Mango Languages

Mango goes to DC

Earlier this week Jane (government ambassador) and I visited the nation’s capitol to spend time with a few government customers, give a talk on alternative uses for a library degree (aka librarian gone vendor), and talk to a few potential mango customers.

First stop was Gallaudet University where we stayed. What a cool college…it is the world leader in liberal education and career development for deaf and hard of hearing students. They had a fantastic little shuttle that took us all over the city.

Second stop was dinner at Jaleao…and bonus it was resturant week…. OMG! We had a five course Spanish Tapas meal for a steal! We met some Mango friends and enjoyed wonderful conversation and the ambiance of a national landmark in Chinatown.

Third stop was to be complete tourists and enjoy the city by moonlight. We had both been to DC several times but never have enjoyed the monuments all a glow. We were both in awe of how grand and majestic the city was at night.

Fourth Stop was in the morning of the next day – we had to get some more delicious food. And stumbled upon the cutest little French cafe which transported us to Paris with its Cafe au Lait and Pan au Chocolate (chocolate filled croissant) and enchanting French music.

After we filled our tummies we headed over to the Library of Congress. Now if you are a Librarian this is the mothership of all libraries. I felt smarter just walking in. Jane gave a great panel presentation from a former medical librarian’s perspective and how she came to work for Mango…FYI she now wears a Hawaiian lei and tie dye t-shirt to work!After her awesome speech we had other meetings at the Library of Congress and got to walk in the underground tunnels between buildings and see the reading room on the 5th floor. The business library…it was so cool. It has an art deco influence and had the coolest carvings of owls.

Our last stop for the day was at the National Geographic Society. This was really cool! I am a travel addict and this was travelers dream. Books upon books on languages, places and maps of all around the world. I totally geeked out! They even had an exhibit on Machu Picchu which I hiked back in 2007. It is a beautiful place with amazing building skills. On top of all of that, we got to go to the Explorers Hall. Where the explorers used go to report on their exhibitions. All we could think about was the travels and stories that were shared in that room. Soooo amazing! People like Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Jane Goodall and so many more. WOW!

Our last visit was to Rand Corporation where we met two great librarians and chatted about world peace! Lots of great things happening there!

Overall, we had a great time, met some great people and have great memories. What is your favorite thing to do in DC?

Travel Tuesday: One Stick of Fried Butter, Please.

This weekend, a few friends and I took an unforgettable road trip to visit our dear friend Colleen in Des Moines, Iowa. Yes, Iowa. Despite my initial resistance (what’s less daunting: a $550 plane ticket or a 10 hour drive?), I eventually succumbed as soon as talk of the Iowa State Fair began. Not to mention the fact that Colleen has no qualms in constantly reminding me that she came to visit me in France, so skipping out on Iowa was simply out of the question.  The girl has a point.

Who needs to travel internationally when you can take a big bite out of America with just a (not so) quick car ride away? We talked up the fair for weeks, planning all that we were going to see, do, and most importantly, EAT! The Iowa State Fair has an entire landing page on its website dedicated to food on a stick. Our group of friends can be found at any given time eating, planning what we are going to eat next, or talking about something we wish we were eating at that moment, so we definitely were up to the challenge. Fairs, festivals, and carnivals of any kind are generally known for their unhealthy fare, but the Iowa State Fair takes unnatural cuisine to an entirely new level. Case in point: fried butter. This is not a joke. Fair-goers (my friends and I included) indulged in a stick of butter dipped in a honey batter and fried to a golden brown. When in Rome, right? We also treated ourselves to fried cheese curds, fried candy bars, and most notably, a red velvet funnel cake with cream cheese glaze. To say we all need to hit the gym this week is an understatement, though I don’t regret a thing! It’s all about life experiences.

In addition to the hundreds of food vendors, the fair boasts rides, carnival games (one of our friends lost $60 trying to win a Michigan State pleather jacket. Karma for supporting Michigan State, I suppose), craft beer tents, musical performances, pageants, and a petting zoo, among a multitude of other attractions. One of the events that has garnered the most popularity over the years in Iowa is the butter sculpting competition. The Iowa State fair is most known for its famous Butter Cow, which celebrates its 100^th anniversary in 2011! As described on the Iowa State Fair website, the tradition started years before the fair even began as a means of worship for Tibetan monks who carved animals from yak butter. The cow sculpting held a special meaning this year, as the first female sculptor and only the 4^th sculptor in the history of the fair passed away in June. Norma “Duffy” Lyon began sculpting the cow in 1960 was succeeded after her death by her apprentice of 15 years, Sarah Pratt. The butter cow is made of wood, metal, wire, steel, mesh, and butter, and it weighs approximately 600 lbs upon completion. Photos can be seen all around Des Moines in preparation for the fair and it is clear that it is a source of pride for the city.

