Hank's Adventure in Spanish (Now with 100% more Welsh!)

[Hank]

I'm back from my cruise to Honduras, Belize, and México. It was a lot of fun, but I'm glad to be home.

Everything in Belize, even in the port area, seemed run down and drab. There were armed guards everywhere. I'm glad I got to go, but I doubt I'll ever go again.

Honduras was beautiful. I'm not one to sit and look at scenery, but Honduras looked exactly like what I would think a tropical paradise would look like. We took a bus tour that went out of the tourist area, so I got to see a little bit of the "real" country. The thing that fascinated me the most was how many little, one room, tiendas there were all over. Most of them had bags of chips hanging on the front and a cooler for soda pop. I was hoping to get back in time to visit one but it didn't happen. There were also a lot of churches, car washes, and gas stations. We went to a beach and I got to get in the ocean. I had never been in the ocean before. I got to hold a monkey! I fed her some sugar cane. At one point she stole my ballcap and wore it. It was the highlight of an awesome trip for me.

In México we took a trip to San Miguel and watched some dancers and listened to a Mariachi band. They were both really good. If I had one complaint it was that the band played La Bomba and My Way. I would have liked to have heard more traditional Mexican music. There were margaritas and tequila samples. Believe me when I say that margaritas and tequila at 11:00 in the morning, before lunch, may not be the best idea. Lunch was included. My intention was not to eat anything due to health concerns, but since it was lunch time, I was very hungry, and I was full of tequila I went ahead and ate the whole thing. It was very good. Thankfully I didn't have any health issues.

So now the language related part. Last year when I was in México I didn't speak any Spanish. I intended to but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. This year I managed to get the guts to do it. I chatted with a few native Spanish speakers. They seemed very pleased that I was speaking their language and they were very accommodating. I didn't have any long conversations, but I managed to not make a total fool of myself. Very encouraging!

[Hank]

Español

He recuperado y estoy listo por otra aventura. Quiza otro crucero o una viaje a Gran Bretaña. El crucero fue muy divertido. Gané un trofeo por un juego de classic rock. Tomé muchos margaritas y cervezas. Como dice Chuy Lizárraga "pistear, pistear, pistear".

Visité un retaurante Mexicano en Cozumel y comí tacos. En el restaurante probé tequila gratis. ¡Mucha tequila! También tomé algunas margaritas alla. Vi bailarines haciendo bailes tradicionales. Caminé un poco en la ciudad de San Miguel.

En Honduras hice un viaje autobus. Fue muy interestante. Vi como vive la gente de Honduras. Había muchas tiendas pequeñas que se venda refrescos y papas fritas. Quería visitar unas de esas tiendas, pero no tuve tiempo. Visité una playa. Caminé en océano por la primera vez en mi vida. ¡Sostuve un mono! (Esta frase no parece correcto.) Fue muy amable. Comió un poco de cana de azucar desde mi mano.

No me gustó Belice. No lo quiero visitar otra vez. No había mucho de ver. Sentí enfermo durante el viaje desde el barco en un barco pequeño. El mar no fue tranquilo.

Por fin terminé la serie entera de Una odisea espacial. Es muy largo. El primer y segundo libros son bastante bien, pero no me gustó los otros dos libros. Ahora voy a leer El narco rescatado del infierno por Jota Cardona. Es una autobiagrafía sobre un sicario.

Vi algunos capítulos de Club de Cuervos.

I really need to practice writing/speaking in the past tense!

Cymraeg

Mae fy mraig wedi prynu llyfr Gymraeg i mi am fy mhen-blwydd. Mae hi'n llyfr ynghylch hanes Cymru.

My wife bought me a Welsh language book for my birthday. It's about Welsh history.

I'm still plugging along with Welsh. I listen to BBC Radio Cymru on the way to work. I can usually follow along well enough to understand the topic and occasionally quite a few details. I read Welsh language news every day and I'm reading the book Efa. I still struggle, but my reading stamina is definitely improving. I feel like I'm finally making good progress. After only two or two and a half years!

[Hank]

This is only going to be in English today. I'm too tired to think in another language!

Español

Still fine.

We ditched satellite tv and started using Hulu Live TV, which is about 1/3 the price we were paying for satellite. I splurged and ordered the Español package. It's awesome! Besides Telemundo there are 5 or 6 other Spanish language channels. Some of them, like Discovery en Español, are mostly just regular English language shows with Spanish overdubs. I have been watching much more Spanish language tv. It's great having a number of channels to choose from. My old satellite provider used to have Univision but they had a dispute and the channel they replaced it with was pretty horrible. There's a reality show on Telemundo called Exatlón Estados Unidos, which is kind of like Reto 4 Elementos which I watched the entire first season of, that I have been watching almost every night that I'm at home.

I'm still watching Club de Cuervos and enjoying it a great deal. I'm not a big fan of serials, but this one is really good. I'd suggest it to anyone, assuming that you can get, and or, handle English subtitles. It started out as mostly comedy with some drama thrown in, but lately it has been mostly drama with some comedy thrown in. The comedy is sneaky. There will be a real serious scene going on and suddenly there will be a short bit of comedy. It really catches me offguard and that makes it even better.

