Las comidas

In Spanish II class, we have been learning how to say different foods. Not only are we learning how to say apple or juice, we are also applying our knowledge to a restaurant setting. For example, for an in-class activity we had to arrange a scrambled up conservation that would happen at a restaurant. Also, we had to write our own complaint letter to a restaurant in Spanish. Something different that we did was look at the major restaurants in big Spanish speaking cities. Some of the foods we saw looked decent, but most of the food I would try my best to avoid eating. Many restaurants served raw meat, and there was a lot of seafood (which I am not a fan of.) As you can see, we have done many activities that involve food in Spanish class recently.

Cinco de Mayo

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cinco de Mayo is a holiday celebrated in Mexico, even though a lot of Americans also celebrate it. It honors the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla in May 1862. However, they did not defeat the French army until 1867. The day of May 5th is celebrated because it was an unexpected victory. The Mexican army was untrained and not well equipped. The French army was disciplined and well-armed. However, the Mexican army was victorious despite the odds. What I find strange about Cinco de Mayo is that not all of Mexico regularly celebrates it. It is mostly celebrated in Puebla, the town where the battle took place years ago. It is also weird that Americans celebrate it, not even knowing the real reason for the holiday. Many people think it is Mexico’s Independence Day, but they were already independent before this battle took place. Cinco de Mayo is an often mistaken Mexican holiday, but many people like to celebrate it anyway.

I got a punch!

In our Spanish class, if we win a particular game or activity, Mrs. Huff will reward you with a punch. This means she punches a ticket, just like what you would get at an amusement park or Family Fun Night. Each punch card has 10 punches on it, and once you fill it up it becomes very valuable. You can either use it as 5 extra credit points or 3 extra credit points for you and 3 extra credit points for a friend. Also, you can use it as a free homework pass, a key to retake any quiz or test, or even the ability to use a post-it note on a test. Clearly, you have a lot of options. Mostly, however, I end up using a full punch card for the 3 for 3 extra credit points with a friend. This way I end up with 6 extra credit points total on an assignment. I really like this idea of a punch card, because it makes games very competitive and exciting in class. In fact, just a couple day ago, I won a punch for getting the most points in Kahoot.it (the game explained in my last post.)

Kahoot.it

Today in Spanish class, we used a cool website called Kahoot.it again. It is a website where you can have fun competing against other people to see who can answer a question the fastest. In class, we practiced with the verb “decir”, which translates to “to say.” In my class, Maty won, getting the most points. I ended up getting fourth place, because I missed one question and was not fast enough in answering. To get more points, you have to be faster in answering the questions. However, it is better to take longer and get the question right than to be really fast and get the question wrong. I hope we keep using Kahoot.it in class, because it is competitive and fun. However, nothing beats playing “The Hunger Games.” Clearly, once you understand how to use Kahoot.it, it can be a really fun game to play.  

Freak Weather in Mexico City

Normally in Mexico City, kids are having balloon fights right before Easter, not making snowmen outside. However, this year, Mexico City suffered from a hailstorm. Vehicles were even stranded on the road for a night because of it. Some people said they felt like they were in Siberia. It seems to me that they have not visited Iowa, where Denver just got hail and snow recently too. It’s weird how Mexico City can have the same weather as Iowa. Now only if we can have the same warm weather.

Source: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/mexico/140417/mexican-weather-hailstones-easter-week

Native Languages at Risk of Extinction

Of 143 native languages in Mexico, 60 are at risked of being silenced forever, according to some linguists. The languages most at risk, like the Zapotec, the Chatino, and the Seri, are undergoing rapid change. They are facing migration, social instability, and economic factors that push more people to speak Spanish. Mexico isn’t the only country at risk either. Some experts say that half of the 6,000 languages spoken today will be gone by the next century. I don’t think this will have a huge effect on the culture of the world, especially in the United States, because most of the languages only very few people know and speak. I also think it makes things simpler and more efficient when everyone speaks a common language. I know some of these languages are important to different tribes of different cultures, but especially in Mexico, and it would be sad to lose them. Overall, I think that society is moving too fast for so many of these languages to be spoken regularly.

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140410-mexico-languages-speaking-cultures-world-zapotec/

Soccer Season Begins

Soccer season has begun, and games are starting next week. We are starting to have bigger and bigger soccer teams. Soccer is becoming more popular in the United States, but it has been the major sport in Spanish speaking countries for a long time. However, they do not call it soccer, they call it “fútbol.” Every kid starts playing “fútbol” right away, and continues to play or just to enjoy watching when they are adults. You may think that America has a major fan base for American football, but Spanish speaking countries have a bigger fan base for soccer (fútbol). In Spain, there is four professional soccer leagues that play each other on Sundays, and often play other European teams during the week. The two most famous Spanish teams (from Spain) are Real Madrid and Barcelona. Clearly, the sport of soccer has impacted the culture of Spanish speaking countries in a positive and competitive way, and many fans are in love with the sport.

Una casa en San Diego, CA

La casa está en San Diego, California. La casa tiene un primer piso y un segundo piso y una tercer piso. La tercer piso es un dormitorio. La tercer piso tiene un baño y una oficina y una grande guardarropa. La tercer piso tiene una asoleadera también con una bonita vista. La cocina es blanco y negro. La estufa, el fregadero, el refrigerador, el horno, el lavaplatos, y la microonda están nuevo. La casa tiene mucho grande ventanas. La casa tiene cinco dormitorios y seis baños. La casa cuesta seis millones ochocientos cincuenta mil dólares.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

International Cheer Competition

At my international cheer competition in Orlando, my team competed against teams from Chile and Ecuador. Their uniforms looked similar to everyone else’s, and they had main colors of green, yellow, and blue.  You could tell who the team from Chile was, because they had Chile on the back of their uniforms. We got to watch them compete on the second day of competition. One of the teams had a unique dance, but otherwise you couldn’t tell they were from a different country based on their routine. Their counting was interesting, though, because instead of counting off as 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, they would only say 1,3,5, and 7 in Spanish so they wouldn’t have to say all the numbers. It was a cool experience seeing cheer teams from different countries all at the same competition.

The Hunger Games

At the end of the first semester, we played the Hunger Games during class. Since my class was small, each person represented a district, myself representing district 12. The object of the game was to end up with the most beans in your cup. Each person started with the same amount, but if you answered a question correctly, you could steal half of someone else’s beans. What made this game interesting was the capitol. After each round, the capitol would declare something that us districts would have to follow. One of them was you had to pass your cup to the left. Another one, the most liked, was the cornucopia. In the cornucopia, there were much liked prizes, like punch cards, that you would take hidden inside paper bags. Overall it was a simple game, but with high stakes.

Since I was district 12, I went last every round. At the end of the game, this was an extreme advantage, because no one could take my beans after me. I ended up winning, and receiving 10 extra credit points! Because I like the book The Hunger Games, and because I won, this is my second favorite game we have played so far. (The Guatemala Situation being my absolute favorite.)