Calabicitas

I loooove calabacitas. It's Spanish for a dish with zucchinni, tomatoes and onions. Of all the things that I can eat for free at Casita (burritos, enchiladas, tacos), its this dish that always hits the spot: calabacitas, black beans and white rice. With one or two deep fried serrano chiles. That was my dinner tonight =)

Language never leaves the brain. I'm convinced. It helps that Spanish is spoken practically everywhere in So. Cal. And I did spend a few years in H.S. learning Spanish. So, my ears pick up the meanings of words all the time, but I just can't speak it. Teaching in LA Unified may just be what I need to give it a second try.

I was observing an English immersion Kindergarten class today. Though I dreaded what it would be like to watch Spanish speaking children get immersed (always makes me think of drowning or suffocation, can you tell I'm against it?) - I was comforted to hear them speak their mother tongue amongst themselves and with me too. Conoces is the mystery word of the day.

It was a trip to watch the teacher switch between English and Spanish. Instruction was in English but if she ever needed to regulate or emphatically praise someone it was an automatic exclamation mark !switch! to Spanish. You just had to be there - it was almost schizophrenic, but profoundly beautiful. Words mean more when its what you hear at home.

It's great if children can speak their mother tongue. It makes no sense to give one up for the sake of attaining another when you can have both and some more. Why choose to communicate in just one language when you can have it all? Porque no?