Un poema original: Talking to you / Hablar contigo

Talking to you

Steady the breath, flex the knees, focus the mind,

Stretch out a hand.

Here it comes, whistling through the air:

An apple, perhaps a grenade.

Judge the arc, feel the weight, adjust the shape,

Clasp, release, clasp again.

A bowling pin, a chainsaw, mid trajectory,

Spin and slap into the hand.

Meet the weight, equal and opposite, redirect the missile,

Keep your feet.

It's just a juggler’s dance for your consideration.

Hablar contigo

Respira, flexiona las rodillas, enfoca la mente,

Extiende la mano.

Viene silbando por el aire:

Una manzana, tal vez una granada.

Estima el arco, percibe el peso, ajusta la forma,

Agarra, suelta, y vuelve a agarrar.

Un boliche, una motosierra a media trayectoria,

Gira y da contra la mano.

Encuentra al peso, igual y opuesto, redirige el misil,

Mantente a pie.

Es solo un baile de malabarista para tu consideración.

Reseña de Un Noruego en el Camino de Santiago por Jason/ Review of On the Camino by Jason

Hace varios años que sueño con algún día vestirme en peregrino y caminar desde San Jean Pied de Port en Francia hasta Santiago de Compostela en Galicia.

De hecho, los últimos días me he encontrado en la terraza de la casa en Tennessee, disfrutando de las vacaciones de verano  miles de kilómetros del camino como lector, mientras leía guias del camino y seguia los tramos diarios recomendados  sin ampollas, y con agua y servicios al alcance de la mano. A pesar de las comodidades de estar en casa, tengo unas ganas que han estado creciendo como una ola con cada año que pasa por hacer camino.

Para calmar un poco las ganas de hacer camino, hoy fui a la biblioteca de la universidad local UTC y encontré un libro gráfico On the Camino (en inglés), o en edición castellano, un Noruego en el Camino de Santiago por el artista, Jason, en que cuenta su experiencia en el Camino de Santiago para conmemorar el cumplimienyo de sus 50 años.


En la historia, nos comunica como vivió las experiencias típicas de un peregrino. Explica no solo las ampollas y descomodidades, sino también en incertidumbre en tratarse con desconocidos, la lucha por comunicarse en otra lengua, las rutinas cotidianas (como de lavar y colgar los calcetines al llegar al albergue), y aprender de y sobre si mismo tanto como de las personas a su alrededor que caminan por motivos distintos.


Jason nos presenta con una ventana a sus experiencias, y viene con unos consejos sútiles para futuros peregrinos a través de los dibujos y pensamientos del autor. Por ejemplo, después de cinco días en el camino y solo habiendo conocido a unos pocos compañeros, decide que tal vez sea mejor escoger a albergues más pequeñas que ofrezcan una comida comunitaria. Poco a poco, deja al lado su reticencia, que le permite desarrollar más amistades.

Sol, lluvia, un par de arcoirises...todo es parte del camino. Y la pregunta más preguntada por todos los peregrinos: "Por qué haces el camino?


Hay muchas respuestas, pero la más importante es tuya...BUEN CAMINO!

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It's been several years in which I've dreamed of one day putting on the pilgrim's garb and walking from San Jean Pied de Port in France all the way to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia.

In fact, this summer, lately I have found myself on the porch of my home in Tennessee, enjoying my summer vacation thousands of kilometers from the Way of Saint James as a reader, while reading guidebooks and following the recommended daily segments without blisters and with water and restrooms close at hand. In spite of the comforts of being at home, I have a desire that has been growing like a wave with each passing year.

In order to calm a bit this desire to hit the road, today I visited the library of our local university, UTC, and found a graphic novel called On the Camino by the Norwegian cartoonist Jason, which he walked to commemorate his 50th birthday.


