Mexico Over the Wall

Today’s guest is Robert Harrington. Robert moved to Mexico from the UK over twelve years ago and lives in Puebla.

We discuss his career as a football coach, what it's like joining a Mexican family and why Mexican soccer is the way it is.

Don’t forget to give us a review on Apple Podcasts, which you can do via mexicooverthewall.com/apple or leave us a review via your favourite podcast provider.

You can also support us with hard cash by sponsoring us on Patreon. One of the benefits of sponsorship is that you can get extended versions of these interviews. Go to patreon.com/mexicooverthewall for more details.

Today's guest is Karen Allen. Karen moved to Mexico from the UK nearly twenty-four years ago and lives here in Mexico City.

We discuss her career in education, the benefits of living in Mexico and how she ended up becoming a Mexican citizen almost by accident.

Don't forget to give us a review on Apple Podcasts, which you can do via mexicooverthewall.com/apple or leave us a review via your favourite podcast provider.

You can also support us with hard cash by sponsoring us on Patreon. One of the benefits of sponsorship is that you can get extended versions of these interviews. Go to patreon.com/mexicooverthewall for more details.

The podcast has a new format for this series! I'll be interviewing people living all over Mexico to hear their experiences.

Today's guest is Tracie Parkin, who moved to Saltillo from the UK eleven years ago.

We discuss what it was like coming to Mexico, how her family handled the change to a different education system and what she likes about living here.

We also now have a Patreon page, where you can sign up to support the podcast and get some exclusive content. The address is patreon.com/mexicooverthewall.

The podcast is coming back in a new format. We'll be interviewing people who live all over the country to find out what they think about living in Mexico! Stay tuned for new episodes soon.

Do you know what it means when someone puts cream on their tacos in Spanish? Hopefully, this episode will make that phrase and nine other ones clear to you as we look at ten Mexican proverbs and idioms.

1. Echar la casa por la ventana.

Literally: To throw the house out through the window. Idiomatically: To splash out on a party.

2. Árbol que nace torcido, jamás su rama endereza.

Literally: A tree born twisted will never straighten its branches. Idiomatically: A leopard can't change its spots.

3. Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente.

Literally: A sleeping prawn will be carried away by the current. Idiomatically: You snooze, you lose.

4. Colgar los tenis.

Literally: To hang up your trainers. Idiomatically: To kick the bucket.

5. Cuando el río suena, agua lleva.

Literally: When you can hear the river, there's water in it. Idiomatically: There's no smoke without fire.

6. Echarle crema a tus tacos.

Literally: To put cream on your tacos. Idiomatically: To blow your own trumpet.

7. Hablar sin pelos en la lengua.

Literally: To talk without hairs on your tongue. Idiomatically: To speak frankly.

8. La gota que derramó el vaso.

Literally: The drop that made the glass overflow. Idiomatically: The straw that broke the camel's back.

9. El mundo es un pañuelo.

Literally: The world is a handkerchief. Idiomatically: It's a small world.

10. La misma gata, pero revolcada.

Literally: The same cat rolled around. Idiomatically: Same song, different tune.

Recommendations

* [easyazon_link identifier="B00MSACR1A" locale="US" tag="mexicooverthe-20"]The Sevens Seas Dictionary of Proverbs and Idioms[/easyazon_link] by yours truly. A dictionary I put together a couple of years ago on about a hundred of these tricky little phrases.

* Las vueltas del Citrillo - a film directed by Felipe Cazals and set at the beginning of the twentieth century in Mexico City. The dialogue uses expressions typical of the period and lots of proverbs.

Ask questions or share your feedback

* Comment on the show notes

* Email [email protected] (audio files welcome)

Please connect with me

* Subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or Stitcher.

* Join the Facebook Page.

* Follow @MexicoOverWall on Twitter.

Disclosure

This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive commissions or bonuses from your actions on such links.

