Summer break from seriousness… Earrings are a key part of my personal style. I love finding jewelry with unique looks and materials when I travel. My ear bob souvenirs fit well in my travel bag. They aren’t fragile as pottery or as big as a painting. Earrings from open-air markets and small shops in Spain … Continue reading Artisan Earrings
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My dad is an old-fashioned kind of guy. He was taught to remain on the street-side of the sidewalk during a stroll to protect females from any stagecoach mud. Just kidding about the stagecoach. When we walk together, he often switches to the left or to the right of me as we turn corners to … Continue reading Sidewalk Traffic
Two of my favorite travelers are in Guatemala this week. Their visit to the northernmost Spanish-speaking country in Central America reminded me of a poem I wrote on the plane home from my time in Antigua. Guatemala I flew into the unknown, to a volcanic land where an agrarian people weave cotton cloth in bright … Continue reading Guatemalan Fabric
I journeyed alone through Germany, France and Spain as a college student. A favorite part of traveling solo for me is I am not insulated from the culture I visit or from meeting new people. I open up to strangers and they to me, in the search for food, water, shelter, and direction. In each … Continue reading Oh, the People You’ll Meet
Seventh grader Lola Hernández Mendoza won the Madison city-wide Spanish spelling bee this May. Madison has a Hmong spelling contest as well, and dual language immersion programs for both. Lola is a bilingual American citizen of Puerto Rican descent. Her proud family began a successful campaign to raise the $2000 needed for Lola and her … Continue reading Winning the Bee
Señora V required us to sing the alphabet song in our high school Spanish class, and more's the marvel, we all complied. (ah, bay, say, che...) I understood there were four additional letters beyond the English 26: ch for chocolate, ll for tortilla, ñ for piñata, and rr for burrito. Well, I wasn't correct about … Continue reading A Trusted Friend