In the story, he communicates to us how he lived through the typical experiences of the Way of Saint James. He delineates not only the blisters and the discomforts but also the uncertainty of approaching and talking to strangers, the struggle to communicate in another language, the daily routines (such as washing and hanging one's socks upon arriving at the hostel), and to learn from and about himself as much as from the people that surround him that walk for various reasons.


Jason presents us with a window into his experiences and the thoughts of the author come through the drawings, presenting some subtle pieces of advice for future pilgrims. For example, after walking five days without meeting many fellow companions, he decides that it may be better to stay in smaller hostels with shared meals.  Little by little, he leaves aside his reticence, allowing him to develop more friendships.

Sun, rain, walking, and a rainbow or two-- it's all part of the way. And the question that everyone asks on the road, "Why do you walk the Camino?"


There are many answers, but the most important one is yours...BUEN CAMINO!

A new language, a nw life / Una lengua nueva, una vida nueva

Human beings never cease to fascinate me, and the languages they speak equally so. That's probably the most important reason that I became a World Language teacher: to share that joy and fascination with other people. 

The beauty of cultures and languages and points of view, in all their variability, have always been compelling to me, and I love to learn as much as to teach. From a young age, I have sought connections with people who may, at first, have seemed quite different. Far from fading with time, this glowing seam has remained constant throughout my life, and perhaps even grown as I experience more deeply the vast sameness within the diferences that is essential to who we are as human beings. A famous Czech proverb says that if you know only one language, you live only once, but that you live a new life for every language you speak, and I’d like to live as much (as well, as deeply) as possible.

As a young person, traveling and studying languages seemed inevitable. In my 20s, I lived a year in India, six months in Sri Lanka, and then two years in Puerto Rico. In between, I dedicated my time to teaching English as a second language in Southern California. When I married and my daughter was born, I sought stability in a pretty unexpected place: Chattanooga, Tennessee. And though we remain settled for most of the year, my family and I have tried to take advantage of every break to travel and stay connectected to the world beyond.

Now, I find myself in my fourteenth year of teaching Spanish Language and Culture at Baylor school, and my third as Chair of the Department of World Languages. Through this work, I have had the opportunity to share with my students the experience of learning another language and culture. Every time a student decides to push beyond her comfort zone to really explore the world on her own, I feel a sense of satisfaction and joy in my work. My hope for each student is that she be inspired to dive deeply into the language and culture and to make biculturality a central part of her life. 

I, myself, have not stopped traveling or learning. A decade ago, I decided that I wanted to improve as a professional. I went to Salamanca, Spain with the support of the school to study an MA in Spanish Language and Culture over the course of two summers. Through this experience, I got a chance to be a student myself for the first time in a long time. I was hooked again.

Since then, I have taken every opportunity to travel on my own and with students. I completed graduate work at the University of Granada as well as the University of Cádiz. I have led student trips to Spain three times as well as to Costa Rica three times, to Guatemala twice, and once to Perú. This November, however, I will be traveling out of my own comfort zone in an unexpected direction: to France.

I decided to enroll in an adult French language course at the Chattanooga School of Language and to encourage my peers to do the same as well. I chose CSL because it is such a unique and special place. Claire Vassort, my French teacher, is a native speaker who really understands the language and culture deeply and does far more than grammar exercises--she really helps us to learn the most relevant material for our use as adult language learners. The other day, for example, we acted out a restaurant scene, where one of us played the part of the employee and the other the customer in a typical French café. This is exactly the kind of language that I hope to be able to put to use in the real world in November!

My colleagues are really enjoying their experiences as well learning a new language, and our department picked up the costs of the program because we see so much value in the experience of becoming language learners once again ourselves. We now have a Chinese teacher learning Korean, a German teacher learning Spanish, and another Spanish teacher learning French. To put ourselves in the position of language learners (rather than in the role of "experts" that we are more accustomed to) has been a powerful professional development opportunity, in addition to stimulating the intrinsically motivated language learning that lives within all of us. I couldn’t be happier. After all, une nouvelle langue est une nouvelle vie.