Do you know what it means when someone puts cream on their tacos in Spanish? Hopefully, this episode will make that phrase and nine other ones clear to you as we look at ten Mexican proverbs and idioms.

1. Echar la casa por la ventana.

Literally: To throw the house out through the window. Idiomatically: To splash out on a party.

2. Árbol que nace torcido, jamás su rama endereza.

Literally: A tree born twisted will never straighten its branches. Idiomatically: A leopard can’t change its spots.

3. Camarón que se duerme, se lo lleva la corriente.

Literally: A sleeping prawn will be carried away by the current. Idiomatically: You snooze, you lose.

4. Colgar los tenis.

Literally: To hang up your trainers. Idiomatically: To kick the bucket.

5. Cuando el río suena, agua lleva.

Literally: When you can hear the river, there’s water in it. Idiomatically: There’s no smoke without fire.

6. Echarle crema a tus tacos.

Literally: To put cream on your tacos. Idiomatically: To blow your own trumpet.

7. Hablar sin pelos en la lengua.

Literally: To talk without hairs on your tongue. Idiomatically: To speak frankly.

8. La gota que derramó el vaso.

Literally: The drop that made the glass overflow. Idiomatically: The straw that broke the camel’s back.

9. El mundo es un pañuelo.

Literally: The world is a handkerchief. Idiomatically: It’s a small world.

10. La misma gata, pero revolcada.

Literally: The same cat rolled around. Idiomatically: Same song, different tune.

Recommendations

* by yours truly. A dictionary I put together a couple of years ago on about a hundred of these tricky little phrases.

* Las vueltas del Citrillo – a film directed by Felipe Cazals and set at the beginning of the twentieth century in Mexico City. The dialogue uses expressions typical of the period and lots of proverbs.

Ask questions or share your feedback

* Comment on the show notes

* Email [email protected] (audio files welcome)

Please connect with me

* Subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or Stitcher.

* Join the Facebook Page.

* Follow @MexicoOverWall on Twitter.

Disclosure

This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive commissions or bonuses from your actions on such links.

This episode is all about words you might come across in Mexico that have no translations into English. The language spoken in Mexico is Spanish, NOT Mexican. As a translator, it’s my job to find a way around these linguistic obstacles, but language is often so tightly connected to culture that you often end up having to explain the culture in order to translate the word.

The idea for this episode came from a couple of sources. One was a conversation I had with my business partner, Ian Gardner, who one day asked me out of the blue if there were any ideas from Spanish I couldn't express in English. I think the two I suggested were “tocayo” and “estrenar”. The other source was a video from BuzzFeed on typical Mexican complaints, of which “patatús” is a good example.

1. Tocayo/Tocaya

Someone who happens to have the same name as you. Tocaitl in Nahuatl, meaning "the other me".

2. Estrenar

Common to any Spanish-speaking country. Can mean “to debut” or “to premiere”, but is most often used to talk about using or wearing something new for the first time.

3. Concuño/Concuña

The brother or sister of one’s brother-in-law or sister-in-law or the spouse of one’s brother-in-law or sister-in-law. To describe men: a wife’s brother-in-law or a sister-in-law’s husband. To describe women: a brother-in-law’s wife or a husband’s sister-in-law.

4. Patatús

To either have a fit or to faint from shock.

5. Amparo

Petition for constitutional relief against legislative and executive acts or court decisions.

6. Chilango/Chilanga

Someone from Mexico City. Xilaan in Maya, meaning someone with tousled hair and used to describe someone from the interior.

7. Achicopalado/Achicopalada

To be under the weather or down in the dumps.

Recommendations

* [easyazon_link identifier="B0046X9FGM" locale="US" tag="mexicooverthe-20"]Chilanga Banda[/easyazon_link] - a song from Café Tacuba filled with words used by Chilangos.

