Monthly Archives: July 2011

Cheap Tix to Cheap Trick

Every year here in Greeley (at least for the last 80 or so) we have a July 4th celebration put on by the Stampede.  It used to be a community “potato festival” as that is what was grown in this area..Potatoes.

Somewhere along the line a private company took over ownership of the fair.  Since then it’s turned into a bigger and bigger deal.  They run the parade every year, the rodeo and the island grove park carnival.   One of the benefits to this is they draw in some pretty big names in music. They’ve had Def Leopard, Kid Rock, Keith Urban and numerous other acts.

Last night we had tickets to Cheap Trick and rode our bikes to the fairgrounds.  Blue Oyster Cult opened up for them.  I think we were the only people that rode our bikes.  The people watching the gate kind of laughed as we rode past them and bypassed the $10 parking fees.


Ticket Stubs

The fair has increasingly gotten more and more expensive.  I’d imagine back in the days of the Potato Fair it was pretty cheap to walk to the park.  They’d have some games and maybe a baking contest.  Now it’s $10 to park your car and another $5 just to get into the park.  A Turkey leg will cost you $8 and a lemonade $4.  That makes the regularly priced tickets to see Cheap Trick($17) not so bad in comparison.   We got them for $5 which is usually the cost to just walk around.  Not bad!


At the show! You can see the meat packing plant in the distance

The concert was pretty good.  We recognized a few of their songs from the radio and there were a few people that seemed to know every song.  I am sure this was a pretty big deal for them.

We got an “Indian Taco” (that isn’t really a taco and isn’t Indian either) as we walked around the food court.  We ran into a few people that we know and then watched the concert.  Overall it was a fun night .

Walking around the fair grounds after dark

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Buen Provecho…¡Comida!

Since it is summer (verano) and all the food is growing, people are out having bbqs and enjoying the weather, I thought today’s Spanish tip could be about food!

Food probably has the most variation among Spanish speaking countries. What one country calls “turkey” for instance can be many different words in different countries. However, here is a starting point.

Food –Comida, Alimento

Breakfast is desayuno

Lunch is almuerzo -or in Spanglish –lonche

Dinner is cena

Snack –Bocadillo, Refrigerio, Merienda, Tentempie -I’ve heard many words for snack, but no consensus on the standard. I usually use bocadillo

Tengo hambre =I’m hungry (Literal translation is “I have hunger”)

Tengo sed =I’m thirsty.

Comer = To eat. For example, “Me gusta comer” means “I like to eat” -if you like a certain food, you can add that food to the end. “Me gusta comer fresas” =”I like to eat strawberries”

Estoy lleno(a) –I’m full -When I lived in Mexico, everyone said this, but when I did, I was corrected by my host family to say “Estoy satisfecha” which is a more polite way of saying the same thing basically “I feel satisfied”.

Buen Provecho –I find it interesting that we don’t have an expression in English to say that we hope the food is good, that we enjoy it, that we have a good appetite for it. Instead we’ve borrowed from the French with “Bon Apetit”, or simply say “Enjoy”. But Buen Provecho is used at even the most casual of dining experiences in Latin America, so it is useful to know.

Many foods that have become folded into American dininig experience are known by their Spanish names -most commonly from Mexico such as burrito, taco, chimichanga, tortilla, jalapeño, churro, torta, salsa, tamale, rellenos, enchilada, and more. Many other countries such as Puerto Rico have different foods with different names. Sometimes they are the same food, but just called by a different name. Some foods in Puerto Rico are: pinchos, mofongos, tostones, pasteles (different than pastel in Mexico which is cake -these are closer to tamales), coquito (a drink), and more.

However, there are many other more common foods that may be good to know:

Bread =Pan

Egg = Huevo

Butter = Mantequilla

Fruit = Fruta

Apple =Manzana

Vegetable = Verdura, Vegetal

Zanahoria =Carrot

Grains =Granos, Cereales

Flour =Harina

Meat =Carne

Beef = Carne de res

Chicken =Pollo

Fish =Pescado (as opposed to pez or peces that are still swimming)

Milk =Leche

Cheese =Queso

Nut = Nuez

Candy/Sweets =Dulce(s)

Sugar =Azúcar

Postre = Dessert


For food, there is a lot to know. Everyone has to eat and there’s lots of variety! However, this is usually an area that most people learn just by doing, so don’t worry too much about it. If you have the basics, you’ll learn the foods (hopefully) by eating them with people who speak Spanish! And it will definitely be a little different wherever you learn it. ¡Buen provecho!

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