Speaking Spanish

Being fluent in Spanish was not a requirement to apply for this program, but it would be a big benefit. Sadly I am not fluent in Spanish. However, many words are similar to French, a language I am fluent in! For example, spider = araignée (Fr.) = araña (Sp.)

No me gustan las arañas. I think that means "I DON'T LIKE SPIDERS!", but on second thought, it may mean "I DON'T LIKE TO EAT SPIDERS." Either way, I don't like them and I don't want to eat them! Give me snakes, cockroaches, June bugs, scorpions (!), or any other critter--but do not show me spiders! My brother Marcel told me they are big and hairy in CR. I responded by telling him that I will bring netting to completely cover my body, to which he replied, "Don't bring a net! You'll need a baseball bat!" Augghh.


Anyway, back to not knowing the Spanish language, except for a few simple words...when we take part in the homestay, school visits, and teacher meetings, the whole purpose is to share information about each other, ideas about teaching, etc. Since we don't know how fluent our hosts are with the English language, it was suggested to us that we bring photos to share so that some type of communication can happen. I will bring photos of my family and school. In addition, my cousin Paul Cyr from Presque Isle, an excellent photographer, has provided a ton of pictures for me to share with our hosts. The photos I selected focus on farming, snowy winters, and wildlife. (Click here to visit Paul's pictures, or go to www.northernmainephotos.com and in the gallery, select his name.)

In addition, I am bringing photos of MHS students visiting Roger Lavertu's maple sugar camp in Madawaska. Hopefully, the farming, snow, and maple sugaring will provide enough to "talk" about.

Click here to learn basic Spanish.