My Top 4 Tips for Language Learning

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I recently started taking Italian classes: Elementare Uno. So far I am thoroughly enjoying myself – I’d forgotten how wonderful it feels, after fumbling with words and tentatively mumbling a new verb conjugation, to be able to finally put a sentence together!

Being a language student has reinvigorated my understanding of the general student experience. It also reminds me of what us language teachers sometimes forget to talk about in class. So, here are my top four suggestions for students learning a new language. Thanks to my Italian school, Istituto Italiano Scuola, for reminding me!

1. Speak. Sorry, but you just have to. Eventually it just has to happen. This brings me to my next point….

2. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. I know everyone says this. But it’s easier said than done. The best thing to do? Put yourself in your conversation partner’s shoes. If someone was trying to practice your native language, you would probably be excited to support and help them. You wouldn’t mind if they made a few – or even a lot of – mistakes. You’d probably feel honored that they are looking to you for support and help.

3. Grammar is important. But it doesn’t have to be perfect all the time. As a language teacher, I can be a stickler for grammar. But really, you don’t need exquisitely polished grammar to make friends, get around, and do what you need to do. The grammar will come in time.

4. “Keep your eye on the prize.” My dad has often shared this phrase with me, and I think of it all the time. Keep your language learning goals in mind. Why did you choose to learn a new language in the first place? To have amazing travel experiences? To meet interesting new people? To read articles and books? To eat delicious food? To communicate with someone you love and with their family? Keeping your goal in mind will help you through the rough patches.

So, that’s it from me! What are strategies that have helped you when learning a new language?

Photo credit: yourworldhere.com

Surrealism and Remedios Varo

I’m currently reading “Remedios Varo: Unexpected Journeys” by Janet A. Kaplan, professor of art history and executive director of Art Journal. Few books have been written about Remedios Varo, and Kaplan’s work, published in 1988, is a thorough journey into the artist’s life and gorgeous, captivating artwork.

Creation of the Birds, 1957
Creation of the Birds, 1957

I first learned of Remedios Varo as an undergraduate in one of my Latin American art history courses. I promptly fell in love with the exquisite detail and storytelling element of her paintings. For a long time, Varo as a person remained a mystery to me…she was not discussed much in the course I took and I couldn’t find much of anything online or in the library about her. I even proposed writing my Honor’s thesis about Varo and fellow surrealist Leonora Carrington, and I was met with disinterest by anyone who could have been my thesis advisor! (Ah, the days before assertiveness.)

Born in Spain in 1908, Remedios Varo spent her childhood moving about the country with her family, as her father was an engineer and took on various projects in different regions. After fleeing the Spanish Civil War, she settled in Paris. There, she fully embraced the new Surrealism movement and experimented with dreamlike collages, drawings, and paintings – all while holding down a number of random jobs to stay afloat. With the onset of WWIII, she became one of many European refugees to be accepted into Mexico, where she lived the rest of her days, never to return to her mother country of Spain due to the Franco regime. It is in Mexico that her work truly blossomed and she gained most of her recognition. By this time she had also married, separated, and had a number of love affairs – something very different and daring at the time.

Celestial Pablum, 1958
Celestial Pablum, 1958

I love two things the most about Varo’s work. First, she uses mathematical precision in her layouts and techniques. It is mind-boggling the amount of time and energy spent on each painting. Second, her stories are fantastical, wonderful, and imaginative. She imagines a completely different world and places the human being amidst it.  I dream of seeing her work in person, and until that day I can flip through the pages of Kaplan’s work to become immersed in the details and stories of Varo’s work.

Photo credits: venetianrednet, remediosvaro-simones.synthasite.com, pirringuinis.blogspot.com.

Ode to Perfumería Gal

perfumeria-gal-madrid-1Okay, time for a confession.

I’m addicted to chapstick. Lip gloss, vaseline, lip smoother – call it what you will, I am addicted. It’s been this way since I was a young girl and my mom, for example during a windy day on the ski slopes, would whip out her Chapstick brand lip gloss and encourage me to use it, too. It’s been downhill from there (no pun intended)…sometimes I feel like the girl in this funny video. Except you really don’t want to be around me if the chapstick goes missing.

So imagine my elation when I stopped by one of my local boutiques and saw that they are carrying my favorite lip treat of all time: Lip gloss from Perfumería Gal, Madrid. Just a glance at the small round tin filled with “vaselina perfumada” brings me back to living in Spain. I invariably had a different flavor of Gal lip gloss in every purse at the time. Today I bought the Violet scented gloss, which is my favorite.

Here are two historical pictures of Perfumería Gal I found:

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Perfumería Gal began in 1870, and in the early 1900s owner Salvador Echeandía Gal introduced his perfumed lip balm. The company has been a mainstay of Spanish beauty products for generations. Many of their products feature beautiful Art Nouveau packaging. To see more historical photos of the Gal factories and employees, visit the blog Urban Idades.

Photos courtesy of Le rose aux joues and Urban Idades.

Currently Reading: La tregua

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Well, it’s been awhile since my last post! Part of my time lately has been spent finishing books in my “to read” pile, and this one – “La tregua” by Uruguayan writer Mario Benedetti was up next. I am about halfway through and thoroughly enjoying it. A brief synopsis (don’t worry, no spoilers!):

“La tregua” is written in journal style, from the point of view of Martín Santomé. A widower on the brink of retirement, Martín has decided to keep a written account of his everyday experiences. He is unsure what his future holds; while he appears at ease in his office environment, he sees the ridiculousness in the nine-to-five. Although he lives with his children and at first appears close to them, we learn of the emotional distance and frustration he feels with his two sons. He has a sense of unease and feels jaded with life. Enter Laura Avellaneda, a new employee at his work. This individual will change his outlook and we follow Martín’s emotional ride as he moves from a fairly predictable existence to one full of questions and self-reflection.

I just found out that there are two movie adaptations of the novel. One was released in 1974 and was the first Argentine film to be nominated for an Academy Award. The second movie came out in 2003. I look forward to seeing how these two films live up to the writing.

Photo courtesy of the “Biblioblog” from Ajuntament de Vilanova i la Geltrú, Spain: http://www.vilanova.cat/blog/joanoliva/?p=642

New and Noteworthy Films

Tonight I’m off to celebrate Opening Night of the San Francisco International Film Festival.  I’m super excited to start the evening off with the a screening of What Maisie Knew.  There are, as usual, some intriguing films from Spain and Latin America that I want to check out in the coming weeks:

Mexico: After Lucia (Después de Lucía) is about a man and his teenage daughter who move to Mexico City after the death of his wife. When the daughter faces bullying, their relationship is tested.

Spain: The Artist and the Model (El artista y la modelo) is about a Spanish artist and his muse.

Colombia: La Sirga (The Tow-line) takes place in the high Andes, where a girl must leave her home due to a fire. She tries to establish roots alongside other shelter-seekers in a hostal at the edge of a mist-shrouded lagoon.

Happy movie watching, and if you have any movie suggestions please let me know!

Gorgeous…

…is the first word that came to mind when I opened a package that arrived from Ecuador yesterday. I found out that women from the Kichwa community of Sani Isla were making this beautiful jewelry to help support their families and their community, and decided to reach out in the hopes of purchasing some of their work. I’m sure glad I did.

Read this story about my time in Sani Isla and what is happening in Ecuador’s Amazon region to learn more. If you would like to purchase jewelry or other crafts such as purses, please contact me.

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All photos: Copyright Alison Trujillo.