That said, here are some tips to keep in mind before you jump into any politically charged conversations while abroad.

Were these tips helpful?  Or were they too obvious?  I’d love to hear what you think.  Are there any tips or experiences you can share?

This week I am featuring electronic tango music from:

Bajo Fondo Tango Club

Their sound is unique and familiar all at once.

Leonel, el Feo is a tribute to Edmundo Rivera, a famous Argentine Tango singer. And it was created by the founding group member, Luciano Superveille.

Other songs from Superveille and Bajo Fondo Tango Club that I love are Pulso (100 Mares) and Fandango.  You’ll notice that each song sounds very different. And there often seems to be an intro before you get into the true sound of the track.

Find these songs and more on iTunes

Related Articles:

Kate’s Travel Playlist – Track 1 and Track 2

There she is in the distance, a cluster of whitewashed homes with terracotta roofs perched atop a cliff in a lush, Spanish countryside; straight out of a fairy-tale.

Located in southern Spain, Ronda is just over an hour away from Malaga by car. The town itself is split into two sections divided by a beautiful and massive bridge.

On one side lies the old village and on the other a newer, more modern town has cropped up. I prefer the older of the two with its uneven, winding streets. There it is easy to get lost and found.

In September each year, catch the Corrida Goyesca, an annual festival of matadors in Ronda’s bullfighting ring – the first ring in all of Spain. Ernest Hemmingway and Orson Welles spent many a summer here writing about the beautiful sites and the rough bullfighting tradition.

If that’s not for you, maybe Flamenco music and dance is a better choice. Many of the most famous Flamenco artists have come from Ronda. And each year in August, the Cante Grande festival is held showcasing the finest Flamenco singers and musicians in the region. There is nothing like that Spanish guitar.

But I wasn’t there during September or August, or during any festival. I was there during the spring with one of my best girlfriends. And our itinerary was rather bare. We were content to simply wander the streets and roam the country side – inhaling the spectacular beauty.

It was quite nice sunbathing atop an old tower where lovers once made their devotion known.

It just felt right having a picnic among the wild flowers and olive trees.

And napping in the grass was definitely a highlight.

In Ronda, it felt like the clocks moved slower, the greens seemed greener and the land felt alive. We were only going to spend one night there. But we ended up spending a total of three because we just couldn’t say goodbye so quickly.

If you are looking for a place to stay in Ronda, I suggest Baraka B&B. The owner is very helpful and her establishment is a sweet Bed and Breakfast perfectly situated in the old town.

Most photo credits here go to my dear friend Katherine. She is very handy with her camera as you can see.

Related articles: Flamenco 101

But remember it is all about your perspective and how you take advantage of each situation. Here is what I mean…

About tip 1:

In this video, I mentioned staying in a B&B or homestay while traveling. This is great to do because it usually takes you out of the neighborhoods that cater to tourists and let you experience a real slice of life.

But beyond that, use your host. And get to know them. Ask them where you should go, what are the hidden gems, what are their favorite restaurants, etc.  What they recommend will likely not be found in a guidebook or online.  And they might even feel compelled to take you out with them.

Also, I caution you about B&B’s. That is, if you are looking to experience the culture of the place you are visiting, find a B&B run by locals and not expats from another country.  This is key.

 About tip 2:

I also talked about taking a cooking class from a local. This is a fun way to not just learn some native recipes, but you also get to interact with someone from the culture you are visiting on a rather intimate level. You can ask them questions, hear about their life, and get their advice on what to do in town. It is not just about the food!

And as I said in the video, call your place of lodging and ask them to help you find someone to teach you. If you just go with a school or company that does cooking classes regularly, you will not be getting a very unique experience that is special for all involved.

About tip 3:

If you feel you need a little help finding your way around a new place – and really who doesn’t – guided tours that show you local life can be great.  However, I’d suggest you make sure the company and the tour guides are native to the country you are in.

And take advantage of the situation.  Don’t just go on the tour. Befriend your tour guides, pick their brains about what to do and what to see.  And who knows?  You might go out for drinks with them later.

Oh, and the sites I mentioned in this tip are toursbylocals.com and vayable.com.

This week I am featuring the romantic, rock music of:

Mana

Mana is from Guadalajara, Mexico.  And their music is a mix of Latin pop, rock pop, reggae, ska and Calypso. Picking one song to feature of theirs is nearly impossible. But here goes.

Mana is no joke.  They won three Grammy’s, seven Latin Grammy’s, nine Billboard awards and five MTV Video Music Awards. Don’t be shy and do check out more of their music.

The song featured, “De Pies a Cabeza” is from their album, “Donde Jugaran los Ninos.”

Find all their albums on iTunes

Back during my final semester of college, I was living in Paris with a host family. Within the first month of being there, one of their daughters, Mathilde, asked me if I’d join her and her friends for dinner. Elated that I’d be included in a real French gathering, I accepted.