I'm still reading El narco rescatado del infierno. It's terrible and it doesn't appear that it's going to get any better. I was going to give up on it but: 1) It's a birthday present from my wife and I kind of feel obligated to finish it. 2) I only have about 100 pages to go. I guess I'm going to soldier on with it. I ordered a book about Pablo Escobar that was written by his son.

Cymraeg

My love/hate relationship with Welsh continues. I'm glad I didn't decide to try and learn Welsh as my L2 because I'm pretty sure I would have quit by now.

I'm almost to the point that I can read my book extensively. Almost. I miss a lot of details when I try and there are still a couple of sentences on every page that I have to look up because they're totally incomprehensible. Thankfully I don't mind reading intensively. I can also almost read news articles extensively, as long as they don't deal with politics. For some reason the vocabulary in the stories about the government is still difficult for me.

I listen to BBC Radio Cymru on the way to work. My listening comprehension is definitely improving.

Travel

The other day, out of the blue, my wife told me that she got some vacation time in January 2020. She's the kind of person that won't come right out and say what she wants so I have to figure it out. This time it was that she got vacation time in January because she wants to go on another cruise. So in January 2020 we have ordered a cruise to Dominican Republic, Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas. Am I ever going to make it back to Wales?

[Hank]

Dw i'n mynd i weld y band The Rainmakers heno. R'on i'n weld nhw bedair blynedd yn ôl a tri deg blynedd yn ôl hefyd. Maen nhw'n y fand o Kansas City. Pan dw i wedi iau roedden nhw poblogaidd iawn yn fy ardal i. Roedden nhw wedi cân boblogaidd yn yr 80s bod wedi'i enwi Let My People Go. Mae fy ngwraig i yn mynd gyda mi. Mae hi ddim yn eisiau mynd ond dw i'n mynd i yfed lot o cwrw. Dw i'n angen rhywun i yrru adre!

I'm going to see the band The Raimakers tonight. I saw them four years ago and also thirty years ago. They are a band from Kansas City. When I was younger they were very popular in my area. They had a hit song in the '80s called Let My People Go. My wife is going with me. She doesn't want to go but I'm going to drink a lot of beer. I need someone to drive me home!

[M23]

I'm still watching Club de Cuervos and enjoying it a great deal. I'm not a big fan of serials, but this one is really good. I'd suggest it to anyone, assuming that you can get, and or, handle English subtitles. It started out as mostly comedy with some drama thrown in, but lately it has been mostly drama with some comedy thrown in. The comedy is sneaky. There will be a real serious scene going on and suddenly there will be a short bit of comedy. It really catches me offguard and that makes it even better.

That one was a little slow in the beginning for me, but I have been really enjoying the later seasons when some of the side characters get a bit more screen time. Potro's storyline with the arranged marriage to stay in the country was delightful. Have you seen any of the spin-offs yet?

[Hank]

That one was a little slow in the beginning for me, but I have been really enjoying the later seasons when some of the side characters get a bit more screen time. Potro's storyline with the arranged marriage to stay in the country was delightful. Have you seen any of the spin-offs yet?

I don't watch on any kind of schedule, only when I feel like it, so I'm about halfway through the third season now. The Cuervos Negros Salvajes de Nuevo Toledo en Puebla just played their first game. I liked the first season best because I felt like it was more comedy oriented but I'm still enjoying the show a great deal. I have become invested in the characters and I'm really interested in seeing how they recover from the "train wreck" that they're going through right now. Chava has always been Chava. I was surprised that Isabel became such a jerk. I'm really curious about Mary Luz and I'm hoping that there's more about her and her history.

I haven't seen any of the spin-offs yet. I kind of collect Pop! dolls and I found the Chava and Hugo Sánchez dolls. I really want to get a Cuervos jersey or t-shirt.

The Rainmakers

¡Fue un show incredíble! Los chicos en la banda están envejeciendo. No sé si voy a tener otra oportunidad de verlos otra vez. Ví algunos viejos amigos que no he visto hace muchos años. ¡Tomé una foto con el cantante! Por supuesto tomé muchas cervezas. Me duele la cabeza un poco esta mañana.

[Hank]

Dw i wedi penderfynu bod rhaid i mi ymlacio. Mae dysgu Gymraeg yn anodd iawn a dan straen i mi. Mae gen i amser. Dim rhaid i mi rhuthro. Dw i'n gallu darllen ychydig a dw i'n gwella. Dw i'n gallu ysgriffenu ychyding a gwrando ychydig hefyd. Dw i'n deall Sbaeneg o leiaf.

Ro'n i'n orffen Y Ddinas ar Ymyl y Byd. Mae'n iawn ond nid oedd y diwedd yn dda iawn. Dw i'n darllen Edenia rŵan. Mae'n yr trydydd, a terfynol, llyfr yn y cyfres Y Melanai. Ro'n i'n darllen un cyfan pennod heddiw!

I decided that I need to relax. Studying Welsh is very difficult and stresses me out. I have time. I don't need to rush. I can read a little and I'm getting better. I can write a little and listen a little as well. At least I understand Spanish.

