I like playing around with the sepia function of the camera:

I have realised though that sepia needs clouds – a sepia-coloured sky without clouds (or in this case too many clouds) isn’t interesting, it’s just too flat… The Rotunda, Guggenheim

Tarot readings – only $20

I love the lit-up Blackberry screen in the girl’s hand, underneath the Roosevelt Island aerial tram and the Queensboro bridge in the background

Cozy Corner flowers

The Ritz Diner where a blog brunch took place in November 2008, between 4 Swedish bloggers, three husbands and two American-Swedish daugthers

New York fire escapes

The Queensboro bridge again

The Met

The Met, again

Amazing to know that some of my relatives probably passed through this hall on Ellis Island 100 years ago or so

All the stories these luggages could tell us… Ellis Island

The view from the 38th floor

The Wednesday recipe is today substituted by a food rant However, if you are interested in an inspirational food blog – check out my friend Erika’s Food Blog (in Swedish). She publishes weekly menus and yummy but simple recipes. It is quite fitting that I refer to Erika today as we share an obsession for the Alpine cheese speciality raclette ever since we studied French together in Annecy, France*!

Swiss cheese specialities in Gruyère, Switzerland

Standard question in the US: Do you want cheese with that? which often becomes Don’t you want cheese?* Bitchy Petchie thinks “I would have ordered a cheese burger if I wanted cheese with my burger!” However, most of the time you don’t even have a choice; cheesy omelettes, spinach with cheese, cheesy scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes with cheese, artichoke dip with melted cheese, cheesy hash – the list goes on…

Not the best illustration of a egg-and-cheese-biscuit (since I didn’t open the wrapper) I got as breakfast on the plane last week. I only ate half of the muffin as I had already eaten a proper sandwich at the airport, and didn’t touch the scarily cheesy biscuits…

I read a recipe in Elle Decor (US edition) for Duck-and-egg hash, where it was first of all claimed that “putting potatoes together with meat is distinctly American“, which I would beg to differ – what about the Swedish pyttipanna or the Danish biksemad? But yes, the recipe was distinctly American in the sense that it contained 4 oz of cheddar!

What’s with the cheese obsession in the US? I probably sound like a snobby European, but if you love cheese so much – why don’t you eat the real deal, instead of “cheese”? Processed cheese doesn’t even taste like cheese, and is so full of preservatives and additives. It does seem like there has been a turn lately in the cheese habits of the Americans, at least in the ads on TV it is increasingly common to point out that the pizza is made with “real cheese” or that the cheese is not “processed” but made the traditional way.

I am also fascinated by the little variety of cheese: I head Rachael Ray say once “Gruyère tastes similar to Swiss” – You don’t say, Gruyère IS a Swiss cheese!! And what is “Swiss” cheese anyway, that’s like calling a cheese “French”! Switzerland has 450 types of cheese (and France even more), while the US seems to have American, Swiss, Monterey Jack and cheddar. You would expect a cheese-loving people to demand a little more when it comes to taste, texture and ingredients.

Real Swiss cheese in Gruyère, Switzerland

Don’t get me wrong, I like cheese too, but there’s a time and a place for it! I don’t want cheese in every dish – scrambled eggs are perfectly tasty without cheese, mashed potatoes as well, while I do like a slice of cheese on my morning sandwich. I had breakfast at the hotel in New Jersey last Friday and was a little surprised to realise that there was no cheese on the breakfast buffet. Quite a few types of bread (well, two types of ready-sliced bread, and different kinds of bagels) but only jam, cream cheese and peanut butter. In the end I didn’t have any bread, just some cereal, hash browns and fruit salad.

Our cheese [and ham] drawer in the fridge – and I do not take any responsibility for the tube of Swedish “Kräftost” (Crayfish “cheese”), nor the slices of “Swiss cheese product”!

