Teach English as a Foreign Language: Colombian Coffee

Colombian Coffee
While talking about the wide variety of new tastes and foods a teacher of English as a foreign language abroad could experience here, let’s not forget the tantalizing aroma of Colombia’s mild black coffee that will wake anyone from their deepest slumber with a smile. Coffee likes to be grown in the cool air of mountainous slopes. Because it also prefers the shade, it’s usually planted in the shade of banana trees. The steepness of the slopes, and being interspersed with tall, large banana trees makes harvesting difficult, so it must be done by hand – berry by berry. Unripe coffee beans are green as pictured above. When they turn red, they’re picked – one by one. The commercials really aren’t kidding you. And yes, there is a Juan Valdez. He’s the “official” spokesman for Colombian coffee and travels worldwide promoting it.

A Pound of Colombian Coffee
Now, there are two beans in each coffee berry. A coffee tree may produce around two thousand ripe coffee beans each year. Since it takes about two thousand beans to make one pound, a coffee tree yields only a pound of coffee per year. Colombian mountain-grown coffee, by many, is considered to be the richest coffee in the world. Called “tinto”, it’s served freshly-brewed to every house guest or office visitor as a common courtesy in Colombia.

More Uses Other than Drinking
As you might well expect, coffee is used for much more than drinking. There are a number of other products produced from coffee. There’s coffee candy, coffee liqueur, roasted then chocolate-covered coffee beans, coffee-flavored ice cream, coffee cake made using freshly-brewed coffee – the list goes on and on. These are just consumable coffee products. There are medicinal uses for coffee as well. A coffee grounds facial mask works wonders for all types of skin problems. Then there’s the infamous coffee enema; which we won’t go into any further here. Coffee is used as a rinse for damaged, treated hair and as a poultice for sprains or swelling of the extremities.

While You’re Abroad
So while you’re abroad, teaching English as a foreign language, make sure to avail yourself of the tastes, flavors and array of local fruits, vegetables and other specialty dishes of the region you’re living in. If you aren’t doing this already then get busy. Chances are, you’ll be glad you did.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 90 countries. Get your FREE E-book,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.

Teach English as a Foreign Language: Tropical Fruits Galore

Tropical Fruits Galore
Markets in Colombia abound with ripe, fresh tropical fruits in myriads of colors and flavors like the grapefruit-sized Borojo which is said to have aphrodisiac properties in its chocolate brown, thick, creamy pulp. Most often it’s blended with milk for a creamy, flavorful drink. Chontaduro, (pictured here with green mangoes) the plum-sized bright red and yellow fruit of a palm tree, is sold on street corners everywhere in Cali, Colombia’s second largest city, as a high-calorie snack eaten with salt or covered with honey. Okay, so it’s really high in cholesterol, but who thinks about that as they’re wolfing them down? The Carambolo, also called star fruit for its five pointed shape, has a haunting, light, bittersweet flavor you’ll find refreshing due to its ultra-high water content.

Try a Guama
Why not try a two-and-a-half foot long Guama? It’s reminiscent of a giant string bean, with a cottony, sweet pulp and thumb-sized, shiny black seeds. There's the dusty-looking Zapote with its burnt orange colored pulp that permanently stains all it touches, Granadilla, and Maracuya, which you might already know as Passion Fruit. The Curuba is another that should make your must-try list along with the pink-fleshed Guayaba with pinhead-sized seeds so hard that even a hammer won’t break them open. The bright orange and green Lulo (pronounced Lou – low), with its tart greenish pulp, makes a juice not unlike strong lemonade – but better. Don’t worry; you’ll add plenty of sugar – unless you want the hair taken off your chest – from the inside. All these and more are available to pack your pantry along with a bevy of over-sized vegetables. Haven’t sampled these yet? Let me tell you, they’re ALL delicious!

Just you wait and see.

Papayas the Size of Watermelons
The year-long growing season allows papayas to attain nearly the size of watermelons, carrots as big around as your wrist, mangoes weighing more than a pound each and coconuts containing up to three glasses of “water.” Orange juice bursting with flavor is always fresh-squeezed here as practically all other fruit and vegetable juices are.

“Are you SURE you didn’t add sugar to this?” I asked after a long “pull” on an orange juice.

“Nope. You don’t have to.” My friend replied.

“Why - don’t you think it’s more than sweet enough?”

I sure did.

When You're Teaching English Abroad
When you’re abroad, teaching English as a foreign language, make sure to avail yourself of the tastes, flavors and array of local fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood and other specialty dishes of the region you’ll be living and working in. If you’re already living and teaching English abroad and you aren’t doing this then get to it - pronto. Chances are, you’ll be glad you did.

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 90 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.

Teach English as a Foreign Language: They Eat ANTS in Colombia!

They Eat Ants in Colombia!
Not only are the fruits and vegetables different in Colombia, but other foods as well. They eat ants here. Yeah, you read it right – ants. But not the ones you slap away from your picnic vittles, these are specially-raised “Hormigas Culonas” which have an enlarged abdomen. They’re cleaned, then roasted or fried and served with a wedge of cheese or a small container of honey. Only the crunchy abdomen is dipped in honey then bitten off and eaten. They’re sort of like partially popped kernels of popcorn. (Hey, don’t knock it unless you’ve tried it.) To be honest, I had the “willies” my first time too. Now I’m an “old hand” who buys’em by the bag when they’re on sale in the spring.

P.S. As a matter of fact, while I was in the Colombian capitol, Bogota this past holiday weekend, I bought a small package of Hormigas Culonas to bring back to Cali for some friends to try. And by the way, I know that they eat ants in parts of Mexico, too.

Bountiful Colombia
When teaching English as a foreign language abroad, one of the great benefits can be the instant exposure to all manner of unique and delicious new foods. This is especially true here in Colombia, where I teach English.

Nature yields, in full, her bounty and beauty all year long in the deep valleys, fertile grasslands, tropical rain forests and rolling plains shadowed by 3000 foot plus range of Andes peaks that divide Colombia lengthwise into thirds. Hundreds of varieties of flowers unfurl into bloom, perfuming the air even in winter, although winter in this northwestern corner of the South American continent is a subjective term. Hummingbirds and multi-colored finches dot even the urban scenery in such numbers that you’ll undoubtedly think, “Surely there’s a machine around the corner manufacturing them.” The fauna is impressive, but the quantities of new and unusual tropical fruits are astounding.

We’ll continue with additional taste treats found in Colombia, one of the world’s most exotic and notorious countries, in upcoming article posts. Why don’t you make a point to put aside a few of your old prejudices and foibles and try a new taste or two where you live and teach now? Who knows, you just might be in for a not-so-unpleasant surprise. Surely, where you are now, they must eat something “a bit different” that what you were used to “back home”, right?

Prof. Larry M. Lynch is an EFL Teacher Trainer, Intellectual Development Specialist, author and speaker. He has written ESP, foreign language learning, English language teaching texts and hundreds of articles used in more than 80 countries. Get your FREE E-books,"If you Want to Teach English Abroad, Here's What You Need to Know" by requesting the title at: lynchlarrym@gmail.com Need a blogger or copywriter to promote your school, institution, service or business or an experienced writer and vibrant SEO content for your website, blog or newsletter? Then E-mail me for further information.