This week we have an interview with Rachel Leake. Rachel is a jet setter with a passion for learning Spanish and immersing herself into Latin culture. She recently went on a solo trip to South America and had lots of stories to share with us. Enjoy!

Living in South Florida Rachel decided she needed to learn Spanish to enjoy the culture and people more. This is what led her to pickup Duolingo, enroll in Spanish classes and plan a trip to Peru. Since relocating to San Diego less than a year ago, she has continued her lessons at a local school focused on conversational classes.

It was great chatting with her as we’re in similar places in our learning journey and hope to join each other more in immersing ourselves in Latin culture and improving our level of speaking Spanish.

Part 3 of our journal through Oaxaca is all about Mezcal. We heard about this unforgettable mezcal educational tour of some palenques (Mezcal Distilleries) from some friends we made at the bed and breakfast. They gave us the guys info who we quickly called the following day and scheduled our tour for Sunday, the day before we were leaving.

The drive out to the palenques was over an hour and luckily Jack slept the whole way there and through most of the first stop. We learned about all the different types of agave used for Mezcal and how they grow wild on the hillsides which are farmed by the people of the town.

We learned about the process of making Mezcal and the traditions including tasting many different kinds. Some of our favorites were Tobala and Cuishe, both of which we purchased from the distillers. This was, as our traveling friends suggested, a must if you’re visiting Oaxaca. To visit the local villages and imbibe with the craftsman of an ancient spirit is worth far more than what we paid.

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In part 2 of our Journal through Oaxaca we take you on a tour through their unique botanical garden, to the ancient ruins of Monte Albán, and through the Museo de Textil. Monte Albán is a special place that reminds you how old the region of Oaxaca is. We toured this ancient center of the Zapotec people almost entirely in Spanish on a hot day with our toddler. The botanical gardens offered a peak into the Oaxacan culture and native landscape while the Museo de Textile showed just how colorful and expressive their people are.

¡Gracias por Escuchar!

Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca is part of the Templo Santo Domingo, one of the bigger churches in the center of Oaxaca. They offer tours almost every hour and when we arrived they were just about to start a Spanish tour. We figured what better way to get some practice in and learn a few things! In total the tour was about forty-five minutes and cost 50 pesos each (2.5 USD). On the tour we learned a lot about the native fruits and vegetables, what types of trees and plants are native to the area, and even got to tour a greenhouse they use to grow certain plants. We really enjoyed this tour and had a blast with some of the other people on the tour that spoke many different languages.

Monte Albán was the following day and well worth the twenty-five minute ride outside of town. Having a toddler we decided it would be easiest to take a taxi instead of the tour. We arrived fairly early however it was already heating up so we knew we had to make good time there. After arriving we found a tour guide who agreed to help us learn some Spanish and avoid using English almost entirely. He walked us all through the pyramids and even inside some. If you go to Monte Albán be prepared to hike! These are some of the oldest ruins in North America and some of the few which you can still climb to the top of.

After returning to our Bed & Breakfast for a much needed nap in the shade we wanted to go find some good food nearby. This led us to the Museo de Textile and the attached restaurant at the Centro Cultural San Pablo. This is a beautiful little space which has an open garden area in the middle of it with a cafe on one side and full restaurant on the other. This is where we first tried Chapulines (crickets)!

In addition to the garden, museum, cafe and restaurant this gem has a children’s library and play area. Jack wasn’t in the best of moods after waking up from his nap otherwise he would have loved it. If you are in the centro zone in Oaxaca and want to enjoy some good food on a terrace overlooking a garden we recommend checking this place out.

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This is Part 1 of our journal through Oaxaca. We are excited to share all about this beautiful and vibrant city in southern Mexico. We start with where you should stay, what to do, and how the food and art can’t be missed, enjoy! And look forward to Part 2 and 3 in the coming weeks.

¡Gracias por Escuchar!

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This week we have a very special guest, Aileen Passariello McAleer, a co-founder of our favorite app, Mama Lingua!

Aileen shares her story of growing up bilingual with her parents and three siblings. Originally from Miami, she spent every summer in Venezuela, where her family is from. Now with two kids or her own she shares her tips for balancing the languages in her household.

She was raised bilingual with Venezualean parents and is now raising her two kids bilingual so we recently got together to talk about the app she created. How much Spanish her kids really know and she has a bunch of great tips for anyone raising their kids bilingual. She also shares her story about creating her app and what their goals are with it. Enjoy!

www.mama-lingua.com

The app is currently available for iOS (iPhone or iPad) http://apple.co/1PTpJRf

English Commercial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUPqstPAMJU

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJFKHAPuKoDUg9RSZ_cjY-A

Lately we’ve been really focusing on helping Jack learn to speak. Like all parents we’ve read way too many articles on the internet about this which basically just confuse the issue. In this week’s episode we talk in depth about this and share our new words.

¡Gracias por Escuchar!

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! We’re excited to join you in the new year and all that it will bring. This week we reflect on the year that past and our goals for 2017. We also found this hilarious article about speaking Spanglish in the San Diego reader which had us laughing mucho! ¡Gracias por Escuchar!

A friend of ours, Cedric Dahl, recently returned from a ten month trip to Spain and some nearby countries so the day he got back we bought him some BBQ and locked him in the studio to hear his story.

Cedric has a great YouTube channel here in which he vlogged about his recent trip and is planning an upcoming series about more of his travels.

Starting off in Barcelona, Cedric made his way through the southern region of Andalucia before he had to exit the country to renew his visa. After he was able to return, he ended up going to Las Palmas which is the capital of Gran Canaria, a Spanish island off the eastern coast of Morocco.

We’re getting the hint that this is only the beginning of Cedric’s time in Spain so definitely check out his vlog below for more on his adventures.

¡Gracias por Escuchar!

It’s our favorite time of year again, tamale season! There also apparently are other holidays going on as well. This week we talk about the traditions we’re adopting from our Latin neighbors and those that we’re keeping from our own childhood.

Last year Jennie had a blast making tamales and this year is taking what she learned and is hoping to set a record. Okay, maybe not, but she’s definitely hoping to hone her skills with this Mexican tradition.

We also learned of the tradition in Mexico for Our Lady of Guadalupe where thousands of people visit the church in Mexico City where the Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego. We’re not religious so we don’t plan on adopting this but it was interesting to learn about this history of a city we love.

¡Gracias por Escuchar!

We love watching Spanish movies. It helps us expand our vocabulary and learn the different accents used throughout the world. This week we share our thoughts on the movie Embarazados as well as our experiences speaking Spanish in real life including meeting a bilingual family from Israel. ¡Gracias por Escuchar!