* [easyazon_link identifier="9700759571" locale="US" tag="mexicooverthe-20"]Diccionario de Mejicanismos[/easyazon_link] - for those hardcore fans of Mexican words, this amazing dictionary by Francisco J. Santamaria gives you their translations into Castilian Spanish.

* [easyazon_link identifier="B01MDTS4VZ" locale="US" tag="mexicooverthe-20"]Arrival[/easyazon_link] - a film about how language can change who we are. It’s based on a tale by Ted Chiang called “Story of Your Life”, which is available in his short story collection, [easyazon_link identifier="1101972122" locale="US" tag="mexicooverthe-20"]“Stories of Your Life and Others”[/easyazon_link].

Ask questions or share your feedback

* Comment on the show notes

* Email [email protected] (audio files welcome)

Please connect with me

* Subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or Stitcher.

* Join the Facebook Page.

* Follow @MexicoOverWall on Twitter.

Disclosure

This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive commissions or bonuses from your actions on such links.

This episode is all about words you might come across in Mexico that have no translations into English. The language spoken in Mexico is Spanish, NOT Mexican. As a translator, it’s my job to find a way around these linguistic obstacles, but language is often so tightly connected to culture that you often end up having to explain the culture in order to translate the word.

The idea for this episode came from a couple of sources. One was a conversation I had with my business partner, Ian Gardner, who one day asked me out of the blue if there were any ideas from Spanish I couldn’t express in English. I think the two I suggested were “tocayo” and “estrenar”. The other source was a video from BuzzFeed on typical Mexican complaints, of which “patatús” is a good example.

1. Tocayo/Tocaya

Someone who happens to have the same name as you. Tocaitl in Nahuatl, meaning “the other me”.

2. Estrenar

Common to any Spanish-speaking country. Can mean “to debut” or “to premiere”, but is most often used to talk about using or wearing something new for the first time.

3. Concuño/Concuña

The brother or sister of one’s brother-in-law or sister-in-law or the spouse of one’s brother-in-law or sister-in-law. To describe men: a wife’s brother-in-law or a sister-in-law’s husband. To describe women: a brother-in-law’s wife or a husband’s sister-in-law.

4. Patatús

To either have a fit or to faint from shock.

5. Amparo

Petition for constitutional relief against legislative and executive acts or court decisions.

6. Chilango/Chilanga

Someone from Mexico City. Xilaan in Maya, meaning someone with tousled hair and used to describe someone from the interior.

7. Achicopalado/Achicopalada

To be under the weather or down in the dumps.

Recommendations

* – a song from Café Tacuba filled with words used by Chilangos.

* – for those hardcore fans of Mexican words, this amazing dictionary by Francisco J. Santamaria gives you their translations into Castilian Spanish.

* – a film about how language can change who we are. It’s based on a tale by Ted Chiang called “Story of Your Life”, which is available in his short story collection, .

Ask questions or share your feedback

* Comment on the show notes

* Email [email protected] (audio files welcome)

Please connect with me

* Subscribe, rate, and review on iTunes or Stitcher.

* Join the Facebook Page.

* Follow @MexicoOverWall on Twitter.

Disclosure

This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship. I may receive commissions or bonuses from your actions on such links.

This episode is all about the Great Wall of Trump.

Length

Cost

How will he charge Mexico?

Negative impacts

Effectiveness

Links and show notes at http://MexicoOvertheWall.com/3

FEEDBACK


Email [email protected]

MAILING ADDRESS

División del Norte 2756 Planta Alta

Colonia Parque San Andrés

Ciudad de México C.P. 04040

MEXICO

This episode is all about the Great Wall of Trump.

Length

Cost

How will he charge Mexico?

Negative impacts

Effectiveness

Links and show notes at http://MexicoOvertheWall.com/3

FEEDBACK


Email [email protected]

MAILING ADDRESS

División del Norte 2756 Planta Alta

Colonia Parque San Andrés

Ciudad de México C.P. 04040

MEXICO