A few weeks ago I wrote about going to a traditional Midwestern (in the middle and northern part of the U.S.) fall festival, and described the types of games and events you might find there. Today we’ll talk about an even more important part of a fall festival: food.

Some of the food you will find at a fall festival could be found at almost any fair (festival) or celebration with a large number of people in the Midwest, including hot dogs, bratwursts (a type of German sausage), hamburgers, and corn on the cob.  In addition, at a Minnesota or Wisconsin fall festival, you will often find something called booya (sometimes spelled “booyah”). Booya is a stew or thick soup, typically made with beef but also sometimes with chicken, along with lots of different kinds of vegetables.  Booya is always made in a large kettle (pot or cooking container), and is cooked slowly over many hours to obtain (get) the best possible taste. Booya kettles are huge, holding up to 50 gallons (190 liters) of soup!  These large kettles are usually owned by a local church or community organization, and are used for many, many years.

The derivation (origin; place where something comes from) of the word “booya” is somewhat in dispute (people don’t agree on the answer). Some people say it comes from a mispronunciation of the French word bouillon, meaning “soup.”  The French explorers (people who go to areas previously unknown to them) in North America were the first Europeans to settle (live) in what are now Minnesota and Wisconsin, and many places in the Midwest have French names to this day (today). So it seems very possible that the word “booya” is derived from a French word.

However, booya is not considered a French food by Midwesterners, but rather something invented in the U.S. There are in fact very few French descendents (people whose parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. were originally from France) living in Minnesota today. And like many types of traditional food, there are arguments over whose booya recipe (instructions for cooking) is the best.

The fall festival I attended in October is famous in the Twin Cities (St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota) for its booya, and it tasted as good as I remembered it tasting as a teenager. Booya is so popular that festivals often run out of it (use or sell all they have) after just a few hours, so smart attendees (people who go to an event) arrive to the festival early.  After eating one bowl of booya at the festival, I got in line (stood in a line of people) to buy some more booya to take home with me for dinner. I’d love to share some with you, but the photo (above) will have to suffice (be enough or sufficient) for now!

~Jeff

Photo credit: Jeff McQuillan

Possibly the oldest lady in the U.S. celebrated her 125th birthday a few days ago. For many years she never said a word, but her message spread throughout (to every part of) the world. When she did speak, her words were written by someone else. This is her story.

From 1836 to 1914, more than 30 million Europeans, including my family, immigrated to the U.S. During the 19th century (1800s) most came from northern Europe; in the early 20th century (1900s) they came mainly from southern and eastern Europe. The peak year (the year of the largest number) was 1907, when more than 1.25 million came from Europe to the U.S. The number could have been even larger: almost 15% of those who began the journey (long trip) died before they arrived.

For many of the immigrants who made that journey, the sighting (first view or look) of the Statue of Liberty announced (told them) that they had arrived safely, that the journey was almost over, and a new life was about to begin.

The Statue of Liberty has not always been the greeter (someone who welcomes) of immigrants and the symbol (something that represents or stands for something else) of hope for those who were looking for work and the freedom to think and worship (practice their religion) the way they wanted. She began life as a gift from a friend. During the American Revolution, France had fought with the U.S., helping it win its freedom from England. About 100 years later, in the late 1800s, France gave the Statue to the U.S. to celebrate both countries’ belief in liberty.

The Statue represents Libertas, the Roman goddess of freedom. She holds a torch (a burning light) in her right hand and a tablet (a flat piece of stone or wood to write on), representing the law, in her left hand. The date of the American Declaration of Independence – July 4, 1776 – is written on the tablet. A broken chain lies on the ground at her feet.

As immigrants passed (went by) the Statue on their way to New York harbor (where ships stop), it began to take on (develop) new meaning. That meaning became permanent as the result of a short poem written in 1883. The U.S. didn’t have enough money to finish the pedestal (base or support) the Statue stands on. Many Americans sent donations (money gifts) – often less than one dollar – to help pay for the pedestal. Many artists, like poet Emma Lazarus, created artworks to help raise money.

Lazarus’ poem, New Colossus, included the now-famous words that gave new meaning to the Statue. Here are some of the most important lines from the poem; I’ve paraphrased (used my words) some of it to make it easier to understand:

Here shall stand a mighty woman, the mother of exiles (people who live away from their native country). The light of her torch shines around the world, and she silently cries, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled (to be close together because you’re cold or afraid) masses (large numbers of people) yearning (desiring) to breath free.”

