Que no! No són bojos!

“What languages do you speak?”

“English, Spanish/Castillian, and Catalan.”

The next question is either “What’s Catalan?” or “Why/how did you learn Catalan?” (neither of which ever really surprise me). How I answer the first question should  be obvious at this point (it’s the language spoken in Catalonia, etc) but how I answer the second has changed a bit with time.

At the root of my interest in Catalonia is something simple: football. I’m a Barça fan and the club has literally turned my life upside down. I wouldn’t have half the friends I have now, or have gone to a quarter of the events that I have in the past four years, or have taken half the classes I did last semester, or be writing this blog post if it wasn’t for Barça. (I would have saved a lot of money because I wouldn’t have dropped hundreds on jerseys, but that’s besides the point.) I was kind of a slump when I encountered the beautiful game and in a sense, Barça gave me life.

I became determined to scheme up something to give something back to Barça, to thank it for that. The scheme I originally came up with was learning Catalan (as time went by the scheme eventually snowballed into this project). When I came to Columbia and found out that not only do they offer the language but that the professor was the biggest sweetheart on the planet/Columbia’s secret gem/literally the best person on earth, I knew it was meant for me to learn the language. Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. Not the part about Elsa but the second part.  In my head it was as if everything fell into place and so I enrolled second semester. By that point, the answer to “why did you learn Catalan” became a motley of “because I love Barça,” “because the professor is fantastic,” “because language classes are so much fun,” “because why the hell not,” and “because I wanted to.” That’s the answer that still stands today and while I was in Barcelona I sprinkled in a little of “because I wanted to visit Barcelona and get the most out of my stay.”

The past few days, I’ve been thinking about that second question a lot. I’ve also been thinking a lot about a documentary about the Catalan language that pops up on my Twitter timeline every so often. It’s called Són bojos, aquests Catalans?! It’s about this German girl who decides to learn Catalan instead of Spanish because she’s dating a Catalan guy and is moving to Catalonia. She gets there and takes a little road trip to see exactly how useful her new language skills are. She’s riding around in this van that is reminiscent of the Mystery Machine, talking to all sorts of people and going to all sorts of places. I first watched the documentary in 2013 and thought it was interesting, gave it a thumbs up. When I took my Catalan Cultures class, again with the wonderful Elsa (TAKE ONE OF HER CLASSES COLUMBIA STUDENTS TAKE ONE OF HER CLASSES), I watched it again for a homework assignment.



To give a little more context about the purpose of the film, here’s its summation as provided by the director, David Valls:

The Catalan language is spoken by about 10 million people. This makes it the ninth most spoken language in the European Union and within the 100 most widely spoken languages in the world. It is a medium size language, comparable in number of speakers with languages ​​such as Czech, Swedish, Bulgarian, and it has more speakers than Danish, Estonian, etc.. Despite these objective facts, what it happens to Catalan that it does not happen with these other languages​​? Why [is] Catalan is not in a similar situation such as other languages with a similar amount of speakers? Why [isn't] its use it isnot normalized? Why [do] we assume [its behaviors] as normal linguistic behaviors [when they] are not? Why [do] Catalan speakers often code switch to Spanish? What are the actual uses of Catalan? What difficulties are there?

As a viewer, there’s two ways to look at the film. The first: you can think of the film as illuminating the obstacles that the Catalan language still faces, as the director’s summary leads one to do. The documentary shows that Catalan isn’t used in the courts, on food or medicine labels, or in machinery user-guides. It explains that universities have different sections for classes (sections taught in Castilian and others in Catalan) and the presence of the language in radio, publishing, television and even in other regions of Spain. It’s informative and exposes truths that people like me all the way over here in America wouldn’t have known otherwise. If you look at it this way, then the film won’t (or at least shouldn’t) discourage you from learning the language. Sure it faces obstacles, but that’s okay.

The second: you can think of the film as legitimizing the lack of a need for foreigners to learn the language. Here’s an entire documentary about foreigner that takes time out of her life to learn a language, heads over the only place the language is spoken, and then realizes that she was probably better off learning Castillian because the whole Catalan thing isn’t as important as her boyfriend made seem. She lucked out because she got her story turned into a movie, but clearly, that won’t be happening to you — she covered all the bases and the world doesn’t need two movies about the same irrelevant language. Why learn a language that faces obstacles when you could stick to Castillian and survive just as well, if not better?

