About my home | Erin

Target Vocabulary: culture, description words, traditions

Hi everyone! It’s Erin, again! Today’s blog is about my home in America: Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is a city in the Northeast part of America. The city is located in the state of Pennsylvania. Below you can see an outline of the state and a heart where my city, Philadelphia, is located!

I love my city for so many reasons, but I am going to start with the sports teams, first! My favorite sport is ice hockey, and our team’s name is “The Flyers”! Their uniform colors are orange, black, and white! They are known for being a very tough team with a lot of talent!

We also have an American football team called the “Eagles”. Their uniform colors are Kelley green, black, and white. I love watching American football, although I know many people in Europe find it to be slow and boring 😉

We also have a baseball team named the “Phillies” because our city’s nickname is “Philly” and a soccer (or football) team called the “Union”. Finally, we have a basketball team named the “76ers”. Philadelphia is a very historic city in America, because it was one of the very first cities in the country. The President of the USA used to live in Philadelphia, and Philly is where our Founding Fathers created the Declaration of Independence. This very important document was written to tell England that the Americans wanted to be independent, and it was signed in the year 1776. For that reason, our basketball team’s name is the “76ers”! Our fans are very passionate and dedicated. We are known by everyone in the United States for being some of the best and craziest fans in the world!

These are the symbols for our football, hockey, basketball and baseball teams.

Another thing I love about Philadelphia is the food! We have some foods that are specific to the culture in our city. People travel from all over the country to try some of our delicious food. Probably our most famous food is called the “Philadelphia Cheesesteak”. This is a sandwich with chopped up steak, cheese (my favorite is Provolone) and usually fried onions all on a roll and served warm. Mmmmm, I want to eat one now that I’m talking about it!

The Philly Cheesesteak, yum!

We are also known in America for having a very specific accent. In our city, we say words that no other American city does. Some examples are: “jawn“, “water ice“, “down the shore“, and “hoagies” (I included a specific “Philly Vocabulary” List in this blog for fun!). If you think about it, this is similar to how Spanish-speakers in Spain say “vale”, but no other Spanish-speaking countries do!

Another important fact about my city is that it is very diverse. We have people come from all over the world to live in our city, so this makes the population very diverse. Philadelphia is a city full of hard-working people, immigrant communities, people of all different backgrounds and cultures. One of my favorite things about my city is that you can walk down the street and see 10 different stores and restaurants that are all authentic to their own individual cultures.

If you want to learn more about my city, ask me in school:)

Vocabulary and definitions to help with comprehension:

• City – ciudad – this is a location with a lot of people living there.
• Northeast – noreste – in America, we explain where our states are by the region they are in, so ‘Northeast’ is the upper-right section of American states!
• State – estado – in America, all 50 states make up the country, and each state has its own individual government. Each state government follows the rules of the country’s government (also known as the ‘Federal Government’).
• Sports teams – equipos de deportes – groups of people who play a sport together! Most large American cities have many sports teams.
• Ice hockey – hockey sobre hielo – this is a sport played on ice with skates. It is very popular in North America (Canada and the USA).
• Uniform – uniforme – a connection! The matching clothes a team wears when playing a sport.
• Tough – difícil – this word can be used in different ways, but in my story it means difficult, or strong.
• Slow – despacio – the opposite of fast!
• Boring – aburrido – something that is not very fun and does not catch your attention.
• Nickname – apodo or “nombre corto” – in America many people, places and things have short names that are used instead of the full name. For example, “Edu” instead of “Eduardo”.
• Historic – histórico – famous or significant in history.
• Independent – independiente – a connection! In the context of the story, this word is to say ‘self-governing’; in general, independent means to rely on yourself and no one else.
• Fans – los fanes – a group of people who enjoy watching and supporting a team or person.
• Passionate – apasionate – strong, intense positive feelings
• Dedicated – dedicado – another connection! Loyal and committed to someone or something.
• Culture – la cultura – guess what- another connection! The customs, traditions and way of life in a specific place.
• Delicious – deliciosa – so many connections! Yummy! This word describes when food is very good and tasty.
• Accent – accento – connection. The different ways of speaking the same language. Some accents you might know in Spain are the difference between Spanish spoken by someone from las islas Canarias, Galicia and Madrid.
• Diverse – diverso – connection! Many different backgrounds, races, genders, and other identities.
• Population – población – the people that live in one place.
• Hard-working – trabajador – to try very hard and use a lot of effort.
• Backgrounds – orígenes – the history of where people came from.
• Stores – tiendas – a place that sells goods.
• Restaurants – restaurantes – a place where people pay for food to be prepared and given to them to eat at that same place.
• Authentic – auténtico – genuine or original.
  

“Philly Vocabulary”

• Founding Fathers – ‘padres fundadores’ – a group of men who rebelled against the British government and decided to write laws and create the United States of America as their own independent country.
• Declaration of Independence – la declaración de la independencia – a document in which the Founding Fathers wrote their wish to be free from the British King’s rule.
• Jawn – algún sustantivo (podía ser una persona, ubicación, cosa) –
• Water ice – gelato – a type of dessert that is frozen and made from sugars and fruits.
• Down the shore – por la orilla – instead of saying we are ‘going to the beach’, in Philly we tell people we are traveling to the shoreline. They mean the same thing!
• Hoagies – bocadillos – a sandwich made on long bread (called a ‘roll’) with meat, cheese, and vegetables.