Sacalalengua

The other day watching TV late at night I came across this show at channel La 1. It is interesting as they do special reports on different things and then work on the specific vocabulary labeling the works as they come up. The day I watched it was on animals in the protected areas and they would do scientific explanations on things and would show the words and explain them. Good show for middle to advanced level.

Es la Pera ...

"¡Es la pera!"

The other day I offered to do something for friend. I really meant it! I wanted to help! His answer was SOYS LA PERA ... I hoped it was a good thing, at least I like pears! I asked me him to explain, so it means something so good it is beyond the expected, and you keep on doing it over and over again.

Cuéntame

If you want to learn the recent history of Spain (Franco era to nowadays) in a fun way, I recommend this show. It is on "La 1". Not sure in which day it is right now but I believe they are in the 80's or 90's right now. It shows the lifestyle during and pos dictadorship. It is secular, so be ready. You can find the DVD collection on Ebay Spain for purchase or at your local lybrary. They had taken from regular stores when I tried to find it. I have the first season and would be glad to let anyone borrow it for a few days.

The First Samurai, with Tom Cruise

It was a little too bloody for my taste but I loved the whole lesson behind the story told. It is a story of a captian of American army who was hired to train Japans Army against a traitor. The soldier is captured by these people on a first war confrotation. They take care of him, teaching him the Samurai lifestyle and values. He finds himself in love with the new culture and way of life and start fighting on its side. One of the questions of another American soldier is: Why do you hate so much your own culture?

A few questions came to mind:

1) Do you ever find yourself liking your host culture better than your first culture?

2) Do you feel guilty about it?

3) Do you think this is healthy to feel or not to feel like that?

Movies

Is there a movie that touches you in a special way in what has to do with cultural adaptation? I just watched a movie: The First Samurai and it made me think of all the other movies that could teach so much about living in a second or third culture, adaptation, etc.

Can you suggest some movies that relate to that subject? Thanks!