October 21st we came back home from San Francisco. We’d been there for a couple of games and that night the San Francisco Giants had won over the Philadelphia Phillies and how they became the 2010 World Series Champions is history by now. My life changed that night when I learned I was pregnant....
There are two articles that I recently found about billingualism and Spanglish which made me want to be part of the conversation. The first one: Intermingling languages: From conversation to literature by Francois Grosjean and the second one: Why does Spanglish get such a...
By Rick Dudgeon First, lest anyone be offended, let me start by saying that gringo is not an epithet in Mexico. If they use it at all, it is used affectionately. But they really don’t. The title is an homage to my wife’s first...
We just celebrated Halloween. Trick or treaters with sharp fangs and claws enjoyed a night of spooky fun and sugar rush. Being such a playful holiday it is hard not to spread the spirit with our neighbors, so in Mexico too kids go out...
September 15th marks the beginning of the Hispanic Heritage Month; it is when Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua celebrate their independence from the Spanish rule. My beloved Mexico starts celebrating that night too, though the official Mexican Independence Day is the...
There are different reasons why we decide to leave our home country to engage in the adventure of moving into the land of hope. Although there are as many stories as there are immigrants, we all have the pursuit of happiness in common. We...
When I first arrived in Wisconsin, I learned that people needed a Social Security Number to work, and they made a big deal out of it. I didn’t really understand how I was to be part of a social security program without having a...
Learning a second language is a very complex process, and it’s especially challenging for adults because it involves a lot of brain stretching in several stages. Kids have it a little easier. Their brains are flexible, they don’t rely on previous knowledge as much...
All of the above… we’re Mexican! After finding some articles offering a list of social graces and rules of social etiquette in Mexico, I realized we do have this sort of tacit code when it comes to the meet and greet dynamic in our...
I’ve gotten some comments about my previous Say what? For this I’m grateful and I only wish you had left your opinion here too, so we can share the very interesting stuff you point out. I do understand the social and emotional connotation that...
Here’s another reason to be grateful for the Internet. I magically found the very cool Christina Morassi by the time she was starting a 30 day experiment inspired by The Big Leap, by Gay Hendricks. She is posting a video every day as she...