In our household we eat our fair share of cheese; O’s yummy sandwiches for breakfast on the weekends, and O loves a snack of the above crayfish “cheese” on a piece of bread. I also do acknowledge that this kind of Swedish “cheese” is not better than American processed “cheese”, but to my excuse I don’t actually eat it. The “Swiss cheese product”, next to the cheese tube in the above photo, was left behind by our youngest visitor – whose mother noted that it was obvious that her daugther was American-born since she had refused to eat ”real cheese” when she was in Sweden! O’s family absolutely loves Swedish hard cheese and we always bring a few kilos when we go to Spain from Sweden, while my parents love the Spanish Manchego, a type of sheep’s cheese.

Mexican cheese in a Tijuana market

Finally, I also find it interesting that Rachael Ray (who I by the way, do like) will say that a dish that she is making is really healthy because it has a lot of vegetables, and then she pours in a cup or two of cheese!! Oh well, that’s like putting cream on your breakfast porridge, as shown on ads for Reddi Whip***; just another one of those American phenomena I am so fascinated with. Maybe it is just an ad (let’s hope), but the idea of whipped cream on porridge feels like a sacrilege – porridge that can be such a healthy choice for breakfast…

And for an etiquette question, more or less related to cheese:

When you are in a proper restaurant (i.e not a fast-food joint), and you have ordered a hamburger, with or without cheese, do you eat it with your hands or with cutlery? I always eat it with fork and knife, which I realise maybe is completely against the idea of a burger but I don’t like eating stuff with my hands (too messy) and I usually don’t eat the top part of the bread (usually too much bread for me). What about you?

NB. The question refers to eating a burger in a proper restaurant, i.e not in McDonald’s, Wendy’s or Burger King…

*) We also studied in Linköping but that didn’t leave any long-lasting food memory!?
**) Almost comparable to the reaction you get in the  UK when you don’t want milk with your tea!
***) I won’t get started on what I think about whipped “cream” sold in a can – something I have hated since I was a child and I learnt to order “eis ohne sahne” in German!

The freshness of the autumn rain in New York is already a distant memory, and my jacket, socks and long-sleeved tops are waiting to be stored back in the wardrobe… until next time I leave the island, for Christmas in Spain.

Here are some photos to show you what I was up to last week in New York:

The 6 o’clock morning flight from San Juan to Newark is at least two hours too early… but the sunrise is always beautiful! And it is great to arrive in New Jersey already at 10, and to be able to be in NYC by 11.30 or so.

I didn’t care that it was raining in Newark… For an autumn-lover like myself, living in the tropics, it was the perfect weather!

When I arrived to my hosts, my dear blog friend Saltis & her family, a sick M greeted me with a hot cup of tea and a little chit-chat before he headed back to bed. Saltis came home and we had a chatty lunch over Thai food (the fried rice with chicken was almost as good as in my favourite Thai restaurant in Brussels). In the afternoon I headed to The Guggenheim to see the Kandinsky exhibition.

My favourite Kandinsky painting was one called Bleu de ciel (Sky blue) – it was just so cheerful and I loved the different circus-looking shapes. I am considering buying the print from art.com…

It was my second visit to The Guggenheim in New York but I have also visited The Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice several times – a wonderful museum by the Canal Grande. I can recommend the Peggy Guggenheim autobiography “Out of this Century“ - what a fascinating woman and life!

I walked along the Central Park three times in the rain on Tuesday and Wednesday and every time with a smile on my face under the umbrella! I told Saltis that I would treasure this experience and think of it when I walk in San Juan in the heat and humidity…

Yes, it rained and it was grey – but I enjoyed it! After my museum visit on Tuesday I headed to Crate & Barrel (best free toilets in this area of town!!) where I looked at Christmas decorations and mused over the fact that the Swedish Höganäs pottery is sold under the name “Nilsson”. The Marimekko textiles haven’t been renamed Heikkinen or Virtanen though

Preparations were on the way for the New York Marathon that took place on Sunday, i.e after I had left. I really liked the poster listing the different neighbourhoods that the race passed through.

Christmas seemed to be more present in the City than Halloween… And the bus decorated with the Radio City Christmas show definitely cheered up the dreary autumn afternoon.