She said everyone would be coming from work, so I shouldn’t dress up too much.  But there would be about 15 people at dinner.  I thought, “where could you go with 15 people for dinner?” In any case, I figured it would be fun and I’d make a bunch of new friends.

Little did I know, that dinner would initiate a chain of unexpected events and subsequently change the course of my life.

I was so surprised when we got to the restaurant, El Pueblo, in the 9th Arrondisement. Being from California it felt oddly familiar. It was Mexican food!

And like many Mexican restaurants catering to the tastes of a foreign patronage – it was pretty over the top.  Reams of colored paper hung from the ceiling, large, highlighter-pink margaritas adorned the tables, sombreros were pinned to the walls and Mexican music blasted from the speakers.

As soon as we walked in, Mathilde and I joined the long, cafeteria-style table where everyone was already seated.  Mathilde introduced me saying, “this is my new American, Kate.”  And then she went around the table introducing each person, shouting over the music: Marie-Celine, Caroline, Anis, David, Sami, Wissem, Clemence, Amel, and on the list went.

I smiled and waved as that was the only thing I could think to do.  And I swiftly ordered my own highlighter-pink margarita to help my French. I figured, at some point, I’d try to strike up some primitive conversation with my immediate neighbors.

I ordered chicken tacos with rice and beans.  And as I had my first bites, it struck me that I’d never had such flavorless tacos in my life.  And the hot sauce was anything but hot.  You see, French cooking is not spicy – buttery and delicious, yes, but not spicy.

As I was trying to explain to my neighbor, Marie Celine, that the food was very inauthentic, something caught my attention.  The music had stopped and lights came on, illuminating a dance floor.  And it appeared people were crowding around to take a salsa dancing class.

Craning my neck from my seat at the table, I watched as the teacher had everyone pair up. He began to walk them through the basic steps.  I’d never danced salsa before and I thought, “this would be a great time to learn. Salsa dancing in a Mexican restaurant in Paris?  Makes perfect sense.”

So I let my wishes be known to Mathilde. She laughed at me.  And she said, if you want to learn salsa you have to talk to Sami.  She pointed down the table. And I saw a young guy with a shaved head, dark eyes and big, goofy smile.

Mathilde summoned Sami over and we got to talking. He said that he would love to take me out dancing that very next night.  And I agreed.

So that Saturday, I met him at 8pm at La Coupole, a night club in the 14th Arrondisment and underneath a famous restaurant of the same name.  I found Sami waiting in line in front of the club.  And as we kissed on either cheek hello, I realized I wasn’t sure if he thought we were on a date.

Once past the bouncer and coat check, we entered the main dance room that was packed with people of all backgrounds, it seemed.  And we arrived just in time because up on stage the teacher was about to begin a salsa lesson.

Sami directed me up to the front so we could see well.  And suddenly, there I was, learning the basic 1-2-3, 5-6-7.  Or rather, Un-deux-trois, cinq-six-sept.

But it soon became not so basic with turns and shimmies and shuffles.  And then we had to partner up.  I think I stepped on Sami’s toes maybe ten times before the instructor shouted out for us to find a new partner and practice with them.

I had fun.  But the honest truth is that I was terrible at it. And it seemed everyone else was so good at picking up the steps and moving to the music.  It was overwhelming and that night was the last night I danced salsa in Paris for a long time.

Once that semester was over, so was school.  I’d graduated.  And I moved home and got a job. I became an assistant at a television production company where most of my day was spent sitting at a desk, answering phones, filing, photocopying and making copies of dvds.  This was the first rung to moving up the ladder in the entertainment business.

Needless to say, I was going stir crazy. I thought, “This is torture!” And I was fantasizing about going back to Paris.

One day, I was reminiscing about that night dancing with Sami.  I emailed him just to say hi and reconnect.  He had become one of my dearest friends in Paris.  And then I thought, why don’t I try salsa dancing here in LA?

So, that’s what I did at a dance studio in Hollywood every Saturday.

The lessons were very basic and everyone in class was kind and helpful.  They became my friends. And soon I found out about other dance schools and clubs around town.

It wasn’t long before I was going out to salsa clubs throughout Los Angeles 4 to 5 nights a week.  I was addicted.  And so was everybody else, it seemed.

Through salsa, I found this whole new community of people in my hometown that would never have been a part of my life otherwise.  And when I would invite my family and non-salsa friends, people were resistant to join me.  They generally felt like they would be intimidated and uncomfortable.

And I realized, they are probably not the only people that don’t know anything about the LA salsa scene and the warm community of people that make it up.

That inspired me to make a short documentary about it.

