Where have you traveled?Which languages do you speak?...

Mostly the Caribbean and the Iberian Peninsula

My soon-to-be-ex is Asturian, so I've been to Spain a few times and have spoken Spanish since I was a small child. Living in Miami off and on I also get to the islands as much as possible.

I speak Russian as well, but have not been fortunate enough to go that far afield.

 

Are you of Cuban origin?

 

@Paella

No, I'm not Cuban, but a lot of people ask me that when they think 'Miami' and 'Russian speaker'. What region of Spain are you from?

 

I'm from the Balearic Islands.

So what are your origins and which Caribbean islands do you visit?

 

@ Paella

Paella - I'm from the U.S. (Chicago/St. Louis) and live in Miami and the midwest when on work assignments. When I've gone to the islands I've been to Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, St. Thomas and the Bahamas. Because of all the problems since the earthquake, I've been giving some serious consideration to going to Haiti for a couple of weeks to help with the volunteer effort. There are a lot of organizations here that send volunteers and material.

The Balearic Islands? Never got a chance to go there, just Barcelona, Madrid, Ourense, Santiago de Compostela and La Coruna (falta la ~). I loved Spain when I was there. Do you ever get to the States anymore? I saw how many languages you speak...wow! Are you half gallega & half catalana? How did you come to speak so many? Travel?

 

The language (together ith Spanish) in the Balearic Islands is Catalán. Yes, my mother is gallega. I learned the languages because I like them and for work: I work in the tourism sector.

So, again, your origins??

 

Oh, I speak Russian and Spanish as well excellent!
How come you chose to learn Russian?

 

Responses to Paella & fromrussiawithlove

Paella - my origins are seriously from the U.S. midwest, born and raised. Other than travel, I've never lived in a foreign country. FromRussianWithLove - I learned Russian because I was/am a bit of an international politics fan and when I was in high school (ancient history here), the Cold War was still going, so I took Russian in high school and university thinking it was going to be a helpful skill, but I continued because I enjoy it. Unfortunately I don't get to practice much because the concentrations of Russians in the US are predominately in New York. There are some in South Florida, but mostly concentrated in Ft. Lauderdale.

 

I'm sorry orejon, if I was so insistant, just that since you mentioned this:

I thought Spanish was spoken at your house when you grew up and wondered where from your parents were, that's all...

 

Para Paella

My father speaks Spanish because he was raised in NYC and his mother was Puerto Rican, and I picked it up during my time in his house and with school friends from various countries, but my mother is 100% African-American. I thought you were wondering if someone from the midwest could really speak Spanish/Castellano (want to make sure I respect the other autonomous languages...). Trust me, I get a lot of strange looks in the midwest when people hear me speaking.

 

@ FromRussiaWithLove

Do you visit Spain often? I love that place, especially Galicia. And with that login name, is it safe to assume that you are a James Bond fan?

 

Thanks, orejon! That's what I was "looking for"...Puerto Rico!

BTW, my mother is from the Ourense province... a lovely town where today they're celebrating the "octopus party"!

 

@Paella

When was the last time you were there? When I went I used to dance at this place called Bachata Tropic. Ever heard of it? I had a great time there. I used to date someone who lived on Padre Sarmiento back in the 1990s. There were few black people in town other than a few Brazilian footballers and an occasional guy with one or both parents from Ecuatorial Guinea or Dominican, but I have to say the people were wonderful - very friendly.

Ourense was the first place I ever ate 'pulpo en su tinta'. I was grossed out at first but it was delicious.

 

Sorry, orejon, I've never been to Puerto Rico... was just wondering about your "Spanish origins"...

...pulpo en su tinta?????? are you sure????? Never heard of it!! I mean, calamares en su tinta yes but pulpo???? the typical Galician pulpo is "pulpo a feira", and the main place in all Spain where they "worship" it is in O Carballiño, where the party i told is taking place as we're writing (well, earlier today, actually).

 

Pulpo vs. Calamares

Ooops, maybe that was it, but I could have sworn that it was octopus. Oh, when I was asking about when you were last there, I was talking about Ourense. LOL

 

"Spanish origins" - LOL. Not really. She died before I was born and my paternal grandfather was from Mississippi, so it's more like picking the language up by osmosis. And then the friends and novias latinas y espanholas didn't hurt, either.

 

Oops! my turn to apologize! I was there a couple of months ago, unfortunately because my father was in hospital (nothing serious, now recovering nicely). I usually visit O Carballiño, though, where my parents live, some 25 km from Ourense.

And yes, not many black people in Galicia in general, Cubans, Brazilians, Dominicans, Africans mainly working in the market stalls...

 

You're right about Galicia, but believe it or not, I found gallegos to be warmer and more open than anywhere in Spain. More so than in Madrid or Barcelona. Not sure why, maybe less exposure to foreigners makes them more open when they do meet one. I also noticed that most mulatos that I have met from Spain are either half-Cuban or half-Guineano. I always wondered if there was a specific preference among espanholas or if it was because politics brought those two nationalities to Spain before other groups.

 

Oh I believe that alright!!

Yes, at least for the Cuban side, gallegos (and Spaniards in general) do travel a lot to Cuba and as a result we end up with a lovely mixed race in Spain. Actually, in Cuba, they say that the best thing that gallegos did there was the mulatos, LOL! (well, actually they say the mulatas... ).

 

I noticed the link with Guinea Ecuatorial cuando me di cuenta de la cantidad que hay de raperos medio-guineanos (El Chojin, Jota Mayuscula, etc). Then I met other people with ancestry there when I went out at night. And I have heard the locura that Spaniards have for las mulatas! I've overheard Cubans in Miami saying the same thing.