When communicating with someone in their second language, speak to be understood
If you are learning either Spanish or English as a second language, you have probably had the experience of “I am reading ...
Jeff Van Pelt
Varados: One couple’s struggle to return to Cuenca in the time of Covid-19
By Jeff Van Pelt I first wrote this article while confined to a hotel room in Quito 24/7, after being stranded in Argentina for 7 we...
Is critical thinking a vanishing quality in the world?
By Jeff Van Pelt Common sense is not so common, to borrow a quote from Voltaire. Critical thinking, to use a more technical term, seems to be on the wa...
Argentina interrupted: Its beauty and pleasures, and then quarantine!
By Jeff Van Pelt I knew about Mendoza. Argentine wine country. I love good wine and had long been intrigued by the thought of a visit to M...
The phantom hound: Making friends in the Blue Ridge Mountains
By Jeff Van Pelt I lost my German Shepherd, Klaus, at 11 years from a neurological disorder. Any dog owner knows that is like losing a child and...
Make yourself a hard target for criminals
By Jeff Van Pelt People love to debate how much crime there is in their town, whether it is getting worse, and where it is the worst. A more profitable enterprise ...
You have to be joking!
By Jeff Van Pelt “I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it’s the thing I like most – to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most importa...
Firsthand accounts of the situation in Venezuela
By Jeff Van Pelt On February 24, my wife and I attended a very moving presentation at Fishbon del Sur, given by a panel of 3 Venezuelan refugees, one a spin...
Rebels, respect and the lack thereof
I was a rebel in high school. The year was 1970 and Virginia Beach had largely avoided the upheavals of the 1960s, but we were making up for lost time. We grew our hair ...
Faux Pas, Bloopers, and other embarrassing moments in Spanish
So, pene means penis in Spanish. Hold that in mind. I was volunteering for English conversation groups at a local university. The two young female students I ...
