Exploring Culture

Through the virtual textbook, Contraseña, I am able to know more about culture of Spanish Speaking countries. An example from my homework assignment is on the writers who have historically influenced literature and intellectual thought of their countries. Their influence in many cases has spread to the government and political discourse. A notable example in Latin America is the acclaimed and prolific Peruvian writer Mario Vargas Llosa, who has participated extensively in the political life of his native country, even becoming a presidential candidate in 1990. Furthermore, in Ecuadorian literature, Juan Montalvo is the author who had the most interaction with the politicians of his time. He was a strong servant of José Maria velasco Ibarra, who was the president of Ecuador on five occasions. Juan montalvo even had to leave the country for his confrontations. Another influential figure is Ana Lydia Vega and she is a writer who has exerted great influence. One of her essays was called “Pulseando con el dificil,” and it caused a stir over the proposal to teach English as a foreign language at a time when English was taught as the first language in Puerto Rico. Also, there are not only influential authors, but great thought streams in Bolivia. The most influential currents have been that of revolutionary nationalism, like Carlos Montenegro or René Zavaleta, in the decade of the 50. The indiganist stream, which has had a lot of influence in the current government, with thinkers like Fausto Reynaga, has also been very important. Finally, Gabriela MIstral, a Chilean writer, was one of the first women to hold public office. In addition to being a writer, she had a diplomatic career working in different countries of Latin America, mainly in educational culture and reform.

Engaging in Communities

In SPAN201, I was able to engage with native Spanish speakers through a website called Talk Abroad. Talk Abroad is a brilliant way to have a fifteen minute conversation with people who live in Spanish speaking countries. In my first session, I was able to talk to a girl named Yanina and she lives in Argentina. Three things that I learned about Yanina is that she is a teacher, and she teaches young children. She would teach kids that are ages five through seven. Furthermore, she says she lives in a city named Potreillo. What you can do in Potrerillo is go kayaking, hiking, and swimming. The comparison we made with Portreillo and Virginia Beach is that the climate and weather similarly change when the seasons change. For example, the weather is both hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It also snows over there where she lives like how it does here. I found that interesting because my family is from the Philippines. In the Philippines it does not get cold like it does in the States, and it does not snow over there. I assumed it would be the same with where she lives, but I was wrong. Yanina was also able to re-teach me new vocabulary, and one of the words was “lejos.” That means long. I also found it interesting how I would use the adjective “hermosa” and she would reply “Si, bonito.” which both insinuate something is pretty or beautiful. All in all, if I were to do something better to prepare for next time, I would spend more time reviewing vocabulary, and I would try to have conversations with my classmates in Spanish. It was extremely intimidating and nerve-wracking to speak to people who are fluent in Spanish, but I am glad I did it. This is a good way to practice speaking in Spanish, and it is also an effective way to connect to different Spanish speaking communities. Not all Spanish-speakers come from one place. There is a diverse group of people you can choose to speak to on Talk Abroad. It ranges from Mexico to Colombia to Venezuela to etc.