Journey North: Monarch Butterfly

Print out the vocabulary words and read along. In addition to learning Spanish pronunciation, we hope you'll feel the friendship they extend to everyone at Journey North.

Be sure to watch the end of the clip. Can you understand what Señor de Jesus laughs and says?

Background
Several years ago, Noemi de Jesus and her cousins were the first children in the sanctuary area to welcome Symbolic Monarchs to their homes. We always try to visit the de Jesus family’s ranch whenever we return. It’s a beautiful setting, high up in the mountains near the Sierra Chincua sanctuary. Catching up with the family around the kitchen table, while eating hand-made tortillas warm from the wood stove, is always a highlight of the trip.

One year, Noemi showed me her family’s photo album. She pronounced her words slowly and carefully, the way we speak to small children who are just learning how to talk. It was so sweet--and exactly what I needed! Now, I’ll often hear Noemi’s coaching voice when I try to pronounce Spanish words correctly.

When we visited this fall, we asked if she’d teach a pronunciation lesson online for us all, using vocabulary words of the monarch overwintering region. She agreed. The day we filmed, