🧰 Your best tool to learn a new language
Plus: Kerouac, the first coffee shop, yerba mate, & Zaragoza
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Last week’s edition was about common solo travel myths. You can read it here.
For this week, I’m going to share a short story:
One day in 2009, my best friend Jack and I were exploring Prague.
We were staying at Hostel Elf. One afternoon, I decided to go on a small adventure while Jack was emailing his family back home.
I went to a nearby McDonald's to try something totally new:
I wanted to order a hamburger in Czech (the local language).
I wrote down what I thought was the correct way to ask for “no cheese” on a crumpled-up piece of paper.
The closest McDonald's was at the train station, and I inadvertently entered the restaurant at peak lunchtime.
The line was massive.
I had no idea how to pronounce the letters correctly. Suddenly it was my turn. The words didn’t roll off the tongue. Instead, I sounded like Jabba the Hut from Star Wars.
Sweat began trickling down my face.
I turned red like a tomato as I kept stuttering the same incorrect phrase over and over.
The counter employee didn’t understand me.
Finally, some random person who knew English came up and helped me order.
I ate my lunch in total relief.
A hot shower later, I realized it wasn’t that bad of an experience.
At that moment I discovered I’d never learn Czech. It wasn’t a language that appealed to me.
However, something else dawned on me:
To truly become fluent in a second language, you actually need to try speaking it.
In other words, you have to get your feet wet and be ok making mistakes.
The best tool to learn a second language is not being afraid to mess up.
In the end, no one laughed at me. Instead, a kind person helped me with compassion.
In my journey to speak Spanish, I’ve made countless mistakes:
I’ve told people I was pregnant, made lots of accidental references to my private parts, and addressed men as women.
Messing up ends up being something everyone (including you) can laugh about.
Learning a second language can be hard, but there are many tools to make the process enjoyable.
I wrote about useful language tools in a previous post. Check it out here!
🚀 Travel Quote of the Week
Nothing behind me, everything in front of me, as is ever so on the road.
- Jack Kerouac
🤲 Did You Know?
My strong coffee affliction took me on a path to research the first-ever coffee shop, Kiva Han.
Kiva Han opened in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) in 1475.
Some sources say two Armenian brothers, Garabed and Sarkis Hamparsumyan, founded the business. It would soon become a meeting ground for intellectuals, creatives, and of course Turkish coffee enthusiasts.
Although the Kiva Han brand is now all around the world, the original location was unfortunately closed. In the 17th century, the Ottoman Empire banned all coffeehouses and taverns.
At the time, any meeting place where people could criticize the government became prohibited.
🎏 Culture Corner
Coffee has been bringing people together to share and talk for centuries. In South America, there’s another popular beverage: Yerba mate.
It’s a green herbal tea native to South America. Mate is the national drink of Paraguay, Uruguay, and Argentina.
To consume mate, you’ll need a mate (circular-shaped gourd or flask), bombilla (metal straw), dried mate, and hot water. The names of each component may change depending on the country you’re in.
For example, in Paraguay, mate is called “Tereré” and is usually consumed cold or with juice.
Sharing yerba mate with others is a sign of kinship, hospitality, and community. Normally a person drinks some mate and passes it to the next person in a circle of friends or family.
“Matear” is a verb meaning to gather to talk and drink mate.
According to Statista, Brazil is the largest mate exporter in the world.
Not only can you find mate in Latin America, but also across the ocean.
Turkey, Syrian, and Lebanese immigrants returning to their home countries introduced the tea to their homelands.
🌆 Fun Things to Do in Zaragoza, Spain
There are many gem cities in Spain outside the realm of Barcelona and Madrid. Zaragoza is one of them. It’s the capital of the Aragon autonomous region (Spanish state) along the banks of the Ebro River.
I visited my friend Hassan there back in 2017. It was a fun trip but I did zero research.
If I were to go back, here are the things I’d do:
Wander el Tubo: El Tubo is one of Zaragoza’s most buzzing neighborhoods full of tapa restaurants, pubs, and cafes. It’s in the Zaragoza’s Old Town.
Its labyrinth of winding streets is prime to explore. Meli del Tubo is one of the countless tapa joints.
Try “La mar de pincho” consisting of muscle stew and sea urchins in an oyster shell.
Enjoy Mudéjar art: When the Moors of North Africa conquered most of Spain, they constructed mosques, palaces, and fortresses using a novel architectural style called mudéjar.
A UNESCO World Heritage, it blends Islamic and Christian artistic influences. The church of Santa María de Calatayud, Aljafería Palace, and the Cathedral of Zaragoza all display this style.
The Leaning Tower Memorial: For centuries, Zaragoza boasted a leaning tower that rivaled the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy. It used to be 262 feet tall and was arguably the city's most iconic landmark.
But in the 19th century, its lean became too dangerous and was demolished. Nowadays, you can find a sculpture of a small boy gazing in wonder at a massive mural depicting the tower, at the exact spot where the tower used to be.
This is at Plaza San Felipe. It seems like a nice destination to relax over a coffee.
Thanks for reading. I hope you liked this week’s post. Have a wonderful weekend!
Much love,
-Daniel
Instagram / X / YouTube / Travel Planning
P.S. Consider working with me to plan your next adventure.
I love planning trips and thoroughly do research every week, so let’s chat. Send me a message or learn more here.
I appreciate this tip on learning a new language. if you don't try you'll never get better.
I'm sure you aren't the only one who has inadvertently told someone you were pregnant in Spanish. I want to say it all the time.
I'm currently in South America trying to learn/improve my Spanish. I hate the blank stare when people can't understand me! But i guess I'm learning how much I need to work on my pronunciation.