Joanna Houseman
Thanks to family connections and work opportunities, Joanna has a lifelong affiliation with Spain and has been learning the Spanish language since the age of 12. Following university, Joanna spent a year living and working in Barcelona where her level of spoken Spanish was elevated to new levels (and she also dabbled in a little Catalan). Upon returning to the UK, she spent another year working for a Madrid based company whilst living in London, liaising every day with the factory in Spain. Joanna and her family then decided to up roots and move to Andalucía where they lived and worked for 12 years, fully integrated into Spanish village life and supporting the ex-pat community with their language challenges. Now living in Wales, Joanna has kept her connections to her village in Spain and returns as often as possible.
In colder climates, we like to wear a scarf around our necks or heads to shield ourselves from the cold. This is typically a long piece of cloth made from heavy, thick material such as wool or fleece. In Spain, Mexico, Chile, and parts of Latin America, this scarf is called a bufanda. It is …
Over the last few weeks we have talked a lot about different food stuffs and things to do with cooking and the kitchen. When it comes to meal times, most of us like to eat sitting at a table. Table in Spanish is mesa and it comes from the Latin word mensa with the same meaning. …
Where Heather and I live in Wales, we get an excessive amount of rain during the year. In fact, it’s what makes the countryside so green and beautiful! Rain, rainfall or lluvia is described as water that falls from the clouds in the form of droplets. The word lluvia comes from the Latin pluvia meaning …
Dresses: they can be elegant, practical, or even quirky and fun. In Spanish, this versatile garment is known as a vestido. But beyond its role as clothing, vestido encompasses much more. Let’s delve into its meaning and usage below. The word vestido comes from the Latin vestītus or vestire which both mean to cover oneself …
The base ingredient in so many of our favourite recipes, the tomato or tomate in Spanish, has a colourful history. The Nahuatl or Aztec word for tomate was tomati and it meant plump fruit with the tomato proper being jitomate or xitomatl. The word jitomate is still used today in Mexico to refer to the …
When we think of Spanish food, tapas are likely the first thing that comes to mind, even for those who have never been to Spain. But what is the origin of this beloved tradition? Why are they called tapas, and what kind of dishes can we expect when we go out for tapas? Let’s explore …