Just Another Language Lesson
Humor's a universal language. I couldn't tell you where, why or how I learned "keçi gibi kokuyorum" - I smell like a goat - but it came in handy venturing along the North Anatolian Fault of Turkey in June 2017.
Humor breaks down awkward language barriers. Bring some along- people will love it!
Geologic provinces of Turkey (1).
That's about all I learned during my month there. (Along with "I study geology, tomatoes, goats, bread, cheese, rocks, north east south west, we have only five minutes left, let's get out of here!, we need to get back to field camp before we are caught!, and: beautiful" - learn this word in every country you travel to, by the way, because it will always come in handy when you've got nothing else to say - and, of course, "beer").
GO WILD on google translate (and download your language translation dictionaries offline whenever you travel).
Write your grocery lists in Spanish. I learned quickly what col rizada, aubergine, pimientos, zanahorias... are- surely you will buy tasty tomates y frambuesas en México!
Listen to songs, watch movies, watch comedy. Great social commentary lies within, and so you can understand their ways of thought, what's on their mind, what resonates with them.
The point isn't to catch every word. Just catch a glimpse of verbage, the flow of their language, the feel for their way.
Los Tucanes de Tijuana - La Chona https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1Y1mtu05iA
La Mission Colombiana - La Medallita https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8xczuEkgGE
Chalino Sanchez - Nieves de Enero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPa9YoPZALs
Sublime - Caress Me Down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8domDOhh0A0
I'm a big fan of this book explaining slang, colloquialisms, history of machismo, background of the word "coyote," etc:
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Mexican_Mind.html?id=bL7UJ3LLY_QC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false
Podcasts:
Getting pulled over by police in Mexico - language and behavioral insights. http://doorwaytomexico.com/episodes/pulled-over-by-police-in-mexico/
(A 'Word of Advice': palo santo and burning sage bundles might raise suspicion along hwy 1 just 200 km south of the border...)
Listen to history about Mexico's conquest: http://historyonfirepodcast.com/episodes/2017/5/25/episode-20-the-conquest-of-mexico-part-1-people-of-the-sun
Or a podcast detailing the rise of cartel violence in the country (haven't heard this one yet): https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/our-thing-an-organized-crime-podcast/e/211-los-zetas-43855125
I read and translated sentence-by-sentence this news article and learned tons o' words (and happenings around Guatemala- the culture):
https://www.notimerica.com/cultura/noticia-octubre-dia-sepulto-cambray-ii-20171001072449.html
Deslizamientos, cuerpos de socorro, tragedia, mientras, aún, lo que, desaparecido, hay, cual, pues, alrededor. Useful words right there!
Vocabulary sheets are about as boring as a dusty 2x4, let's be real here.
Think in Spanish, whenever you can. "This traffic bites!" or "I am hungry," or, "nice car." Simple sentences - integrate your language of choice into those neural pathways!
Lastly, herd some chivos when you get the chance (they bleat in Spanish too).
(But really, you can set yourself apart positively from touristy google eyed camera strutting gold watch wearing beachgoers if you invest time into the culture, if you take time to read up their history or know their popular songs. You'll win cool points, and your experiences will fractionate from those had by many - which isn't necessarily any better, just different.
P.S. for those PC - politically correct - /sensitive readers (among the thousands and thousands reading this blog), I am bashing tourist traps in the sense that... if you never leave the confines of your gringo resort town the whole time, you have not truly visited your country of choice. Some tourist spots can be ok.. I guess... but for the love of true cultural exchange, don't stay there your whole time).
References
(1) Episodic Porphyry Cu (-Mo-Au) Formation and Associated Magmatic Evolution in Turkish Tethyan collage, February 2019, https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Regional-tectonic-terrane-map-for-the-Tethyan-orogen-in-Turkey-Areas-of-geological-maps_fig1_331116656.
Humor breaks down awkward language barriers. Bring some along- people will love it!
Geologic provinces of Turkey (1).
That's about all I learned during my month there. (Along with "I study geology, tomatoes, goats, bread, cheese, rocks, north east south west, we have only five minutes left, let's get out of here!, we need to get back to field camp before we are caught!, and: beautiful" - learn this word in every country you travel to, by the way, because it will always come in handy when you've got nothing else to say - and, of course, "beer").
GO WILD on google translate (and download your language translation dictionaries offline whenever you travel).
Write your grocery lists in Spanish. I learned quickly what col rizada, aubergine, pimientos, zanahorias... are- surely you will buy tasty tomates y frambuesas en México!
Listen to songs, watch movies, watch comedy. Great social commentary lies within, and so you can understand their ways of thought, what's on their mind, what resonates with them.
The point isn't to catch every word. Just catch a glimpse of verbage, the flow of their language, the feel for their way.
Los Tucanes de Tijuana - La Chona https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1Y1mtu05iA
La Mission Colombiana - La Medallita https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8xczuEkgGE
Chalino Sanchez - Nieves de Enero https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPa9YoPZALs
Sublime - Caress Me Down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8domDOhh0A0
I'm a big fan of this book explaining slang, colloquialisms, history of machismo, background of the word "coyote," etc:
https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Mexican_Mind.html?id=bL7UJ3LLY_QC&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false
Podcasts:
Getting pulled over by police in Mexico - language and behavioral insights. http://doorwaytomexico.com/episodes/pulled-over-by-police-in-mexico/
(A 'Word of Advice': palo santo and burning sage bundles might raise suspicion along hwy 1 just 200 km south of the border...)
Listen to history about Mexico's conquest: http://historyonfirepodcast.com/episodes/2017/5/25/episode-20-the-conquest-of-mexico-part-1-people-of-the-sun
Or a podcast detailing the rise of cartel violence in the country (haven't heard this one yet): https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/our-thing-an-organized-crime-podcast/e/211-los-zetas-43855125
I read and translated sentence-by-sentence this news article and learned tons o' words (and happenings around Guatemala- the culture):
https://www.notimerica.com/cultura/noticia-octubre-dia-sepulto-cambray-ii-20171001072449.html
Deslizamientos, cuerpos de socorro, tragedia, mientras, aún, lo que, desaparecido, hay, cual, pues, alrededor. Useful words right there!
Vocabulary sheets are about as boring as a dusty 2x4, let's be real here.
Think in Spanish, whenever you can. "This traffic bites!" or "I am hungry," or, "nice car." Simple sentences - integrate your language of choice into those neural pathways!
Lastly, herd some chivos when you get the chance (they bleat in Spanish too).
(But really, you can set yourself apart positively from touristy google eyed camera strutting gold watch wearing beachgoers if you invest time into the culture, if you take time to read up their history or know their popular songs. You'll win cool points, and your experiences will fractionate from those had by many - which isn't necessarily any better, just different.
P.S. for those PC - politically correct - /sensitive readers (among the thousands and thousands reading this blog), I am bashing tourist traps in the sense that... if you never leave the confines of your gringo resort town the whole time, you have not truly visited your country of choice. Some tourist spots can be ok.. I guess... but for the love of true cultural exchange, don't stay there your whole time).
References
(1) Episodic Porphyry Cu (-Mo-Au) Formation and Associated Magmatic Evolution in Turkish Tethyan collage, February 2019, https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Regional-tectonic-terrane-map-for-the-Tethyan-orogen-in-Turkey-Areas-of-geological-maps_fig1_331116656.
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