniforms on their way to class.

Monday wasn’t only the first day of school for the children, but also for me. I started Português language classes with a tutor.  My first day was a bit confusing.  Last week, I took a language placement test, and somehow placed into Level 4. After a few minutes, my tutor had to adjust her lesson plan and activities. I love studying this language and learning more about the Brazilian culture. Bonus – My tutor is from Porto Alegre, a major city near Gravataí, Brazil where one of our sister congregations is located.

Note to language teacher friends – do not use written tests for language placement.   Instead implement a series of oral interview questions for placement.

 

Last Day of Class

I just finished my final class with my Spanish tutor, Oscar. Yeah!  I started classes at a language school last September to focus on Spanish grammar, conversation fluency, Mexican vocabulary and culture.  On Tuesday, Oscar gave me an oral test covering all verb tenses and grammar rules we studied over the past months. Today, we ended with a written comprehensive exam. I don’t know if I will ever conquer all the sneaky subtleties of these exams, but it is fun to try!  I do think I have finally retired my French accent in my Spanish pronunciation and abandoned my vocabulary from the Dominican Republic.

It is a bittersweet moment, as I have achieved a huge goal of mine, but I will deeply miss Oscar.  He has been with me throughout my journey here in León so far.  He has become more than a tutor, but a good friend-always ready to provide cultural insight.

Even though I have finished the formal Spanish classes, I will continue to review the grammatical material. Somedays, I feel as though my Spanish has progressed in leaps and bounds while other times I feel as though I am going backwards.  I guess it all depends on the topic, background noise, accent, and my comfort level.

Learning a different language is truly a humbling experience, but it offers much insight and understanding of another culture. It also gives perspective from the students’ point of view if you are an English teacher.

If you are interested in studying another language, give it a try at www.livemocha.com. It is a community website for language study with native speakers on a give-and-take (learn-and-teach) basis.

 

Test Your Spanish

This week, I’ve been studying a form of Latin music called  “el bolero“ with my Spanish tutor.  There are two types of bolero, one originating in Cuba and the other in Spain. The majority are classic Spanish love songs or ballads.

The song below is a classic bolero written by the Mexican composer Armando Manzanero. Try to guess the five missing words that rhyme with the underlined words in the song.  Click on “leave a comment” & share your answers.

Contigo aprendí

Contigo aprendí
Que exsisten nuevas y mejores emociones.
Contigo aprendí
a conocer un mundo nuevo de _______________ .

Y aprendí
que la semana tiene más de siete días
a hacer majores mis contadas _______________ .
y a ser dichoso
yo contigo lo aprendí.

Contigo aprendí
a ver la luz del otro lado de la luna.
Contigo aprendí
que tu presencia no la cambio por _______________.

Aprendí
que puede un besos
er más dulce y más profundo
que puedo ir me mañana mismo
de este _______________ .
las cosas buenas
yo contigo las viví.

Contigo aprendí
que yo nací
el día en que te _______________ .

If you need a hint, listen to the song at Contigo aprendí, but don’t peek at the subtitles-at least for the first time.

 

Psalm 23

Salmo de David

Jehová es mi pastor; nada me faltará.

En lugares de delicados pastos me hará descansar;
Junto a aguas de reposo me pastoreará.

Confortará mi alma;
Me guiará por sendas de justicia por amor de su nombre.

Aunque ande en valle de sombra de muerte,
No temeré mal alguno, porque tú estarás conmigo;
Tu vara y tu cayado me infundirán aliento.

Aderezas mesa delante de mí en presencia de mis angustiadores;
Unges mi cabeza con aceite; mi copa está rebosando.

Ciertamente el bien y la misericordia me seguirán todos los días de mi vida,
Y en la casa de Jehová moraré por largos días.

 

EXPO

This week, Nate and I went on a field trip to the Expo Guanajuato Bicentenario with my language school – Dialecta. This Expo was built on RUTA 2010 to celebrate Mexico’s 200 years of Independence.

Previously, we went to the Expo with some members of our mission team, but did not enter any of the exhibition buildings due to the long lines.  So when the school offered the field trip to the EXPO, gratis (without paying the entrance fees) and not having to wait in the lines, we jumped at the chance.

We met the group at 10 am at the entrance gate when the park opened.  We toured 2 of the pavilions together, entering through the back door, avoiding the crowds.

Our Dialecta Group

The first was the exhibition of “Manaña” – Tomorrow, displaying periods from scientists’ theories about the beginning of time to their predictions of the future with a focus on taking better care of the environment. The second was called “Identidad”- Identity, a combination of arts and history from pre-Columbian period to the present.  There were small exhibits from each indigenous group displaying clothing and handicrafts specific to their group, including information of where they came from and where they live today.  The other half of the exhibit housed artifacts and skilled artesania (handcrafts) from all over Mexico.

Nate's Favorite - An Armadillo Guitar

BONUS – Instead of ice skating on the outdoor rink with some of our group, the director of Dialecta asked one of the Expo guides if Nate and I could see the the Pavilion of the “Historia” – History of Mexico.  As it was just the two of us, the guide led us to the back of the building and through a door, where we joined another group.  We toured 16 different rooms, each with a theme tied to a specific time in history.  We literally walked through Mexican history.  All the rooms had videos making it seem as if you were really there.  We both enjoyed entering a boxcar of a train.  It rattled about, with moving videos along the side outside the window.  We felt like we were really moving.  There were newspaper boys in the front door shouting out the headlines-all video images.  It was a wonderful 2 hour walk through Mexico’s history.  One of the ladies in our group shared that she waited 3 hours in line for this exposition.  We were very thankful for our gracious host.

When we finished the tour, it was 4:30 pm and we still hadn’t eaten lunch.  There was an array of food kiosks and restaurants to choose from.  After we refueled, we went to a large playground for kids with an area for extreme sports which included zip-lining for both kids and adults, a surfing cage, and a 6 level bin of cushy balls.  They also had a large maze with bridges and rivers and a go cart/electric shopping cart track with road signs, traffic lights, and roundabouts.

We ended the day with some cappuccino and churros, watching the sunset.

A wonderful day spent together, while learning more about this new land we call home.