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Just an Update
Since converting the site onto a full-fledge photoblog, I’ve received some emails asking about what will be with all the content that had been published prior to the new launch. I don’t have any intentions on bringing it down. In fact, I’ll just let it stand for what it is and let it float randomly around the web.
My new commitment in terms of online presence will be exclusively through my photoblog and of course Twitter. I really don’t have much plans to continue updating this particular site. I’ve already seen a flow of followers from this particular Tumblr site rollover to the new one and I appreciate the following.
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Around our neighborhood, we have a few small industrial buildings and while we live on the side where we’re not completely overshadowed by them like other houses are, I still wish the view outside was a bit more pleasing.
At the moment, there’s an extensive gated lot that rent’s out space to construction trucks so needless to say that some mornings are not as peaceful as we may like. But that doesn’t mean I can’t find the bright side of situations and extract some interesting aspects of it. Photographing keeps me sane. (Photograph by Jorge Quinteros)
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[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]
Audio publishing on Tumblr is the least of my favorite content to post but I’ve made the exception for the sake of sharing a part of me that I often wonder about other bloggers who’s opinions and thoughts I admire. I’m talking about what their voice sounds like in person.
As awkward as it is listening to yourself back on audio, I thought it would be interesting in seeing if anyone continued this chain in where they would recite the following script so as to give their readers a glimpse of the real voice behind the blog.
My name is _________, I’m _____ years old. I live in _______ and this is what my voice sounds like. What about yours?
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The Presence of Spanish
It’s sometimes difficult to avoid a cultural assumption if we have no idea we are making one. For example, the assumption that a Hispanic should be fluent in Spanish for both written and spoken is an expected trait but as the rate of Hispanics who are raised in the United States rises, so does the likelihood that their skills may not be as sharp as you may assume.
Learning The Language
Growing up, Spanish was the predominant language at home largely because that’s all my parents knew and spoke at the time. The English learning portion eventually took care of itself once my brother and I attended school and although the idea of having to juggle two languages may have seemed overwhelming, in hindsight I value the experience and realize that I would not have wanted an alternate upbringing.
The added fluency in the language came more from the yearly summer vacations we took visiting my family in El Salvador. At one point, we enjoyed our stay so much that our parents arranged for us to move with them, where we eventually attended school for 5 years and had front row exposure to what has become the foundation in how we seamlessly shift between both languages when speaking or writing it.
Some Just Don’t
When I come across Hispanics that don’t speak Spanish, the answer to my question of “why” is the same one many other monolingual Hispanics will give you: “My parents didn’t teach me”.
Some can speak but can’t write it, some can speak but not effectively, some can understand it but respond with a mixture of English and Spanish or otherwise known as Spanglish. Either way, at least coming from the people that I know personally, the number of those who manage both languages very well is low.
Random Hispanics that come up to me at work intially start off the interaction speaking English and when I see that there’s a struggle on their part, I reply in Spanish and there’s nothing more gratifying than seeing the sight of relief on their face when they know that I can. These are the moments when in my mind I thank my parents for providing me with the ingredient that makes me who I am now.
The Need to Know Both
I’ve always found interest in believing that the things that come natural to us are the ones we’ve never had to put extra effort in learning. Of course that’s not the reality of things because the confidence we’ve created for ourselves for knowing something is deeply atrributed on the practice we’ve put into it.
Being bilingual and having a multicultural mentality is now more than ever a valued attribute for anyone not just because of the competitive job market or the easier communication aspect when traveling but for me personally because when you’re passionate about your ethnicity, your knowledge of the native language should be something to be waved also and not just the flag.
Of course all this is dependent upon how you’re raised and I was fortunate enough to be exposed to both worlds. My wife was raised in a predominately English speaking environment which generally tends to be the case when you’re a second-generation child, so her fluency in the language is not as fully developed but I like to think that it has improved since we’ve been together. There’s times when I just speak to her in Spanish just to get her practicing more.
We don’t have kids yet but we’ve already had the conversation in that they will gain an equal exposure to Spanish as much as they will to English.
Although there might be a few, I like to think that the reason some Hispanics don’t speak the language is not because of them being ashamed of their culture but more just a result of it and based on the multi-cultural experience I had growing up, I would never want to take away from my children a privilege that is rightfully theirs already, which is knowing Spanish.
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One of my commitments for 2010 is to regain once again the habit of keeping a weekly planner. There’s just too many dates, errands and work related stuff to remember and honestly the process of inputing it all on the iPhone is an inconvenience since I don’t carry it with me during work hours. Desktop apps don’t work either since I’m not in front of a computer all day and plus, I still prefer the feel of jotting down on paper.
What generally prevents me from using a planner is thinking that I need to first find the perfect one but sometimes the best mentality to accomplish something is to stop searching for that perfect tool and choose what will get the job done because the search takes away the focus of doing what you’re suppose to and in my case that’s taking notes.
I went with At A Glance’s Planning & Note Taking Hybrid and have been consistent with the pen and paper thus far.
