Mango Languages

Mango Monday: Afternoon Recharge

Dragging a little after a too-much-turkey weekend? Check out how Mangoes Yana and Carly recharge!

There is only so much coffee one can drink. When that 2:00 p.m. feeling rolls around, here at the Mango Grove, we try to take a healthier approach to get that second or ninth wind. We do a bridge pose. Doing the Bridge pose (also known as Setu Bandhasana in Yoga) will make you feel more alert in both body and mind. The pose opens up up your chest and increases blood circulation while rejuvenating your central nervous system. Right away you’ll feel like you drank a strong cup of coffee without even stepping into the kitchen. Let’s use some Hindi and say, “Namaste,” everyone!

Feature Friday: Meet New Mango, Nevrus Muftari

Mango is growing like crazy and we have several new team members to welcome to the Grove. Nevrus Muftari started in October as the Challenger of the Status Quo. He works with librarians and ensures they are happy with the Mango program and helps them with any training or questions they may have.

Nev (we call him that) has an interesting and diverse background. His dad was born in Macedonia and his mom was born in Germany but her family fled Albania in the forties when communism was prevalent. Approximately 35 years ago his parents met and married, then moved to Michigan. Nev speaks Albanian and English. He loves to travel. He has been to Australia, Mexico, Canada, Germany, Italy, Greece, Macedonia, and his favorite is Albania.

He worked for an online publisher and saw an article on Mango Languages and thought he could explore his love of languages at Mango. We are so happy to have him on the team.

Please help us welcome Nev!

World Wednesday: Happy Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the United States and we wanted to wish everyone a safe and Happy Thanksgiving from the Mango family to yours! There are many traditions we have to celebrate this holiday…what do you do to celebrate?

Travel Tuesday: Home for the Holidays

Can you feel it in the air? Your imminent turkey coma, last minute gift buying at a jam-packed mall, and best of all, over-crowded, bustling airports. Yes, my friends, the holidays are here again! It seems like just yesterday we finished the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers with one final turkey sandwich topped with a dollop of cranberry sauce. Yet, here we are again, two days away from an American holiday based entirely around eating. How very American, indeed! In all seriousness, though, Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite holidays for that very reason. Unlike Christmas, Hannukah, Valentine’s Day, or even birthdays, there is no pressure to find the perfect gift or plan something for someone to top the previous year. No, Thanksgiving sticks to the basics. Family, friends, and food. Being Middle Eastern, gathering over meals is a large part of our culture. In fact, my entire family even gets together each Sunday at my grandparents’ home to have dinner. We’ve been doing this for over 30 years (though hard to imagine, they actually had a life even before I was born) and it is something we look forward to each week. Thanksgiving provides us with yet another day to break bread together and count our blessings, this time with members of our extended family.

Because Thanksgiving is a holiday so based around gatherings with family and friends, you can imagine that travel is at an all time high. In fact, according to the Bureau of Transportation, the average Thanksgiving long-distance trip length is 214 miles. This is still less than the average of 261 miles for other trips throughout the year, while Christmas/New Year’s takes the cake with an average of 275 miles. With the influx of travelers, be sure to allow extra time at the airport to make sure you don’t spend Thanksgiving in the food court. Doesn’t quite compare to grandma’s homemade stuffing, huh?

The average age of the Thanksgiving traveler is just under 34 years old, and 99% of these people are traveling within the United States. This seems obvious, considering it is an American holiday, but I am all about starting new traditions. Thanksgiving in Turkey (it’s fitting, right?) for 2012! Who’s with me!?

One of the best parts about Thanksgiving is tradition, both remembering old ones and creating new ones. Some of my friends from my program when I studied in France told me about their American Thanksgiving they tried to recreate with a hot plate and not much else in an attempt to satiate their craving for mashed potatoes and gravy. And this year, rather than the traditional turkey, my family will be switching things up with a pig roast. Should be interesting.. I will report back next week. Just goes to show, no matter where in the world we are or how we choose to celebrate, the sentiment of togetherness stays the same! Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, and don’t be afraid to go for that second (or third, or fourth) piece of pumpkin pie.

