by Eileen | Nov 16, 2014 | chile, language, meta, spanish
Do you think in English or Spanish? This is a question I am frequently asked. To be honest, I don’t know how to answer. If I’m having a conversation in Spanish, it stands to reason that I must be thinking in Spanish. If I weren’t, then I would be...
by Eileen | Sep 27, 2014 | chile, food, home, language, santiago, shopping, spanish
As you may know, I grew up in New York. And my parents were adventurous eaters. I have fond memories of walking through neighborhoods far from home where my father would hold up different food items in a store and ask simple questions. “Soak first?” or...
by Eileen | Jul 22, 2014 | chile, food, language, spanish
Me importa un comino means, literally “it is as important to me as/ I don’t give a cumin seed.” Cumin seeds, as you may well be aware, are quite small. And yes, I really did set up the light box (made out of materials purchased at Sodimac (like Home...
by Eileen | Jun 12, 2014 | chile, language, spanish, Uncategorized
Muletillas means “little crutches,” where muletas are crutches (may you never need this word, and also not cabestrillo, which is a sling, which is not related to this post, but may you never need one of those, either). So muletillas would be little...
by Eileen | May 27, 2014 | chile, language
Manejas el cachai? Whether you like it or not, your Spanish, as compared to other people’s Spanish, whether or not they are present, is a frequent topic of conversation in Chile. I have a friend that says that when people tell you you speak Spanish well, it means you...
by Eileen | Nov 13, 2013 | chile, language, spanish, Uncategorized
I was sitting at the dining room table of a friend’s beach house a few years ago in Maitencillo, when someone offered me a bite of something they were eating, holding out the fork to me. It was some kind of cake. And since I don’t like Chilean cake,...