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I'm a native New Yorker, and a product of the city's much maligned public schools. After four years at Columbia University (plus another year for a Masters at Teachers College), I went back to the public schools this time as a high school teacher.
Just to get this out of the way; no, my family is not Spanish, or of Spanish descent. We're European Jews, which means we're from everywhere and nowhere. The study of foreign languages was always respected in my home, and I've studied Japanese and French as well as Spanish, although I haven't achieved the same fluency. Lately, I've started studying Dutch to research a new novel.
I learned Spanish mostly in school, a little bit in the neighborhood and in Puerto Rico, and a lot more in Spain. I first visited Spain as a high school student in 1994, and since college I've tried to get back there pretty frequently.
New York holds a special place in my heart, but I love all cities, and believe passionately in pedestrian zones, bicycle lanes, public transportation, and other things that most Americans seem dubious about.
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