Have you ever celebrated Thanksgiving somewhere other than the US? Do you have any unique traditions?

You’re never too old.

The  Mango marketing team was recently in Dallas where we met Lewisville Public Library patron Raleigh who told us his Dad’s story using Mango:

“I want to tell you about my Father. He is 88 years old and he decided he wanted to learn Spanish. We went to the Lewisville Public Library and registered him. He had to learn the Internet but once he did, he completed the Mango Basic course as well as the Mango Complete course. Each course was very understandable, great layout, great way to learn a foreign language. It’s all thumbs up for Mango from us!”

We love hearing stories about the young, old and everyone in between learning with Mango! Do you have any stories about learning a language very early or very late in life?

Feature Friday: Meet New Mango, Andrea Ehlert

We are so excited to welcome Andrea Ehlert to the Mango family. She started working at the Mango Grove in October to help out our Language Learning Specialist Team. She will be supporting our Mango customers in Oregon, Indiana, Washington, DC, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, Kansas, Ohio, New York, Wyoming, and Montana. She will be available to train library staff, help with the Mango Administration System support, and she is happy to answer any questions you may have about your subscription.

Andrea has a fascinating and very diverse background. She was born in Quito, Ecuador, and moved to Tanzania, Africa, when she was seven years old and lived there for two years. Her father managed a shrimp farm there. When she said this, I got visions of the movie “Forest Gump” and all the different shrimp dishes she must have enjoyed. In 1998, her family visited some relatives in Michigan and loved it. They decided to stay and became official U.S. Citizens in 2008. A true immigrant story!

When Andrea came to the U.S as a nine-year old, she didn’t know any English as she was fluent in speaking Spanish. However, today she doesn’t even have an accent. She loves languages and heard about Mango through some college connections she had. Once she visited the Mango website…she fell in love. She is a very persistent lady as she stalked us until we hired her. We love her passion and drive!

We are so glad she stalked us and she is an awesome contribution to the sales and marketing team. Please help us welcome Andrea!

Travel Tuesday: This is what life is all about

When I was 15 years old, I saw an article in the local newspaper about an exchange student program where families hosted teenagers from around the world in their homes for a school year. I thought this was an amazing idea and begged my parents to be a host. You see…I am an only child and had always wanted an older brother or sister! My parents thought about it and they decided to bring over a girl from Brazil named Nara. We picked her out from a catalog, which to this day we find really funny. She was 18 years old and we had a ton in common. We both played the flute, took ballet lessons, and loved to travel.

I had no idea how much this random article would change my life forever. She lived with us for one year. We went to school together, we lived together and we traveled to Niagra Falls and Disney World. Yes, we fought and yes we eventually became “sisters.” When she left, I was so sad but forever changed. My world had opened up in ways I never knew were possible. I learned some Portuguese, I learned about her culture and food. I learned that we are the same yet different in really cool ways.

When I was 18 years old, I was able to go to her home in the capital of Brazil, Brasilia. I lived with her and her family for about 4 months. This was an awesome opportunity and such an eye opening experience. As our roles were reversed, I was know the foreigner in a strange land. She has a much larger family so I gained sisters and brothers and another set of parents. She comes from a fairly wealthy family, so I even got to have maids. My mom was worried I would forget how to make my bed. I learned so much about Brazil, the world, and myself through this experience.

What I find more amazing is over the years we have stayed in touch. We even wrote real handwritten letters to each other before the internet, chat, and skyping were even possible. It has now been more than 20 years since we first met that summer day in 1990. We have traveled back and forth for special events and I even went to her wedding. Now she has two beautiful children and this past weekend, she brought her family to Disney World in Florida. I surprised my mom for her birthday with a trip down to Disney for the weekend to meet her granddaughters. Of course the most magical place on earth!

It was so amazing to see my Brazilian sister Nara, and meet her two daughters, my nieces, who are four and five years old. I truly fell in love with them. They are wonderful children who, despite a bit of a language barrier, wanted to hold my hand and play as if we have known each other their entire lives.

This weekend was one of those moments that makes you so thankful for the people who have come into your life and changed you forever. I am better for knowing Nara. She inspired me to love language and culture, and want to share my experiences with others. I am blessed and so grateful to have her as my sister.