The evening turned out to be a real girls’ dinner since M was too weak and feverish to eat with us. Saltis took advantage of the situation and served gnocchi, one thing that M doesn’t like and I love*. The meal was great and we talked non-stop until I realised that my early morning (woke up at 03.15) was starting to take its toll… I had a great sleep on the comfy Ikea sofa, even though the very charming cats Lipton and Tazo made me jump a few times when they tried to cuddle with me - since I was already sound asleep by then!

On Wednesday morning I went to the second museum of my trip – The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I love their slogan “It’s time we Met” – very clever.

At the Met I saw Vermeer’s The Milkmaid and an exhibition called “American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life 1765 – 1915″ - just the kind of art I like; of ordinary people doing everyday things, instead of kings and queens posing stiffly on horses…

Rain on Union Square

After having walked down to 59th Street for the third time, I decided it was time to take the subway – to save some time. I headed to Union Square where I was to meet up with Saltis for lunch. However, I had some time to spare so I visited my favourite shop in NYC – Fishs Eddy and then nipped across the street to ABC Carpet & Home, another cool interior design shop.

The ABC Carpet & Home shop window had this text displayed - register on the website www.hopenhagen.org and show your support for the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December!

It was still raining and while I waited for Saltis, I went to Barnes & Noble to look for a place to sit and read, without having to buy a coffee. I found a row of chairs by the window on the 1st floor, perfect for a tired walker… I love that you can sit down in American bookshops, either on chairs or on the floor (it is quite common in France and Belgium as well), to read a book or magazine. I had brought my own book though, the first Paul Auster book “The Brooklyn follies” that I have read and I loved it!

Saltis and I had a yummy noodle lunch at Republic on Union Square and it occurred to me that if my last New York visit had a French bistro-theme, this definitely had an Asian-theme**! My hostess was in desperate need of some new jeans so American Eagle was our next stop where she actually found two pairs of jeans. Our shopping motivation decreased rapidly and after a quick visit to GAP and H&M we decided to call it a day (the 80’s inspired fashion in H&M might have contributed…).

Tazo, the drinking-out-of-a-glass cat

The sick husband, M, was still fast asleep when we came home, but he did feel strong enough to have dinner with us – sushi! I was amazed at everything that can be home-delivered in New York City - not just food but diapers, and food for both humans and cats… So practical and it must be great to not have to haul heavy shopping bags around town. It is something I have been thinking about lately, and I suggested to O this weekend that we should consider getting some of our basic grocery shopping ordered and delivered when back in Brussels. However, I am married to a man who loves shopping (!!) so he was sceptical “as it takes away the pleasure of supermarket shopping“ 

Lipton, the majestic cat

After dinner I was treated to the amazing view from the 38th floor in the neighbouring building. Saltis & co live on the 18th floor, and their view is already quite impressive, but on the 38th floor you can actually see Manhattan in all directions, as well as the East River and Roosevelt Island and the beginning of Long Island City where O and I were staying in November last year.

Ella, the diaper box climber

Some more photos of my visit on Saltis’ blog… And I still have some sunny photos from last Thursday to show you.

*) When Saltis & co were visiting in Puerto Rico, M and I discovered that we have very similar taste in food – unlike our spouses we don’t like intestines (liver, kidneys etc)  and they think that we are quite picky…
**) I was also reminded that I still haven’t written about our Philly-trip in August, which had a certain Belgian beer café-theme…

… while O and I celebrate – not Halloween, but our WD…

This is my favourite shop in NYC – as I am a sucker for interior design and fun stuff for the kitchen!

Fishs Eddy entrance with old glove models

Fishs Eddy on Broadway, two blocks north of Union Square (exact address is 889, Broadway @ 19th Street).

I found lots of Xmas present ideas, including one very cool one for my father, but since he seems to be reading the blog with more and more regularity, I won’t show you that just yet…

The Floorplan plates come in different sizes – from studios to big “Upper East side apartments”

The Floorplan plate design is one of my favourites, the slogan is “Why rent, when you can own“. To thank Saltis and her family for hosting me during my NYC trip, I gave them a “bigger apartment” as they would like to have one more bedroom. Earlier this autumn my brother and his girlfriend got a floorplan plate as a house-warming gift from my sister and I.