In 1903 Lazarus’ poem became a permanent part of the Statue. It was engraved (cut into a piece of metal) on a plaque (piece of metal with writing on it) and hung inside of it.

Happy birthday, Lady Liberty! May you have many more.

~ Warren Ediger, creator of Successful English.

Photo by Koshyk used under Creative Commons license.

Many countries have a tradition of the harvest festival, a point we mentioned recently on ESL Podcast 723. Harvest refers to the food you take out of the fields (places where food grows) to sell or eat.  A festival is a celebration, usually with a large group of people. I grew up in the great state of Minnesota, where agriculture (the growing of food) is an important part of the economy.  Each autumn (fall), local community and church organizations sponsor a small celebration (usually called a fall festival), even when no one in the organization is actually a farmer or has a field! Fall festivals are fundraisers for the school, church, or community group. Fundraisers are special events that where a group raises (collects; gets) funds (money) for their group.

I was visiting Minnesota recently and attended the fall festival held by my old high school in Saint Paul, located in what was once a German American part of the city called Frogtown.  I thought I would share some of the activities that you might typically find at one of these very Midwestern events. In Part 1 of this post, we’ll talk about the games and fun activities.  In Part 2, we’ll discuss the kind of food you can eat at a Minnesota fall festival.

Typical at a fall festival (at least in Catholic schools such as the one I attended) is playing a game of chance (luck) called Bingo, a game I discussed in an earlier blog post. The Bingo game I went to at the fall festival was a little different, however. Notice in the photo that they make special bottles of ink to mark your cards. These are used instead of chips (small pieces of paper or plastic) to mark the squares on the card. Of course, this means you need a new, clean paper Bingo card for each game.  Each card costs 25 or 50 cents, and the winner gets a small prize.  I played one game where the prize was a mug (a large glass for drinking beer).  I lost.

Another game of chance is called the Cherry Tree. Several dozen small gifts are put out on display (so people can see them) with numbers next to them (see photo).  You pay $1.00 to get five stapled pieces of paper.  Some of the pieces of paper have a number on them, which matches (is the same as) one of the prize numbers.  If you get that number, you win that prize.  I bought 5 tickets at the festival.  I lost.

My favorite game at a fall festival is the Cake Walk. All of the prizes in this game are – you guessed it – cakes! There are 10 numbers on the floor, arranged (placed) in a circle. One person stands on each number (it costs $1.00 to play).  Music plays and you begin to walk around the circle, stepping from number to number. When the music stops, you stop on the nearest number. Then one of the players picks a number from one to ten from a basket or hat. The person standing on that number wins the cake.  Every game has a winner, and of course there is no skill (knowledge or special expertise) needed to play.  (You can even describe some action in English as being a “cake walk,” which means it is very easy to do). I played the Cake Walk once at the festival (see photo).  I lost.

Enough of me losing! In the next post, I’ll talk about something I did get at the festival – food.

~Jeff

Photo credits: Jeff McQuillan

Los Angeles Stakes Its Claim as a World Art Center. That was a headline a few days ago in the New York Times. To stake a claim means to say publicly that you believe you have the right (authority or power) to do something, in this case the right to call yourself a world art center.

I wonder how many people think of Los Angeles as a world art center or, simply, an art center. We usually reserve (keep, hold) that right for cities that are home to the Louvre, Prado, Tate, Hermitage, or other well-known museums.

When many of the people I’ve talked to think of Los Angeles, they seem to think first of Hollywood. Or Disneyland. Or LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) – often on their way to Las Vegas. But not art.

That may all change if Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945 to 1980 (PST) is successful. PST is a six-month series (similar events that happen one after another) of exhibitions (art shows) at 130 museums and galleries (places where you can see and buy art) from San Diego to Santa Barbara – cities that are south and north of Los Angeles. The New York Times article calls PST “an exhaustive (complete) accounting (description) of the Los Angeles-area art scene (area of activity).”

I was happy to see that the Times writer feels that Los Angeles deserves (has earned the right) to be considered an “art capital in the same league as (to be as good or important as) New York, Berlin, and London.” And he explains why: “Los Angeles these days has [many] ambitious (determined to be successful) museums, adventurous (not afraid to try new things) art galleries, wealthy collectors, top-notch (excellent) art schools and – perhaps most important of all – young artists….”

