(Several quick notes before you begin reading this blog post: unless you are from Spain and already know what I’m talking about, this post is best read with access to the internet—and perhaps headphones—so you can listen to the songs as I discuss them. Also, for most of them, you might want to minimize the …
Non-verbal communication, as we all know, is a huge part of how we interact with each other. A smiling “no” can be an invitation, while a morose “yes” should probably be considered a negative. But what about other gestures and sounds we make? I had not really paid much attention to how people communicate thoughts …
One of the things that fascinated me when I lived in Spain was the prevalent use of aphorisms. I love these mostly because they introduce me to a new way of looking at a situation, a new way of thinking, and connect me to the people who coined these phrases, many of whom lived hundreds …
Have you ever heard a person whose native language is Spanish and who is still working on their English get mixed up when pronouncing words? Maybe they say “sheep” when they mean “ship”, “beach” when referring to a female dog, or “sheet” when they mean…you get it. Well, the same goes when English speaking …
In the 1960’s, a young politician named Manuel Fraga, who would serve both during the dictatorship and later when the country became a democracy, only retiring in 2011, coined the phrase “Spain is Different.” It’s a phrase that was quoted to me over and over during the years I lived in Spain, whenever I would …
