Same year, new you?

Does the back-to-school feeling in September ever wear off? Maybe we can extend the energy into October to reflect on how to move away from the mundane to make 2024 successful.

Thanks to those of you who joined the You Have Homework community this past month. ¡Bienvenid@s!

This month’s newsletter includes:

🧐 Spotify is leaning into their weirdo era

🕶️ Elegant style for everyone

🎭 Who’s your Spanish-speaking personality?

🧐 Hits de Internet

Have you heard this playlist? The tracks are mostly Spanish-language, mostly from the past year, and in a bit nonsensical order. I first came across it a few weeks ago, and I see that it was recently updated with a lot of the same tunes. 

If you have a diverse taste in music, as in, you like The White Stripes, Peso Pluma, Chapell Roan, and Los Panchos, you might be able to listen to this playlist from start to finish. I just bounced around a bit just to hear what the kids nowadays are listening to. 90 songs later I can’t say I’m clear on what’s on trend!

🕶️ Pick your tailored clothes wisely

Have you seen any of these videos circulating on social media of people receiving a completely different article of clothing than what was pictured on a discount clothing site?

For those of us who know how to construct clothes, it’s obvious that a hand-beaded dress with long panels of natural silk will never retail for US$50. And that the photo must have been stolen from a luxury dressmaker’s website.

Having the education and vocabulary to talk about the clothes we wear can help us save money and make better decisions. And when we travel abroad we can use this knowledge to find a good deal – we just have to know how to tell the salesperson what we are looking for and what’s not acceptable.

Check out this Spaniard who created a YouTube channel geared toward advising men on how to dress well. He owns a clothing company, so his vocabulary is very advanced on the subject! The video below is a review on a blazer from Massimo Dutti, and he asks in the title if it’s a steal or a ripoff for the price – 50€ por esta Americana de Massimo Dutti hecha en Portugal ¿Chollo o Timo?

At one point in this video he criticized the little lumps (bultitos) on the shoulder seam. Let’s look at what a commenter had to say:

The auto-translation is incorrect. What this person is saying is that the gathering (embebido) of the shoulder seam was poorly sewn. (The panel on the back is cut wider than the matching front, so the extra fabric should be evenly distributed to make them match in length when sewn together. Sewing around a curve, like the armhole, requires the same strategy.) They go on to say that the solution (at the construction stage) would be to put in a dart (una pinza) instead of gathering the excess fabric. Where should you put that dart? Check out the video below and take a look in your wardrobe to see which of your prendas have darts.

🎭 Should you invent your Spanish personality or let it unfold?

I recently binged the K-Drama Mask Girl and thought about how we tend to have multiple personalities in our normal, everyday lives depending on who we are around. I think there could be a bit of code switching, a bit of self-preservation, and a lot of cultural dynamics.

It’s pretty common for bilingual people to report having a different personality depending on what language they are speaking. Something I always kick myself about is not being polite enough in Spanish. I’m from the Mid-Atlantic of the US, where it’s normal to be direct and slightly impatient, so that’s my American personality.

But on the other hand, I can’t help but be facetious and sarcastic at times. I think a lot of native English speakers are used to this sort of humor through misdirection, and when the same words take up different meanings depending on the tone and context of the situation. Some other cultures have this sort of wryness (looking directly at French people), but not so much in Spanish based on my experience. I suppose it could be argued I’m actually nicer in Spanish. Who woulda thunk it?

I haven’t quite figured out my Spanish-speaking personality, but I like the idea of being able to reinvent myself. Is this someone you want to craft for yourself? I suppose one way to start is to consider the type of music they listen to and the type of clothes they wear…

🎒📚🤓

That’s all for this newsletter. Have you thought about what you need to work on in Spanish? I’ve been slacking on reading out loud on a regular basis and lately it’s been showing. 

Chloe

Founder, You Have Homework