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12. Infection Tag

In Infection Tag, the player who is It infects everyone she tags, making every tagged player become It too. The last player tagged by any of the Its becomes the first It for the next round of infection.

13. Hot Lava Monster Tag

This version of tag is similar to the game of “hot lava,” where certain areas of the ground are deemed hot lava, making them untouchable. In Hot Lava Monster Tag, which is best played on a playground, the entire ground is hot lava, and the “hot lava monster” (the person who is It) is the only person who can stand on it. Everyone else must move around on the play structures, being careful not to touch the ground. Any player who touches the ground or gets tagged by the hot lava monster becomes the new hot lava monster.

14. Hide and Seek Tag

This is best played in woods with lots of places to hide. Everyone who is not It runs off while the Seeker closes her eyes and counts to 100 next to a designated tree. The Seeker calls “Ready or Not, Here I Come,” and begins searching for everyone else. The goal for those hiding is to get back to touch the tree before being tagged. Those who are tagged before touching the tree are also It and join the Seeker. The last one to reach the tree or be tagged is the Seeker in the next game.

Spanish Terms of Endearment, Idioms, and Other Items of Note

TERMS OF ENDEARMENT

* * *

Mi chula

My pretty one

Querida

Darling

Hermanita

Little sister

Muñeca

Doll

FUN WORDS TO SAY

* * *

Chimichanga

(chim-ee-chahng-guh)

A crisp tortilla with a spicy meat filling.

Burro

(boo-row)

(be sure to roll the “R”!)

Donkey; stupid (Como burro means, “like a donkey”).

Tonto

(tahn-toe)

Silly or foolish.

Chistosa

(chee-stoh-sa)

Funny; a facetious attitude.

Parangaricutirimicuaro

(pahr-rahn-gahr-ee-koo-tee-ree-MEE-kwahr-row)

The name of a town in the Southern part of Mexico; used as a nonsensical tonguetwister in much the same way as “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

EXPRESSIONS

* * *

Este arroz ya se coció.

“That rice has been cooked.”

(Similar to our expression, “That ship has sailed.”)

De tal palo tal astilla.

“Of such a stick is the chip.” (Like our phrase, “A chip off the old block.”)

No se puede tapar el sol con un dedo.

“You can’t cover the sun with one finger.”

Al mejor cocinero, se le queman los frijoles.

“Even the best cook burns his beans.”

Porque naces en horno, ¡no quiere decir que eres una barra de pan!

“Just because you were born in an oven doesn’t make you a loaf of bread!”

¡El mero, mero patatero!

“The real, real potato seller!”

(Like “The real McCoy,” or “It’s the real thing!”)

Spanish Food

Gazpacho

A cold uncooked bread soup usually made with stale bread, garlic, olive oil, salt, vinegar, tomato, and bell pepper

Paella

A rice dish made with saffron and olive oil and usually garnished with vegetables, meat, or seafood.

Churros

Fried-dough pastry snacks, sometimes referred to as Spanish doughnuts, or Mexican doughnuts, that originated in Spain. The long fried stick, sometimes also dipped in sugar or cinnamon, gets its name from its similarity to the horns of the Churro breed of sheep reared in the Spanish grasslands.

Spanish and Latin-American Themed Books

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Isabel: Jewel of Castilla, Spain, 1466 by Carolyn Meyer

Daring Spanish Girls

ARANTXA SANCHEZ-VICARIO

* * *

Born in Barcelona, Spain, in 1971, Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario started playing tennis at age four, following in her older brothers’ footsteps. When she was 17, she won the French Open, defeating the number-one ranked player in the world, Steffi Graf, and becoming the youngest woman ever to win the singles title. (Her record was broken the next year, when 16-year-old Monica Seles won.) Arantxa gained the nickname “Barcelona Bumblebee” due her tenaciousness