The shop is full of old and new china, as well as cutlery (silver- or flatware in American) and quirky NYC souvenirs. Perfect for finding a gift that is a little different and not very expensive!

Vintage china from closed-down restaurants and hotels…

Read about the history behind Fishs Eddy here. The shop was named after an actual place in New York State.

I am at the moment in New York City on a short autumn trip so enjoy these fall vistas from last year while I enjoy the current ones in real life  

Princeton leaves in November

Central Park in November

The International Book Fair of San Juan took place next week, and I volunteered for the Alliance Francaise during the first two days. It was fun to participate in such a literary event since I love reading. However, my expectations were not too high – Puerto Rico doesn’t have a big reading culture* and the event didn’t seem to be very well publicised…

Centro de Convenciones in San Juan

One of my Puerto Rican colleagues was a little disappointed when we entered the Centro de Convenciones on Wednesday evening for preps and compared it to the book fair she’d been in… in Paris. Of course that was a very unfair comparison! The Convention Centre itself is a beautiful modern building (if you are into modern buildings à la Calatrava) but the big hall where the book fair was to be held was maybe a little… too big and echoing.

The new Sheraton hotel opposite the Convention Centre, part of the new neighbourhood being built around the centre and the yacht harbour, with apartment complexes and shops planned… I have no idea if all the plans are still going through with the current crisis?

Welcome to the FIL-PR (Feria del Libro de Puerto Rico or the Puerto Rican Book Fair)

The book fair got off to a slow start, which was expected (on a Thursday), with most school children arriving with their teachers. They were very curious though about the Alliance Francaise stand and the French volunteers gave some improvised French lessons to their delight.

The Alliance Francaise stand at the Book Fair

Unfortunately the explosion and consequent fire at the oil / petrol depot on Thursday night meant that quite a few schools in San Juan and the neighbouring municipalities were closed on Friday, and even fewer visitors came than Thursday.  It was a pity because Friday was the Alliance Francaise’s day and we had planned lots of cultural activites.

The AF stand

However, two brave groups of French students performed during the afternoon, singing French songs (La Marseillaise) and reciting poems and stories in French. They were very motivated and talented - quel dommage that not more people heard their performances!

A deserted Book Fair

Friday evening the number of visitors picked up a little and the little Alliance Francaise apéro turned out to be very popular. I mingled in Spanish, French and Swedish! Afterwards a French editor from the publishing company Acte Sud spoke about her job and told the audience about the incredible and unexpected success in France of the Swedish author Stieg Larsson (book rights owned by this particular company and more than 2 million copies sold just in France).

Friday activity organised by the Alliance Francaise – a presentation of the French author Céline Curiol

Another special guest of the Alliance Francaise was the French author, Céline Curiol, who was “interviewed” about her writing and books - one is called “Voice over” and tells the story of a woman who works at the train station Gare du Nord as a train announcer. I haven’t read any of her books yet but have ordered ”Exil intermédiaire” (not yet translated into English), which is set in New York City where the author has lived.

All in all the experience of the book fair was positive and I hope that there will be more visitors next year!

*) My Puerto Rican colleague told me that her parents had never read to her as a child (which is also the case of O who cannot recall anybody reading books in his home – is it a Hispanic thing??) and she only discovered the world of books as a student.

Most of you are probably wondering how did it go with the fire on Friday… Well, the fire has finally / already been extinguished and the FBI is now working on finding the cause of the explosion. That FBI is involved is not necessarily an indication that there was a supposedly criminal intent behind the explosion, it is just normal routine after such a fire. President Obama has declared an “emergency” in Puerto Rico to free upp FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency – the agency that was involved after the Katrina hurricane) funds. Read more on this link and this one.

Photo taken from the San Juan Convention Centre on Friday afternoon

Nothing bad that doesn’t bring out some good: Maybe some more Americans have learnt over the last few days that Puerto Rico is in fact an American territory? I quote CNN: Federal agencies have jurisdiction over Puerto Rico because it is a territory of the United States. It is very interesting to notice that there is a need to explain this, while at the same time the article was found under the category “World” and not “US”.