I majored in film during college and had produced scripted shorts before.  But I’d never made a documentary.  And as it turned out, I loved the experience of it.  I ended up selling the film I made to Current TV.  And buoyed by that success, I applied to journalism school in New York to follow this new career path.

A few years later I graduated from NYU journalism and then worked in video production for AOL and the Huffington Post.  I went back to Paris to shoot a travel series that will be appearing soon on this site.  And I am pursuing my career as an on-camera travel host, expert and journalist.

If it wasn’t for that semester abroad in Paris, that invitation from my host sister, that bad Mexican food restaurant and, of course, Sami, I would not be doing what I am doing today.

It is crazy how life is. It seems everything that happens to us has roots in something else we experienced.  That is why I think it is so important to pursue exciting adventures, explore new communities and learn new things.  Because if you break out of your shell, you might get a little shell shock at first, but you will find interests you never even knew you had.

To that end, travel is one of the most life changing experiences you can have.  I don’t believe that a trip is just a trip, an isolated experience or a frivolous use of time and money.  Your journeys outside your own immediate world can create new and unexpected avenues in your life like nothing else.

So, I encourage you to get out there and travel.  And see what new hobbies you acquire, career paths that inspire you or perspectives that enhance your state of mind.  But be patient, big life changes often don’t happen over night!

By the way, I hear the Mexican place closed.  But La Coupole is still going strong.

As it is anywhere, you only have one chance to make that first impression.  And while traveling, you’ll be making a lot of first impressions.  So here goes…

I hope these quick tips were helpful to you.  And I hope that they get you thinking about finding creative ways to relate with people from different countries and seeing the importance of cultural sensitivity.

Do you have any tips for making local friends?

Music is one of the many treasures to uncover while traveling. As the easiest point of entry into other ways of life, it allows us to relate to different cultures like nothing else. We get to take it home with us. And any time we listen to that song or album from a trip, it instantly transports us back to the place and time we discovered it.

This week I am featuring the sexy, French vocals of:

Brigitte

A friend I made in Paris shared Brigitte’s music with me.  This pair of vixens have quickly become my go-to artists when I want to chill out.  Here’s one of their many songs I love. Enjoy.

Parisians, Sylvie and Aurelie, chose the name Brigitte because they felt it embodies the ultimate, sexy, liberated woman. Like Brigitte Bardot, Brigitte Fontaine (famous French singer), Brigitte Fossey (french actress), and Brigitte Lahaie (french pornstar) they exude confidence and sensuality. 

This next video is from a live concern they did for TV. Consider it a bonus track!

In my article, How to Learn a Foreign Language, I talk about using music to boost your progress. If you are learning french, you might want to try one of Brigitte’s songs. 

Here’s the iTunes link.

Oh… and if you have any songs you love from your travels, please tell me about them!

Here are the basics…

What about you? Do you have any tips for blending in with the locals?

Lucky for you and me, there are alternative ways to learn a language that are more dynamic than the average textbook or audio CD.  In this article, I’ll share with you the methods that served me well in becoming fluent in 3 languages – Spanish, French and Italian.

First I’d like to say, the key is that you have to take your language learning into your own motivated and creative hands. 

As you may know, there are many different programs out there to learn a language on your own like Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur, Transparent, Living Language, Mango, Fluenz, and the list goes on.  However, I prefer classes with a live, native teacher who can give me personal attention and be responsive to my needs.

But just going to classes and doing your homework is not enough to get you conversational in the real world.  You need to make it fun, relevant and even a necessity for you to use your new language.  And if you implement the following tips, you will find you’ll pick up the language faster and with less actual work.

1. The Basics

At first, however, you’ll have to take some time to learn the absolute basics. Take it upon yourself to memorize the basics from “hello”, “my name is”, “nice to meet you”, “thank you”, “you are welcome”, “goodbye”, “excuse me” and “I don’t speak x language.”  Learning these and other basic phrases will get you excited to learn more.

Start practicing your newfound phrases as much as possible.  Be that annoying guy/girl at the office who says, Gutten Morgan (good morning in German) when you get to work. Or do whatever you can to insert these phrases into your daily life. The point is to just start using what you learn.

Also, it is important, when you are starting out, to get an overview of the language because every language has a blue print that it follows.  So learn the structure of sentences by getting acquainted with the subject, verb, and adjective order. Learn the sounds of the alphabet.  Find out if it is a tonal language. Know the way the language shows tense and deals with conjugation. And have a loose understanding of the way it uses masculine/feminine and singular/plural. You don’t have to memorize this information but it helps to familiarize yourself with it so you know what you are working toward.

2. The Relevant

Once you learn the absolute basics, focus on arbitrarily memorizing how to say things that are relevant to your life. Like if I were learning Italian, I’d memorize: “Sono una giornalista di viaggio.” That means, “I am a travel journalist.” And I’d know how to say, “habito a New York,” meaning I live in New York.