Who has inspired you?

Travel Tuesday: No Speak Americano

Obviously, as the crazed Mango fans that you all are, one of the most exciting parts of traveling to far off lands is the opportunity to utilize all that you have learned and practiced (from the comfort of your own home, using your MP3 player, or even on your iPhone). As someone who has lived abroad, the prospect of conversing with native speakers is just as terrifying as it is exhilarating. What if my accent is horrible? Do I use the formal or informal? Which verb tense do I use? These fears can prevent us from making the most of our travels and speaking the language of the land. It seems so easy to slip back into our English comfort zone. If there is one piece of advice I can give you, it’s DON’T DO IT!!! Some of my best travel experiences have occurred in countries where I only knew a few words (hello, thank you, goodbye, etc.). You don’t have to speak a language fluently to earn the respect of the locals. Merely making an effort with these simple greetings and gratitudes (no matter how horrible the accent) is enough to create a connection with someone.

Take it from Benny Lewis, a world traveler originally from Ireland who has a self-proclaimed “love affair with other countries and speaking foreign languages.” At the age of 21, Benny only spoke English. A mere 8 years later, he speaks English, French, Italian, Esperanto, Irish, Spanish, Portuguese and German fluently, and his newest venture is American Sign Language. His website chronicles his language learning and his travels, and he even has an awesome video where he uses all of the languages he speaks to give a tour of his apartment in Berlin. Impressionant, non?!

I actually discovered Benny’s site through a co-worker who thought it would be of interest to me, and she was right! One blog post I found particularly relevant is entitled “What will I talk about when my language level is so basic?” He brings up an awesome point that really makes you think about trying to use that foreign language you studied way back in high school: To be interesting, you have to be interested.

So what does this mean exactly? It means that to have a great conversation with someone, you don’t have to do all the talking. Crazy concept for us Americans, eh? Being able to ask questions and let someone else do the talking benefits you in two ways. Firstly, you really get to know the other person and discover the ways in which we, as humans, are all alike, despite our areas of origin. Also, it allows you to sit back and listen if you are not as comfortable with your speaking skills! He also addresses the common fear that locals will be upset if you speak the language incorrectly. While I can’t say this is 100% untrue, I can say that in my experience, it is almost NEVER the case. Definitely the exception and not the rule. Usually, they are thrilled that you are making an effort to preserve their language and culture.

I highly suggest checking out Benny’s site and taking a look around. He encompasses all that is Mango Languages and definitely lives out our core values. And next time you travel, I encourage you to use your language skills in any capacity that you can. I promise you will not be disappointed. If nothing else, at least be a little more understanding the next time someone from another country speaks to you in broken English. Pay it forward for the next time you are abroad and struggling while asking how to find the restroom.

Have you ever visited a country where you did not speak a word of the native language? How were you able to get around? Did you learn anything by the time you left?

English is weird.

As native speakers, there are so many nuances to the English language that we don’t even realize.  Things like the graphic below give me an even greater respect for ESL learners.


What’s the weirdest thing you can think of about the English language? If you’re an ESL learner, what has been your biggest challenge?

Feature Friday: Libraries Rock

First, I have to say I LOVE my job. And this is one of those times that really reminds me how lucky I am to get to do what I do with such cool customers – Libraries.

Mango likes to have fun…and at the New York Library Association trade show we really like to do it up. Why? Because we have a serious reputation to uphold. We have won best booth for two years running and the themes of the shows keep getting better and better. This years theme is Libraries Rock. And we couldn’t agree more!

Libraries are centers of the community. They are Google, Amazon, and Starbucks all rolled into one super human hero of searching capabilities and knowledge. I read a tweet today from the #nyla11 Hashtag that said 60% of librarians had helped someone get a job this year. Libraries are helping to keep this country working too! Wow!

We are always humbled by the words of love that our customers give to us…we honestly love you too. We wouldn’t be here without you and say thank you for all you have given us! I know that I have made some wonderful librarian friends and can’t wait for next year’s theme and show to do it all again!

Libraries…YOU rock! Thanks for letting us be your groupies!