Dark smoke clouds on Friday afternoon

The explosion on the night between Thursday and Friday was felt as strongly as a 2,8 earthquake and quite a few of my friends had heard it and seen the flames. However, O and I, who were both awake at 00.30 on Thursday night didn’t notice anything. Funnily enough I had heard explosions around “Grey’s Anatomy-time” earlier in the evening, but I was told that they were caused by fireworks somewhere in the neighbourhood.

 
Just before the sun set on Friday

I worked at the Book Fair until closing time (9 o’clock) on Friday evening and afterwards we just had a late dinner at home while watching the Puerto Rican news about the fire.

[Less] Smoke seen from our window on Saturday morning

On Saturday morning we could still see smoke from the fire but we didn’t notice any special smell of burning or petrol. I told O though that I didn’t feel comfortable eating breakfast by the balcony, in case there were toxic fumes in the air (probably silly!), so we ate at the dining table instead. First “indoor”* weekend breakfast in a long time!

Smoke seen from the highway on Saturday afternoon

In the afternoon we headed to the central part of the island with Swedish B – some of O’s colleagues were playing a charity game of “bamboo ten”. I thought that the whole event was called “bamboo ten” but we were told that it referred to the game, which is a mix of softball and baseball, and played with bamboo sticks and a tennis ball! Hence the name “bamboo ten[nis]“. Has anybody else heard of this game? I tried to google it but couldn’t find any information – maybe I spelt it wrong?

“Bamboo Ten”

While watching the game, and trying to figure out the rules – B and I were utterly confused, we had some fried bacalaitos (fried pancakes with pieces of dry cod – bacalao) and pondering why one of the teams was called Los Extraterrestre – wasn’t there a -s missing at the end? O’s theory was that it was written phonetically – Puerto Ricans have a tendency to not pronunce the -s at the end of words (the name Luis is pronunced [Lui] – almost like in French!) or maybe it was just a mis-print?

A typical local sports park in Puerto Rico

The game took place in a local sports park, with two platforms for spectators at the baseball field, and another one by the basketball court, plus a running track. We saw one typical Puerto Rican jogger in a sweat suit – with emphasis on sweat! It looks an outfit made from a black garbage bag and it supposed to make you sweat more – completely stupid and probably dangerous in this heat! Stupid, because what you lose by sweating you will gain by rehydrating afterwards. (we later on found the suits for sale in Marshalls)

O’s air hostess friend S arrived on Saturday evening and we had a lovely dinner with her in Ummo, one of our favourite restaurants that serves parillas argentinas (Argentinian grill). It was fun to have dinner in Spanish, especially as I had been practising my Spanish during the two days at the Book Fair!

Tunos and tunas getting ready for their performance

Yesterday we visited the Book Fair since O wasn’t able to make it on Thursday and Friday when I was working. We saw typical student bands called Tunas prepare for their performance. I had never heard of Tunas until recently when I saw a group in the Old San Juan – they are hard not to notice since they are always dressed in traditional medieval clothes.  The typical instrument is the guitar and the students sing and play traditional folkloric songs.

Tunas at the San Juan Book Fair

All (?) the Spanish regions were represented at the Book Fair with official publications, both scientific and more literary books. Imagine our surprise when we found a book about the castle in O’s small home village! We bought it, of course 

More about the book fair tomorrow!

Does anybody know what this flower, or rather tree, is called? I really tried to get a better photo of it but it was very windy and to my annoyance I didn’t have any photo assistance since O had walked ahead of me…

*) Since we actually eat by the balcony and not on it. We open the French windows though so it is almost as sitting outdoors…

I was getting up a little later this morning, and was checking emails and facebook when I saw some status updates from friends in Puerto Rico about a big fire. So I went to the website of the the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día and read the headlines: A huge explosion at the oil / petrol refiniery, here in San Juan! I looked out the window and this is what I saw:

I am quite far from Bayamón where the refinery is located so I can’t imagine what it looks like closer to the site of the fire

The explosion happened just after midnight but the fire will probably last for days, according to reports. I tried to find some information on maybe CNN or BBC News, but apparently Puerto Rico is a very small island and there are more important news for the international community. The Puerto Rican tv-channels are all focusing on the fire and explosion of course and I am keeping my fingers crossed that no fireman will be hurt fighting the flames.

