Oh my goodness!  We are standing at the top of the stairs…..Luis and I.  This is near our office and right by the front door of our Condo, so to be sure the other 3 families in the building can hear us …. ooo, I hate that, blurs that line between the private and the public, ya know?  [...]

I just had to laugh and I said;  “Sí, está bien. Nos vemos entonces.”  (“Sure, that´s okay. We´ll see you then.”) And to Luis:  “Acaba de llamar ella, va a estar aquí con los tamales a las 11:00.  Me dijo que comenzó a preparar todo un poquito tarde.”  (“She just called and she will be [...]

It may not be fair to draw conclusions based on stereotypes. But what about those that are embraced and propagated by the very people to which they are prescribed?  Take this one for instance:  “Peruvians eat a lot.” The first time I heard Luis say this I thought, “What an odd thing to say.”  As you [...]

Since I began this Blog, I have received enough personal emails asking me about - eh-uhm, let me just say, more personal things related to being in a relationship with a Latino, that after the most recent, I have decided to add a Category to this Blog called …… “Pregúntale a Joan” or “Ask Joan”.  I [...]

I ask you this in all seriousness.  Are you thinking;  “I give up.  I just can’t do this.  I am never going to speak this language the way I want to.”  I ask you this to get you in touch with what is holding you back and interfering with your moving forward in your learning or [...]

There are about as many responses to this declaration as there are students.  But let´s get down to brass tacs … that is, aside from each of us having our prefered style to learn, there are some elements that really must be in place. Number 1.  Mind over matter.  Psychology plays a huge role.  If [...]