I finished The City at the Edge of the World. It was ok but the ending wasn't very good. I'm reading Edenia now. It's the third, and final, book in the series The Melanai. I read an entire chapter today! (Edenia is a place and The Melanai are a people.)

Not very eloquent for sure, but I'm getting there. One thing that was a hangup with this writing was shades of meaning. "Iawn" means good, but Google Translate also says it means ok. I don't remember recognizing anything as "ok" in Welsh. If my Spanish studies are any indication this will all come with experience in the language. Also, preterite vs. imperfect in Welsh is still confusing. I have heard people on BBC Radio Cymru use the preterite form, and I have noticed the preterite while reading novels, but mostly it seems like they stick with imperfect most of the time. At least while speaking. One final writing gripe is word gender. I know that Welsh nouns have gender, but there aren't any clearcut rules about it. It's avoidable by using the genderless "mae'n" instead of "mae e'n" (masculine) or "mae hi'n" (feminine) but that seems like cheating. So far it seems like when a noun gender is used in writing it's almost always feminine. Once again, I need more experience with the language.

[Hank]

Terminé Club de Cuervos. Realmente me gustó esta programa. Es triste cuando termino una programa que es tan bueno. Es como los personajes son mis amigos. La última temporada fue muy divertido pero a veces también fue muy triste. Los escritores hicieron un buen trabajo con el suspense. No ví como van a arreglar todas las cosas pero, por supuesto, todo salió bien. ¡Necesitas ver esta programa! Tuve unas problemas entendiendo los actores más tarde en la última temporada. Tuve que utilizar los subtitulos porque sabía que no entendí cosas importantes. Eso me da vergüenza.

Ahora voy a ver Bolívar: Una Lucha Admirable en NetFlix. Es una serie desde Colombia sobre la vida de Simón Bolívar. Si no me gusta despues de unos capitulos probablemente voy a ver Casa de Papel. Quiero que unas de esas series son tan bueno como Club de Cuervos pero probablemente no.

Esta noche voy a ver la final de La Copa de Oro. México contra Estados Unidos.

Estoy leyendo el libro Pablo Escobar: Mi Padre que fue escrito por el hijo de Escobar. Es interesante hasta aquí. Despues de la muerte de Escobar, su familia fue muy engañoso. Despues de este libro quiero leer algo que no es sobre los narcos.

Compré una nueva bicicleta hace un mes. ¡Es muy rápido! Tengo un app llamada Strava. Con eso puedo ver mi distancia y velocidad. Mi velocidad más rápido es 30 mph. El app tiene retos en varios lugares. Es divertido tratando de ganar sobre los otros individuos que usar el app. Por el momento estoy en el cuarto posición subiendo una colina cerca. Es muy larga y muy escarapada. Es como tortura subiendo esta colina. No sé porque abusar mi mismo como eso, pero es muy divertido de intentar. ¡Algún día voy a ganar!

[Cèid Donn]

Mae dysgu Gymraeg yn anodd iawn a dan straen i mi.

Dw i'n deall hynny! Weithiau, dw i'n meddwl bod y Gymraeg yn fwy anodd na Llydaweg.

Tuve que utilizar los subtitulos porque sabía que no entendí cosas importantes. Eso me da vergüenza.

¡No te avergüences! Club de Cuervos is a Mexicio show, right? I'm around Mexican Spanish all the time but there is so much variety in the Spanish that is considered "Mexican" that it's overwhelming, especially when actors/presenters are allowed to speak with a more regional dialect or accent. Just the differences in vocabulary for some everyday things can be incredibly confusing. It's not unlike poor people who are learning English when they have to deal with us Americans and what we consider "English."

[Hank]

Breton is a beautiful language. If I ever get the urge to learn another minority language it would probably be Breton. I don't see that happening, though.

Club de Cuervos is a Mexican, Netflix Original show.

As far as comprehending spoken Spanish on tv, I still occasionally have difficulty if there's background noise, characters are whispering or screaming, or there's music playing. There was quite a bit of this going on in the last few episodes of the final season. In all the Spanish language shows that I have watched there has almost always been one or two characters that I just don't understand well. Sometimes due to accents. I still have serious difficulty with Argentinian and Colombian accents. (Even though I have to admit that I think it's really cool that I recognize accents! ) Mostly though, I'm convinced that it is intentional in Mexican tv to have certain characters not speak clearly. It seems like the "bad guys" usually have mush-mouth. In Club de Cuervos Chava, one of the main characters, was difficult to understand a lot of the time, but I know that Luis Gerardo Méndez can speak clearly because he occasionally did on this show and I have understood him well on other shows and commercials. This isn't intended to be a knock on Mexican tv, I watch a lot of it and some of it's great. Maybe it's just a cultural thing.

Ví los primeros tres capítulos de Bolívar: Una Lucha Admirable. Hasta aquí es bastante interesante. Hasta ahora es sobre la juventud de Bolívar. Puedo entender los personajes bastante bien. Estoy curioso si la programa es realmente preciso. Probablemente necesito leer un libro sobre Bolívar.