I didn’t realize this second way until watching the movie a second time. Please note: realizing and adopting the second way are not the same thing. I realized it but vehemently disagree with it and here’s why:

• I was already a month into my Catalan course to know that the language was 1. beautiful, 2. fun, and 3. a hidden gem (much like the Catalan professor at Columbia TAKE HER CLASSES TAKE THEM). Plus, ain’t nobody gonna convince me a month into doing something that all my efforts were pointless.
• There’s something, I dunno, just plain obvious about the importance of learning a nation’s language before you visit it. This point is mainly for all my monolingual Americans who plan on stamping up their passport without cracking open a book about the places they want to see. Don’t be the ignorant American who hops off the plane and forces everyone they encounter to speak English because you can’t communicate in any other way. That’s just plain disrespectful and inconsiderate. Additionally, as my coworker recently pointed out, If you’re one of those Americans who demands that those who come to America learn to speak English, you should realize that you have the same responsibility when you go abroad. No one is asking you to be completely fluent in the language, but make an effort to learn and use it. You don’t even have to learn it before you get there — you can learn it while you’re there. This, to me, is part of being a decent traveler and a huge part of respecting other people’s cultures. (Some of you may chime out with the “well, newsflash you Ivy League brat: some of us don’t have the money to take language classes!” To you I say, get to a library and use the Internet or borrow a book. If you have the money to travel abroad, you most likely have money to at least do that.
• When you go Barcelona and speak Catalan, new opportunities open up.It’s a conversation starter because not many foreigners speak the language. You’ll most likely be much more intriguing and you can finally become friends with the locals and see what the real city is like. Some people may open up faster and decide to take you under their wing and show you around themselves. You’ll be able to read the menu without having to bug the waiter to translate it for you. You’ll avoid ordering things that you know you won’t like or that you’re allergic to. You’ll be able to navigate the supermarket a lot faster and understand those cute signs that line the streets asking people to keep the noise level low at night. You also open up the door to a whole world of fantastic music. (There is a small chance that speaking Catalan may run you into some trouble but I’ll explain that tomorrow and it was literally a one in a million event that ended up flattering me instead of insulting me in the long run.)

My point is if you end up watching that documentary and regarding it in the second way, think the whole thing over again. Learning Catalan is a good thing. It’s a little weird, sure, but do it. It’s worth it — it’s fun, it’s different, and ultimately, it is useful.

BIANCA GUERRERO  http://biancaincatalonia.wordpress.com/2014/08/04/que-no-no-son-bojos/

See This Priest's Amazing Surprise That Stunned a Wedding and Left the Bride in Tears (VIDEO)

SonLight Music Ministry had just finished what sounded like a beautiful rendition of "Be Thou My Vision" when Father Ray Kelly again took the mic at the wedding of Chris and Leah O'Kane. But instead of closing the ceremony as planned, the priest unleashed a big surprise for the couple that's destined for the pantheon of wedding viral videos.

It's not a joke or a slip-up, but a performance of epic proportions. A backing track mysteriously begins and Father Kelly launches into a rewritten version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," customized just for the new married couple. And this priest has pipes, belting out the melody with ease and even raising the key a whole step.

By the end, the stunned bride is left in tears while members of the audience offer a standing ovation. Father Kelly's sweet and skillful gesture certainly deserved it.

AIRLINE PULLS AMAZING CHRISTMAS STUNT ON PASSENGERS.

Christmas is not about Consumerism, don't you think? If anything, 'tis mostly about poverty,  and the hope for a True life based on loving and being loved, giving and Faith. Still, an A+ for the treat this Airline Company gives its passengers... check it out!

Beyond the notes... there you find the Infinite, if you look closer.

Decent English spoken by this Maestro. Elegant expression. Accurate words. A trip towards the inspiration. Beauty, ah! Beauty. It makes us feel Eternity at the tip of our fingers.

Escribe a Tommy Torres para que le ayude a conquistar a su chica, y el músico le contestó… Alejandro Sanz Ricky Martin Ricardo Arjona Querido Tommy

Juan Francisco Jiménez Jacinto

Un fastidio o una oportunidad: todos abrimos el correo electrónico y, a veces, tenemos que hacer frente a muchas peticiones o comentarios, algunos pueden molestarnos por el esfuerzo que nos demandan y que nos querríamos ahorrar.

Ahora imaginemos los mensajes que reciben personalidades públicas: políticos, deportistas, presentadores… y cantantes. Cabe suponer que muchos, muchísimos. Pues el compositor Tommy Torres decidió convertir algo que podría suponer un fastidio en una oportunidad.

Tommy, músico y compositor, ha producido para Alejandro Sanz, Ricky Martin o Ricardo Arjona, entre otros, canciones como: ‘Quién ’, ‘Acompáñame a estar solo ’, ‘Cómo Duele ’ de Arjona o ‘Tu recuerdo ’ de Ricky Martin. Todas son suyas y le han llevado a estar muy considerado en el mundo musical.

Pero un día este cantante recibió la petición de ayuda de un fan. Paco, como se llama, pedía al músico que le ayudara a conquistar una chica que amaba. Y entre los cientos de mensajes que Tommy recibía decidió escribir una canción para ayudarle. Pero no cualquier canción, una canción muy especial.

“Dile que la amas y nada más”

Y es que el compositor puertorriqueño no hizo otra cosa que poner música al correo que Paco le había escrito y que, al no recibir respuesta, escribió un segundo mensaje mostrándole su decepción y recriminándole que le había considerado “buena gente”. El texto es el siguiente:

Entonces el compositor decidió hacer alquimia con el correo de Paco, que sin saberlo, se vio convertido en todo un poeta. Tommy solamente le puso música a sus palabras y obró la transformación. Un hecho que destaca el valor humano de este músico que como buen maestro alquímico también convirtió una recriminación, que podría haberle supuesto un fastidio, en una oportunidad de hacer el bien y de crear un éxito.

Hay historias que no deberían ser olvidadas y, aunque ya hace un año del regalo que Tommy Torres le hizo a su fan, esta es una de ellas. El resto hay que dejar que lo acabe diciendo la música:

LANGUAGE SKILLS: English Instruction A Priority - Studies show ten-percent of students in US schools are still learning to speak English. But just one-percent of teachers are qualified to instruct them.

November 19, 2013, by Courtney Johns

Mind that this is an article published in the States. You will notice that the use of the English language is poor, and that the word "math" contains an error (missing "s") and a mistake (no capital M). Thus, the form proofs the content.

http://whotv.com/2013/11/19/language-skills-english-instruction-a-priority/#ooid=c5bTNoaDrqqs8OvvasWQFgQTDaQvUsfe

Whether it’s a doctor, firefighter, or a baseball player, most kids have an idea of what they want to be when they grow up. David Aregbe didn’t. Last year, his dream was learning how to communicate with his fellow fourth graders.

But there was one subject Aregbe did get, math. It’s a subject with its own universal language.

ELL instructors like Magdalena Mujica Voy use other universal ideas like pictures to help English learners.

She says speaking a different language isn’t the challenge. Mujica Voy says, “Even though they can speak doesn’t mean when they read that they’re comprehending.”

That takes five to seven years of working with students in small groups.

Des Moines classrooms have more students learning English every year. Since 2000 the Des Moines school District ELL population has doubled.

At 43 percent, Monroe Elementary has one of the largest ELL populations in the district. Which is why Principal Cindy Wissler made it a goal to someday have all her teachers ELL certified.

Wissler says her certified instructors use more visual and vocabulary based methods. This means ELL students like Aregbe get to spend most of the day in a classroom with their peers.

Aregbe may not have mastered English yet, but his teacher says in many ways he’s ahead of the curve. Aregbe’s teacher Lynnette Wall says, “David is a hard worker. He likes to achieve. He’s very smart in math. He’s very excelled in math.”

And he’ll need those math skills since he’s now planning on becoming an engineer. Aregbe says, “You build an aircraft and like hover boards and everything.”

He’s got a lot of work ahead of him. But considering he moved to America less than 2 years ago and reads fifth grade level books during his free time, his future is looking brighter than ever.

THE PERFECT PROPOSAL - NO WORDS FOR WHAT THIS GUY DOES FOR HIS GAL!

I said no words, so, here it goes (    )