When visiting a foreign country, it can be both enjoyable and beneficial to learn common words or phrases in the local language. Exploring the culinary traditions of a place often provides insight into its culture. Over the past five months, while traveling through various regions of Mexico, Jessica Jacob's husband has been focusing on improving his Spanish skills by learning about traditional Mexican dishes and sampling fresh juices.
One popular breakfast dish in Mexico is Chilaquiles. This meal consists of fried tortilla strips sautéed in red or green salsa and topped with ingredients such as onion, beans, eggs, cheese, or chicken. By reading the menu description and observing the dish when served, travelers can pick up several useful Spanish words.
Additionally, ordering different flavors of fresh juices each day has helped Jacob's husband learn the Spanish names for fruits like pineapple (piña), passion fruit (maracuyá), orange (naranja), grapefruit (toronja), and tamarind (tamarindo). Simple activities like these can even highlight cognates between languages.
Jessica Jacob emphasizes that becoming proficient in a language requires time and effort but developing an interest in it can be as simple as ordering breakfast. Originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, she learned English through an ESL program after her family immigrated to the United States when she was five years old. Her fascination with languages led her to study French as well.
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