Let me tell you about a few of my favorite places for art-gazing (looking at art) in the Los Angeles area:

The Getty, two separate museums, is probably the best-known of the Los Angeles-area museums. The Getty Center sits high above Los Angeles in the Santa Monica hills. The buildings and garden are as impressive as its art collection. The Getty Villa, a recreation (built to look like) of an ancient Roman country house, overlooks the Pacific Ocean in Malibu. The Villa’s collection gives visitors an unusual look at life in ancient Rome, Greece, and Etruria (now Tuscany and Umbria in Italy).

The Norton Simon Museum, probably my favorite, holds the private art collection of Norton Simon, a southern California businessman and philanthropist (a rich person who gives money to help other people).  Many people believe it is the best private collection of art in the world. It includes 14^th-20^th century European, modern and contemporary, and Asian art. If you visit, you’ll find works by many of the world’s most famous artists. My adult ESL students used to enjoy visiting the Norton Simon as part of my summer art history class.

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is best known for its collection of modern and contemporary art, American and Latin American Art, and art from Asia – China, Korea, and Japan. LACMA also has frequent special exhibits. On such exhibit, which includes several of Monet’s Rouen Cathedral paintings just opened (began).

The Museum of Contemporary Art, in downtown Los Angeles, features art created since the 1940s.

From time to time (occasionally), my wife and I like to sneak (go quietly) down to Laguna Beach – an ocean-side (next to the ocean) village (small town) about one hour south of Los Angeles – for art and food. Many small galleries there display art by living artists. And when you tire (get tired) of walking from gallery to gallery, you’ll find a large variety of food in restaurants on (next to) the beach.

If you ever visit southern California, give the Los Angeles art scene a chance. You won’t be sorry; I promise.

~ Warren Ediger – creator of Successful English, where you’ll find clear explanations and practical suggestions for better English.

 Photo of the Getty Center by Christopher Chan used by permission.

According to a recent study (research investigation), the closer teenagers (those ages 13 to 19) live to places where alcohol is sold, the more likely they are to binge drink. Binge drinking is when you drink excessively (too much) over a short period of time in order to get intoxicated (drunk) as quickly as possible.  Binge drinking is dangerous for many reasons, and has become more common in the U.S. in recent years among teenagers and college-age adults (ages 18-25). (We talked about this issue on English Cafe 167.)

The study found that living within a half-mile of a liquor store (a place that sells mostly alcohol in bottles and cans) significantly increases a teenager’s likelihood (chances; odds) of drinking too much and of driving while intoxicated.  If you can walk to the liquor store, you are more likely to use it.  (It is illegal for teens to purchase alcohol in the U.S., but that doesn’t prevent some stores from selling it to them.) We can think of the distance you live or have to travel to get something you want as being part of the “price” of that thing. If something takes a long time to get to, I may decide it is not worth the cost (of my time) to get it.  When you decrease the distance, you decrease the “price,” and the lower the price, the more likely someone is to buy something.

This basic principle (idea) of smaller distance –> lower price –> more consumption (more using or buying of something) works for all sorts of activities, and can often be a good thing.  If you live closer to your gym, you are more likely to go there to work out (exercise).  It is also true for the topic of this week’s English Cafe, public libraries. Several studies have found that the closer you live to a public library, the more likely you are to use it.  This is true for people at all levels of education, from college graduates to young children.

In fact, the magic number (important or significant number) seems to be about a half a mile (about .8 kilometers) for both libraries and liquor stores.  Kids who live more than half a mile from a library are much less likely to use it than those who are closer.

Although the advent (coming; arrival) of digital readers like the Kindle or the iPad may make the physical presence of libraries less important some day, distance still matters (is important). Back in my hometown (place where you were born) of St. Paul, Minnesota, I grew up only 1/3 of a mile from the nearest public library, and used it frequently.  I now live less than one-half a mile from my public library, and am there almost every week. If I had to travel 30 minutes to get the library, I may still go, but would probably go less often.

Do you have good public libraries where you live? Did you use them when you were growing up?

~Jeff

Photo credit: St. Paul Central Library, Appraiser CC