The schools have been closed in some of the municipalities in the San Juan area and the Bacardi factory is closed for today. One big consequence of the fire might be petrol shortages for the Puerto Rican drivers – serious for a country so depending on cars! Apparently people have already headed to petrol stations to fill up, but the not-so-popular governor* has claimed that there is petrol for at least one week.

Update: CNN just mentioned the fire… and my brother sent this link about the fire (in English).

The smoke is blowing out to sea – luckily the winds are blowing in the right direction, from land… (dark smoke behind the white clouds)

This afternoon I am working at the Book Fair again – I will write about it next week!

*) Last week there was a general strike in Puerto Rico and thousands of people demonstrated against the governor’s decision to cut 17,000 public jobs in a country with already very high unemployment…

Unfortunately I haven’t had time to write a Wednesday recipe post today, as I worked all afternoon with preparations for the participation of the Alliance Francaise at the Feria internacional del libro de San Juan (International Book Fair), which is starting tomorrow.

It is the first time since 1994* (!!) that I will be attending a book fair and I am really looking forward to the experience! I will try to take lots of photos and tell you more about it after I have worked in our stand for the next two days. On Friday we are celebrating a day of French culture with different activities and the special guests, a few French authors and editors, will present their work.

The fair looking very empty and quiet this evening… Hopefully it will be more crowded once it opens tomorrow!

And on Saturday one of O’s Spanish friends is coming to Puerto Rico – she works for Iberia and is working the San Juan route this weekend. It will be so much fun to see her, especially as we haven’t seen her in more than a year and she recently got engaged!

*) The international book fair of Geneva, I still have the Fodor’s Guide to the United Kingdom that I bought there!

Last week I read about Anne’s and her husband’s thoughts on names, and it reminded me of a short “essay” I wrote for my Spanish course a few months ago. I think that the subject of names is fascinating; the cultural and linguistic differences, as well as the historical background and meaning.

When it comes to royalty, I thought that it was fascinating for example to discover that in the Spanish gossip magazine, Hola, the British Queen Elizabeth II is referred to as Isabela Segunda, her son is called Carlos and her grandson Guillermo (William). One of my first memories of working in Brussels is of when I mixed up Charlemagne and Charleroi. For me, as a Swede, the two names sounded very alike – to the shock of my French colleague who told me that Charlemagne* was a very famous king (I had heard of him as Karl den Store in Swedish or Charles the Great) and Charleroi is a Belgian town! Why is it that names of Kings and Queens are translated?

King Oscar’s sardines – the sardines are Norwegian, and the king was Swedish. However, Oscar II also ruled over Norway since the two countries were in a union until 1905. Oscar is a Celtic name and was in fashion in Sweden around the turn of last century, as well as currently (since the new Millenium)

I have already written about names, in my blog post “What’s in a name – Spanish name mysteries“, which dealt with confusing Spanish surname (family name) traditions rather than first names. Surnames are definitely interesting, the respective family names of O and I could have had a -ez and -es at the end, but they do not… This causes a lot of confusion, especially here in Puerto Rico, even though the most famous Puerto Rican singer has the same surname as O, while I always try to explain that I am not a relative of Sherlock! O’s surname is a very common one in Spanish-, French & English-speaking countries, but of course pronunced differently.

Tombstone for one of my ancestors called Nils – a very common name in my family (and region). It was the 5th most common name in 1901 and is once again increasing in popularity

This is more or less what I wrote (in Spanish originally):

Names (without any scientific proof what so ever, this is my study of how names are chosen in different countries):

In Sweden it is common to choose names of past generations, generally the generation of the grandparents (or great grandparents) of the parents’ of the child. This means that names are “recycled” every 3-4 generations, but the children are not necessarily named after a certain relative (see below for the Spanish tradition).