Despite a few minor setbacks (mainly the one where I arrived in Iowa and realized my purse, including ID, cash, and credit cards was still in Michigan), the trip was well worth the travel time. Though maybe not as “exotic” as traveling somewhere where I would need to speak a foreign language, Iowa definitely has a story to tell. The heart burn from the fried food will eventually subside, but the memories of the good times shared with my friends in a brand new city will last a life time! Until next time, Des Moines – sorry I ever doubted you!

What is your favorite “hidden gem” in the United States? Have you ever stumbled upon a cultural event by accident, only to be pleasantly surprised?

Travel Tuesday: The Hills are Alive

To say that The Sound of Music was a defining film of my childhood would be an understatement. It was the movie that instigated my passion for musical theater that still thrives today, nearly 23 years later. Aside from dancing around my room pretending to be one of the Von Trapp children, I was actually in the show twice. I auditioned for Gretl, the youngest child, and ended up playing Mother Abbess, the oldest character in the show. Go figure. Needless to say, when my friend Chelsea suggested a trip to Austria, I immediately became ecstatic at the prospect of fulfilling a lifelong dream: The Sound of Music tour in Salzburg!

Usually when I travel, I gravitate towards the local hangouts and other places off the beaten path rather than tourist traps. However, this was an extenuating circumstance and we made a lightning-fast exception on this trip! After all, what screams AMERICAN TOURIST more than a hop on/hop off Sound of Music tour? I might as well have carried around an American flag and a Lady Liberty head piece to identify myself as a foreigner. Chelsea and I were like two kids in a candy store as we sang songs and reminisced about our favorite parts of the film at each stop throughout the 4 hour tour. From the Nonnberg Abbey to the Frohnburg Castle to (just wait for it) the famous SOUND OF MUSIC PAVILION, we saw it all! Unfortunately, the doors of the gazebo were locked, so we were unable to recreate our own rendition of “16 Going on 17” like we had planned (Chelsea as Rolf and me as Liesl), but we DID snap tons of pictures and squealed with glee at each monument. Sometimes you have to suck it up and embrace your right to be a camera happy tourist.

As we headed back to Bastian, our host in Austria, we couldn’t wait to tell him all that we had seen! You can imagine our shock and awe when Bastian informed us that the majority of Austrians had barely even heard of the movie, much less seen it. You would have thought he had told us that Santa isn’t real. We couldn’t quite grasp the concept. You mean there are actually people in the world who did not grow up wanting a governess? Actual people who had never, not even once, sang “My Favorite Things” during a rainstorm? When he told us most Austrians only know of the movie from “silly Americans who come to Austria to go on the tour,” we nearly lost it. This was completely unacceptable. Since we were learning so much about Austrian culture from our time in Salzburg and Vienna (including important German vocab for young travelers, namely Prost, which means “cheers”), we decided it was only proper to complete the cultural exchange with a little American education. That night, Bastian brought over a projection screen and invited over a bunch of friends for an official Sound of Music screening. Though skeptical at first, we (obviously) won everyone over in the end. As though anyone would be able to resist Frauline Maria’s charm and taste in music. Even Bastian’s friends who barely spoke English momentarily forgot the language barrier and were singing along as best they could. While I’m sure none of them ever watched the movie again, I’m sure they will never forget that night and neither will we. As we said “So Long, Farewell” to Austria and our new friends, our hope was that we left as much of an impression on the country as it left on us.  A big Prost! to Austria – until next time!

What is the most “touristy” thing you have ever done on vacation?

Citizen U.S.A.

Happy Monday Everyone!

The past weekend, as I was flipping through the channels to find something to watch, I came across a really interesting documentary, Citizen U.S.A.: A 50 State Road Trip on HBO.

Emmy-winning filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi attends naturalization ceremonies across all 50 states and meets people from all over the world who have just become American citizens to learn why they chose America as their home. Her documentary includes interviews from newly naturalized citizens about where they came from and what they love about America. Pelosi’s Dutch-born husband’s swearing-in ceremony inspired the filmmaker to go on a nationwide road trip “to experience the moment new citizens take their oath, to find out why so many people are willing to renounce their birth country and swear allegiance to the United States of America.”

After watching the full documentary, I was moved. As a person whose family came to the United States to live the American dream, even I realize how easy it is to take things for granted.

When asked, “What do you like most about America?” the answers varied: freedom, security, clean water, respect, equality, education, being able to practice any religion, American food, customer service, and 911 were some of the answers.

It made me realize how diverse the United States really is, how many unique and incredible people we have here that have their own backgrounds, history, culture, and reasons why they came to this beautiful country. Most of the people in the documentary came to the U.S. with very little money, no knowledge of the English language, and full of hopes and dreams for their future. They came here for an opportunity to reach their full potential.

We should strive to learn as much as possible from people all over the world. In this amazing country, is nice to know that you don’t have to go far to experience diversity.

Click here to watch the documentary trailer.

What are your thoughts? Have you or someone you know immigrated to the United States? Why?

Innovation Station

Innovation is one of Mango’s six core values. Check out this video to see what Innovation means to us and how we use this core value to get creative and make Mango a better place every single day.

