Tag Archives: languages

Nov21

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

One of the reasons I live where I do here in Mexico is because I want to totally immerse myself in the Mexican lifestyle rather than in the gringo visiting Mexico lifestyle. In my neighborhood very little English is spoken so I have the opportunity to really focus on speaking Spanish. I don’t care what language you speak but it is customary to speak faster in your own native language. I often find myself saying to Mexicans the expression “mas despacio, por favor.”

I also practice speaking Spanish to my Uber drivers. But today I had a very different experience. My Uber driver was Mexican and spoke fluent English. Why? Because he lived in Seattle for sixteen years. Not often that I find a Washingtonian around here. He told me he used to go to Leavenworth and Wenatchee often. He misses Seattle but came back here to Aguascalientes to care for his parents during Covid. He hopes to someday return to Seattle.

I am helping a cafe owner with English. He is a musician and teaches here in Aguascalientes. However he also played with a group on a cruise ship for two months. He has once again been offered a job on another cruise ship so he really wants to practice his English. His wife speaks very little English and I will be doing inter-cambio with her. I really look forward to that because we will both have the opportunity to practice talking with native speakers.

Thursday is American Thanksgiving. I have fond memories of spending this holiday in Mazatlan and in Guadalajara with friends. This year I will be eating at Country Break with my Mexican friends. Hamburgers are on the menu rather than turkey. And that’s okay. I was talking to one of my Wenatchee friends on the phone and we decided we’re going to do a turkey dinner when I get back in the spring.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends. When we look around at all the chaos in the world today, we need to count our blessings for all that we have. And we definitely have a lot to be thankful for. Actually, every single day of our lives should be a day of Thanksgiving. And if you are celebrating the holiday with family, you are even more blessed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Nov2

Commune, Coursera and Duolingo

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Commune, Coursera and Duolingo

I’m back in Mexico and that means I’m back on line taking courses again. There are so many of them out there and it’s hard to choose. But here are the three I’m doing now.

Duolingo. I’ve been doing this one for years now to improve my Spanish. When I go up north for a few months every year I always take a break from Duolingo. But seeing as I’m the only gringa in my neighborhood, I really need my Spanish. I have friends learning other languages on this site, but for now I’m quite content with Spanish only.

Commune. This is a new one to me. There are a variety of guest speakers on this site primarily geared toward women. Breathing, body image and yoga have shown up in the first couple of days. So far it’s been interesting. I haven’t yet decided if I’ll sign on for the full course. I’ll make that decision once the free trial ends.

Coursera. I’ve taken several courses on this site in the past. While I’m mainly interested in psychology, I have taken other courses in writing, philosophy, anthropology and sociology. Right now I’m taking a course from Yale called The Science of Well Being. I did the preliminary survey and discovered that I’m not as happy as I thought I was. Interesting. Once the course ends I get to do the survey again and then compare the results with the preliminary one.

So this is what I’m doing at the moment in my quest for learning. I highly recommend taking courses online. As a bonus, when you audit there are no tuition fees and there is no exam stress. Instead it’s possible to learn at your leisure. And at this stage of my life, this is a great way to keep on learning from the comfort of my home.