We started our project a day early (yesterday, May 13) in order to get acclimated with Esperanza (the organization we are working with) and to give ourselves a head start on our project. As someone who has grown up on the East side, has only gone to school on the East side, and generally only stays on the East side, I am very excited to get to know an area of Cleveland that I have not explored before.
The most notable thing about the neighborhood in which we are working is the bilingualism of the community. Walking down the street, most of the signs are in both Spanish and English, while some are only in Spanish. Salsa music creeps out of car door windows that drive down the street and rapid Spanish emanating from passerby with cellphones pressed to their ears bring my classroom comprehension to the limit. The secretary at Esperanza always answers the phone with a cheerful "Hola", only occasionally needing to switch to English.
I've never thought of Cleveland as a city with a vibrant Latino population, but I'm excited to expand my knowledge of my city (and hopefully my Spanish skills) throughout our project. I made contact through email with Mega 87.7, Cleveland's only Spanish-language radio station, and hopefully we will be visiting the station and interviewing some of the DJs, which I am very thrilled about. In the coming days, I hope to be making more connections and learning about the community.
Bilingual posters in Esperanza
The most notable thing about the neighborhood in which we are working is the bilingualism of the community. Walking down the street, most of the signs are in both Spanish and English, while some are only in Spanish. Salsa music creeps out of car door windows that drive down the street and rapid Spanish emanating from passerby with cellphones pressed to their ears bring my classroom comprehension to the limit. The secretary at Esperanza always answers the phone with a cheerful "Hola", only occasionally needing to switch to English.
I've never thought of Cleveland as a city with a vibrant Latino population, but I'm excited to expand my knowledge of my city (and hopefully my Spanish skills) throughout our project. I made contact through email with Mega 87.7, Cleveland's only Spanish-language radio station, and hopefully we will be visiting the station and interviewing some of the DJs, which I am very thrilled about. In the coming days, I hope to be making more connections and learning about the community.
Bilingual posters in Esperanza
Cool..
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