What does innovation mean to YOU?

Special Guest at the Mango Grove

Happy Monday Everyone!

Last week we had a special guest here at the Mango Grove, Kathleen came to visit! Kathleen McInerney is our lead English voice-over talent and usually the first voice you hear when listening to the courses. She is well-known and respected in the voice-over industry, and besides doing recordings for us, she also performs in New York and around the United States in both classical and contemporary theater.

Mango Languages has worked with Kathleen for almost four years but we have never met her in person since she lives in New York. Kathleen is the narrator voice on all of our foreign language learning software courses. We got a video of Kathleen hitting the famous Mango gong. She put her own twist on it.

We loved seeing you Kathleen.  Come back soon to visit again!

Meet our Newest Mango, Rachel!

We would like to introduce our newest Mango, Rachel Reardon. Rachel joined the Mango team a few weeks ago and we would like to officially welcome her to the Mango Grove.

Who better to tell you about Rachel, than … Rachel. So here she is in her own words:

“My job title here at Mango is Marketing Coordinator. I work with our consumer team to help get the word out about Mango Passport.

I first heard about Mango at an Automation Alley event two years ago in Troy. There, I met Jason Teshuba and learned a little about Mango. As a language student, it was exciting to hear about a language company doing such cool things in this area. I stayed connected with Mango for the next few years though social media and voila!

I recently graduated from Oakland University where I studied French language and literature, advertising and design. While I was in school, I completed internships in finance, marketing and design and most recently worked in social media at a marketing agency.

My favorite thing about Mango so far is the office culture! In just my first week, I experienced impromptu hula hooping Olympics and an old-fashioned game of telephone with a multi-lingual twist. You can tell that the Mangoes work hard and are passionate about what they do but also have fun doing it.

I couldn’t pick one trip in particular but my favorite travel destination is Montreal! Every time I am there, I discover amazing new places, meet fascinating people and find more reasons to love the city. While at Oakland University, I spent time as a French Research Assistant, traveling to and evaluating Francophone universities in Quebec City and Montreal. I try and go back as often as I can. I’ve learned about the province of Quebec and the immense impact that the French/English bilingualism has on education, politics, art, and culture. Plus, I love the “Franglais” perfected by French Canadian speakers (that is often hilarious to Anglophones)!

The core value I appreciate the most is innovation. It’s so exciting to join a company that is so committed to and values the importance of constantly being at the cutting edge and accepting new ideas.”

Well said! Welcome Rachel!

ALA 2011 in The Big Easy

This year the ALA Annual was held at the New Orleans Convention Center, a massive venue.  We quickly realized that a  building 1.2 miles long means a LOT of walking!  This time around, we had a better-than-ever 20′x30′ booth to showcase our product with a nice, well-lit, long smoothie bar.  Our Mango Smoothies were even more desirable for those attendees who completed the journey to our aisle.

Overall, the show was a great success. The focus this year was on the highly anticipated iPhone Application that was made available in the App Store  just hours before the show. As curious potential customers and veteran Mango fans came to our booth we passed out Mango badges, gave personal demonstrations of the unique features that each Mango course has to offer–such as the phonetic pop up, cultural notes, Organic Learning slides, and our Voice Comparison feature.  We made sure that each attendee left educated and Mangofied. Our fans came to our booth raving about Mango, and we couldn’t pass that opportunity up without getting some incredible video testimonials. We truly have the best fans!

This year the Mango VIP after party took place at The Rusty Nail on Constance Street in New Orleans. This year’s party topped all the previous ones!  With the Mango drinks flowing, the open patio, and the incredible Jazz band, the crowd of roughly 200 guests seemed to have a blast. It was so much fun to see all of our guests participate and meet the Mango staff in our traditional game of Guess that Mango. What made this year’s after-party even more unique was the announcement of Mango Mania’s 2011 winners. Five teams made up of our ultimate fans battled it out through Mango challenges to show their love for Mango and potentially win $2500 toward a Mango subscription and an iPad2 for each teammate. The winner of Mango Mania 2011… (drum roll) … was Team MO (Mango Obsessed)! Their name says it all. The two teammates, Amy and Jessica, gave it their all while completing Mango-specific challenges all the way through New Orleans. Check out their Facebook Fan page to see amazing photos and videos of their Mango Mania journey. Congratulations Team MO!

We would like to thank everyone who has made this weekend in the Big Easy amazing!

We can’t wait to see you all again at ALA Midwinter 2012 in Dallas!

What it is like to visit the Mango Grove

Check out how Lynne Pierce was welcomed to the Mango Grove by some of the coolest Mango Elves in the office: Franco, Dave and Joe!

If you are ever in the Detroit area, please stop by and visit with us. We promise to have fun!

Mango Languages featured on Fox 2 News

We are so excited! Mango was featured last night on the local TV news. Check it out our Pirate language course here!

Mango Languages: A Michigan Success Story: MyFoxDETROIT.com