So, be able to say what you do for a living, where you live, if you are married and/or have siblings or kids, and what your hobbies are. These phrases are more likely to stick in your head because they mean something personal to you.

Once you have those preliminary phrases down, continue to build your vocabulary around subjects you find interesting and would naturally want to talk about or naturally need to talk about.  Don’t get caught up on lots of grammar until you build a foundation in vocabulary about things you care about.  Once you do that, then you’ll want to focus on refining your grammar.

3. The Obvious

My next tip is an obvious one, but it is also the most important.  And that is, create frequent opportunities to interact with native speakers of the language you want to learn.  Whether you can take an extended trip to another country, find people in your community to exchange with or even find a Skype buddy – make it happen because there is no replacement.  This is what will take your language learning to the next level.

Of course, traveling is the best environment to learn a new language, as you’ll be forced to use it for survival.  If you choose travel, be sure to do the basics before you go.  And if possible, take a language class while you are traveling.  Also, remember to find ways to interact with native speakers without fellow Americans present, so you are really forced to sink or swim.  It’s the only way to go.  Also, taking a trip to work on the ground with volunteer organizations can help you get in with a local community and up your chances to have meaningful interactions.

As for non-traveling language learners, look online for language exchange opportunities by searching any combination of the following terms “language exchange,” “Skype,” and “meet-up group”.  And put your city name in the search for organizations near you.  You should most likely find someone to barter with where you spend some of your time interacting in the language you want to learn and some in English.  Both experiences will help you learn your desired language.

And remember, acquiring a new language is a wonderful thing – don’t be ashamed of your beginner status.  The more you let yourself freely gab, the sooner it will be natural.  So, in your exchanges with other language learners, cultivate a supportive environment where you feel comfortable. And even if you are speaking with native speakers who are not learning, they will appreciate your interest in their culture. So, do not worry about sounding like a novice.  You will find, most often, they will want to help you.

4. Music

Use songs in your desired language as learning tools.  Start with one song you love.  Go online and find the lyrics to that song.  Then translate it line by line.  Maybe start with an easy one with few words.  And you can always use google translation or other online translation services to help you.  Once you know what the song is saying, learn it word for word.  Listen to the song every day.  Sing along or better, sing it on your own.  And every phrase in the song will soon be part of your vocabulary.  Voila!

That is not the only way you can use songs to help you learn a language.  Try writing your own simple song in the language you are learning.  I remember when I was studying Spanish, I made up a silly song to remember words and grammar for a test.

It started off “Yo quiero ir a la playa con me perro.  Pero you no tengo un coche. Pero si tenia un coche….”

That is, “I want to go to the beach with my dog.  But I can’t because I don’t have a car.  But if I had a car…”  I know that sounds super, super nerdy.  But it stuck, and that’s the point, isn’t it?

5. Slang

Learn slang.  It is more fun than what’s in your textbook. Try to get a grasp for what scenarios these slang words or phrases are used in, where they came from and what type of people generally use them. To learn slang, you’ll hopefully do that by interacting with a live human being. Plus, you will most likely remember it easier than an average word because its exciting insider information.  And lets face it, slang is practical.

6. Friendships

Be open to and allow yourself to invest in relationships with people who speak the language you want to learn. The experience will help you in many ways.  For one, you’ll make new friends. And that is always a plus.  Two, you will learn about the culture through your friendship with this person/these people – making the language that much more appealing to you.  Three, languages are like living breathing things– they need to be nourished and exercised to be kept alive. And if you keep your foreign-language-friendships strong, you will likely continue to improve your language with them.  So don’t be shy!

7. Recommended Refresher Resources

If you are looking to just brush up on a language for which you already have a foundation, I like the Michel Thomas Method (no relation).  You can download it on iTunes – and it helps you revive a language in a way that other programs don’t.  For example, he doesn’t start the first lesson with “hello” but rather he starts with the word “Possible.”

Also for people looking to continue learning or brush up on their Spanish, there is an educational show I’d recommend. It is a telenovela or soup opera produced by WGBH Boston in ’92, called Destinos.  To be honest, it is a little old school but the narrative helps you stay engaged while it teaches you Spanish.  You can get it here.

Another great source is the BBC.  They are getting creative in finding new ways to help people learn languages. They have an interactive series called Mi Vida Loca for learning Spanish that is great.  They have a similar one called, Ma France, for French.  These require a bit of background in the languages.

Also from the BBC you can find language resources of all kinds for Mandarin, Greek, Portuguese, Italian, German and many others. Go to their language site and pick your desired language.

Overall, remember to be persistent and have patience with yourself.  Learning a new language is no small feat, despite what all those advertisements for language programs tell you.  But the fruits of exploring the world from a new language perspective will reward you ten fold.  So do stick with it and challenge yourself to achieve your goals.