|
Part 2 - Continuing from "Spanish in Miami" - by Elizabeth Gregory
I was surprised at how many Spanish speakers were all over the city. It was rare to walk down the street and not hear someone speaking Spanish. Even the homeless woman who asked me for money did so in English and Spanish. Nine times out of ten, someone would speak to you in Spanish first. I passed by a Spanish school in Little Havana. While there is not much to do in that area in terms of shopping or restaurants (aside from fast food), it is the perfect place to learn Spanish. Virtually every billboard is in Spanish and regardless of the time of day, people are always out an about providing a good opportunity to practice your Spanish listening and speaking skills if you wish. When I passed through the drive through at McDonalds for something to drink, the worker asked me in Spanish first. I was taken off guard, so he then asked me in English what I wanted. Later that night, I was down at the bayside shops and an Irish woman asked me why there were so many "Spaniards" living in Miami. I had to explain to her that many were from Cuba and other parts of Latin America, but I doubted that many if any were from Spain.
|
