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#59399 - 01/31/01 01:51 PM Re: the great people on this board.
Amy25 Offline
Member

Registered: 10/31/00
Posts: 47
Loc: Troy, MI USA
I would have to agree with Dan and MClarke both. After reading the comments that were posted to the cockroach question, I too probably would have been a little offended myself. You guys need to remember that what is said is taken directly for the face value it is given. It was a legitimate question and those of you that responded negatively turned it into something it didn't need to be. Remember, sarcasism is harder to catch when it is not spoken.
And I also agree with MClarke (and everyone else) that this site is great and I enjoy reading the posts from everyone. I have gotten a great deal of information that I probably wouldn't have found anywhere else. I can't wait to go to Spain, thanks to everyone's input.
_________________________
Contentment: the foremost wealth.

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#59400 - 01/31/01 04:34 PM Re: the great people on this board.
rgf Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 07/20/00
Posts: 666
Loc: New York, New York
Calibasco, well said. Wish I had a pun for ya this PM but I am tired. For the record, I wasn't being mean or sarcastic to summerinspain, but yeah, I guess I was kind of defending Spain. And you are right, Spain doesn't need defending. When one of my students said, she hated the food, she hated the people, she hated everything! I just laughed and said, poor you, give it another chance. And she did, and loved Spain the second time. It was more about HER than anything else! I ramble. I've roached the end of my post. bad pun, but hey.

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#59401 - 01/31/01 06:22 PM Re: the great people on this board.
Anonymous
Unregistered


ive traveled over seas once and had a roach problem, im not gonna bring Raid if there is a bug problem, i just want to anticipate any thing that might put a damper on my once in a lifetime honeymoon/spain trip.

this will be my last post regarding roaches/weevils.

dan
gunless american

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#59402 - 01/31/01 08:09 PM Re: the great people on this board.
aphra Offline
Member

Registered: 01/03/01
Posts: 62
Loc: New York City, USA
Kudos, Madridman, on your stalwart defense of the First Amendment and on your deft use of diplomacy. Have you considered applying for a post at the US Embassy in Madrid?

A few thoughts prompted by this thread:

Foreign travel can be scary and intimidating. If it were no different than a walk down our own blocks, many of us wouldn't have logged on to this site in the first place, would we? We all should try to bear that in mind when responding to one another's questions and comments.

Not everyone here is fluent in Spanish. When those who are just learning the language attempt to use a bit of it, best to offer corrections constructively--to teach--rather than confrontationally, which only discourages the beginner from even trying.

People are drawn to the cities they visit for different reasons, and no one experience is more or less valid than any other. Many people won't subsidize bullfights. Vegetarians won't touch jamon. Sephardic Jews might feel ill at ease in cathedrals and monasteries. Their having these feelings does not automatically constitute defamation of Spanish culture or a malicious insult to Spanish people, and they ought to be able to air their feelings here (respectfully) without fearing reprisals.

And for the record, the US capital is positively crawling with vermin. I used to work in Congress and can recall eating lunch in the Congressional dining room with my feet held up off the floor so mice wouldn't run over them. The city was built on a swamp and is a veritable breeding ground for rodents and cockroaches--including those who do and do not come up for reelection every two, four, or six years!

Now let's see if we can live up to the header on this post minus the sarcasm!

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#59403 - 01/31/01 08:22 PM Re: the great people on this board.
rgf Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 07/20/00
Posts: 666
Loc: New York, New York
Aphra, VERY nice website/articles. Any photography exhibits of yours I should visit in NYC tomorrow? And good comments, too. You are right, if people want to try out their Spanish on this board we should be encouraging. I've been teaching University Spanish too long, I fear.

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#59404 - 01/31/01 09:17 PM Re: the great people on this board.
aphra Offline
Member

Registered: 01/03/01
Posts: 62
Loc: New York City, USA
Well, rgf, as the Chilean singer with whom I'm so obsessed says, muchas y mas gracias!

My photography in a gallery? You flatter me! Just the odd piece here or there to accompany some piece of reporting--and the promise that some day I'll get around to getting that online gallery up on my site!

As for university teaching--I understand completely. My own father's grad school-level redlining of my grade-school book reports generally is credited with having made me a writer.

Let me know if you need any tips for your trip here tomorrow!

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#59405 - 01/31/01 09:49 PM Re: the great people on this board.
canadiense Offline
Junior Member

Registered: 09/17/00
Posts: 36
Loc: Magstadt, GERMANY
Dan, touchy, touchy. Calling my comments stupid, I take great offense. I truly believe about 90% of American citizens are clueless, as are probably 60% of Canadians (In our socialist system here they make you study other countries so that you can get a well rounded edumakashun). You can take that to the bank.

Obviously you have problems taking a joke. What, yet another yank with no sense of humour you say (now running at 76.55555555555551% for those keeping score). Notice how I'm not sterotyping here (like Kids in the Hall), just giving you the truth (I know, I know, it hurts).

So, besos from Canada, kiss my grits (just making you feel at home).

My advice is, stick around for awhile, get to know some folks, and lighten up. All will be forgiven in espana.

[This message has been edited by canadiense (edited 01-31-2001).]

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#59406 - 01/31/01 11:11 PM Re: the great people on this board.
rgf Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 07/20/00
Posts: 666
Loc: New York, New York
Aprha, what Chilean singer is that? Well, if you know any good stuff going on in NYC related to el mundo hispanico...the cervantes.org website is out of date; doesn't look like much is doing at the americas society or el museo del barrio; I'm not free after 7 in the evenings, so it has to be day things. Maybe I should go up to the upper west side and see the corner where Julia de Burgos (great Puerto Rican poet for those who don't know her work) basically dropped dead, unknown and living the hard life!

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#59407 - 01/31/01 11:46 PM Re: the great people on this board.
Nicole Offline
Executive Member

Registered: 07/24/00
Posts: 583
Loc: Los Angeles
Dan, it wasn't a silly question. At the same time I understand why folks get a little defensive about our frequent ignorance regarding other cultures and maybe see specific questions as meaning something they don't.

Roaches are a fairly global (especially tropical, if you are looking for enormous specimens) problem. The biggest one I ever saw in my life was in my parent's kitchen in Houston - after my neat freak mom had scoured the place and wiped it down with bleach on a rag (still don't know what that hideous creature was after or how it got in there; scared the crap out of me). The non-profit where I worked in KC had them everywhere. It was nauseating.

As for developing countries, I was thrilled when I moved to Chile that there are virtually no insects to speak of. yipee! Sure made camping in the mountains and on the beach a lot more fun.

Anyway, point being, there is no such thing as a silly question in the quest to learn about a place. I hope you have a wonderful honeymoon.

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#59408 - 01/31/01 11:51 PM Re: the great people on this board.
aphra Offline
Member

Registered: 01/03/01
Posts: 62
Loc: New York City, USA
Getting WAY off topic now! The Chilean singer is Alberto Plaza. I discovered him in Ecuador last summer and was so smitten with his work that I wound up ordering all his albums from www.feriadeldisco.com in Chile. He's all over Napster if you want to check him out. As for Spanish stuff in NYC, how about Splendor of Alcora: Spanish Ceramics from the Eighteenth Century, Part One (1727-1749) at The Hispanic Society of America (613 W 155th, perhaps a little more Upper than you intended on the West Side). Or beyond Manhattan, the Thalia Spanish Theater (4117 Greenpoint Ave, Long Island City) the Zarzuelas center of NYC. On March 4 at Avery Fisher, you can see the National Orchestra of Spain with Pepe Romeros, Guitar. NYC--we may not be Madrid, but we got culcha!

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