When I began this blog a couple of months back, I mentioned that I was inspired to learn Spanish by an offer I learned about via one of my favorite podcasts — a special price on the Rocket Languages course this particular podcaster swears by — and by the encouragement of mi hermana, Lupita, whom I met a little over a year ago and hasn’t ceased impressing me ever since.  These truly are my inspirations for learning la idioma de español.

The inspiration for blogging about the adventure, though, came mostly from another source altogether.  (Sorry, Lupita.  Sorry, Tom.)  Several years ago, mi esposa querida, Josie, y yo had the pleasure of watching a delightful “chick flick”, Julie & Julia.  The movie recounted the true story of two women tackling challenges in their respective lives.  The first was a frustrated writer, Julie Powell, who decided to cook and blog her way through 524 recipes of Julia Child’s in 365 days, because she loved cooking and loved writing.  The second was Julia Child, herself, and her adventure learning to cook French cuisine while living in Paris with her husband in the 1950s. Read More