Learning a New Language… Again When I was in high school and university, I studied Spanish. During my second year, I mixed up courses and didn’t have the right credits to continue with Spanish, and didn’t need more language credits to graduate, so I stopped. One of m
It’s been a great two years Sadly, after more than two years of regular posts on the Esperanza Education Language, Learning and Culture blog it is time for me to say hasta luego! Raising a Bilingual Child Writing for Esperanza Education has given me the opportunity to explore m
“Pa’ todo mal mezcal, pa’ todo bien también” It’s Friday night and our daughter has fallen asleep at dinnertime. She’s had a really persistent flu since Monday and she’s too tired to eat. My wife and I sit down to dinner and she pours us each
Street food with a story to tell Itanoní is a restaurant in Oaxaca City’s Colonia Reforma neighbourhood (less than 30 minute walk from the zocalo) that sells street-style food using criollo (what we would call heirloom) corn. When you enter the open air eatery the first thing th
Two leaves that give Oaxacan food its unique taste Hierba Santa Hierba santa also known as hoja santa in other parts of Mexico means sacred herb or leaf and is an essential ingredient in the typical Oaxacan dish mole verde (green mole sauce). The leaf is large and heart-shaped (up to
The ‘Three Sisters’ in Oaxacan food The Three Sisters – maize (corn), beans and squash are three food crops that have been planted together all over the Americas since the advent of agriculture. These three plants work symbiotically – the corn gives the beans s
Three foods that start with the letter ‘e’ whose names come from Nahuatl I love etymology. I realize now that when I started this Oaxacan Food from A to Z project I should have written about the use of nahuatlismos – words that are commonly used today whose origin is
The final spicy instalment of the letter C/Ch I debated whether or not to do a third blog on the letter C, but I realized that I cannot talk about Oaxacan cuisine without at least mentioning one chile. Chile de Agua – A Oaxacan Chilli Pepper In the streets of Oaxaca city you wil
Traditional Oaxacan Drinks: Chocolate and Agua de Chilacayota As I mentioned in my last post about Oaxacan food, there are many traditional Oaxacan foods that begin with the letters c and ch (che), so here is part four of Oaxacan Food from A to Z where we will explore two Oaxacan drin
Chapulines and chicatanas – Oaxacan traditions It was difficult to decide which foods to include in this third instalment of Oaxacan Food from A to Z – since my initial list for the letter C included over a dozen food items. This is also complicated by the fact that the le