The most popular names for Swedish children born in 2008 were:

1. Maja
2. Emma (second name of my father’s uncle’s wife – she’s Swiss though)
3. Julia
4. Ella (actually my great-grandmother’s name)

1. Lucas
2. Oscar
3. William
4. Elias

(source: www.svenskanamn.se)

Otto, a German name that used to be given to the 8th child in a family! Its popularity is increasing in Sweden, maybe because of the yummy ice cream sold under this name 

However, the most common names in Sweden (for children and adults) are Maria (and Anna), and Erik (and Lars). What is interesting is that most people with these names, Maria and Erik, have them as second names, i.e not used as their given names (tilltalsnamn). 

Spanish square with the same name as O’s grandfather and grandmother (ending with an -a of course). It is of German origin and means, just like it sounds, “the brown” or “the tanned”. Saint Bruno was born in Cologne and refused to become a bishop in Reims (from Wikipedia).

In Spain, my impression is that names don’t change as often as in Sweden. There are always children who are called Carlos, Diego and Manuel! And to prove this, I actually just took what I thought were common Spanish names, the above-mentioned ones, and confirmed their popularity (No 14, No 9 and No 15 for babies born in 2007). One reason might be that many Spanish families still keep the tradition of naming the first son after the father, who in his turn was named after the grandfather, named after the great-grandfather etc etc.

The great-grandmother Francisca (I noticed that I called her Joaquina in another post – I am actually not sure if she is Francisca or Joaquina, need to confirm her name with O’s father), whose name is not among the top 100 of the names given to babies in 2007

Since this tradition only seems to apply to boys, does it maybe mean that women’s names change more often in Spain? I am not so sure, but let’s try to do the same test as with male names. I would say that common Spanish female names are: Cristina, Mónica and Ana. Now, let me check their popularity among babies born in the 21st century: Cristina was No 26, Mónica No 88 and Ana No 13!

Aha, I have proved my point in a most un-scientific way: the names I chose were names of Spanish people I know (from my generation) and obviously their popularity have not been carried over to the present female generation to the extent of the male names, which are still common.

José is only No 36 on the top list of names from 2007. According to Wikipedia José Palafox is a hardcore punk musician but I doubt that the street in Zaragoza was named after him…

These are the top names of Spanish babies born in 2007:

1. Lucía
2. María
3. Paula
4. Sara

1. Daniel
2. Alejandro
3. Pablo
4. David

(source: www.babycenter.es/pregnancy/nombres/top_names_2007 and interestingly enough the top 4 names haven’t changed at all between 2007 and 2008)

I have never met a Sebastián in Puerto Rico, but his street is one of the most beautiful in the Old San Juan

My third example is the Puerto Rican name tradition – which doesn’t seem to be cyclical like the Swedish one, nor repetitive like the Spanish one, but it is rather a more imaginative custom. It would appear that the Puerto Rican parents try to find the most original name possible, and one tradition is to combine the names of the two parents – for example Geomari (from George and María). I don’t know how popular it is nowadays to give taíno (indigenous indian tribe in Puerto Rico and other islands of the Caribbean) names to babies but the name Uroyoan for example is of taíno origin.

For a foreigner it is sometimes difficult to understand and remember people’s names, at least when they are called Jehyra, Katsí, Nerydette, Adalberto, Glendaliz, Ydalmi, Unexie, Eulalio etc. Don’t get me wrong, I love the originality**, but maybe they are not always very practical names? And it does seem that boys get the more traditional names while the more fanciful ones are reserved for girls.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find the top names of Puerto Rican babies, in the US the more plain (?) names Jacob and Emily were the most popular in 2007.

*) Charlemagne is also the name of one of the European Commission buildings in Brussels and the whole conversation was about me going for lunch there – but I said Charleroi, a town 6o km away…

**) A Puerto Rican novel that I would really like to read, but haven’t found yet, is Usmaíl by Pedro Juan Soto that tells the story of a boy named after a US Mail post box…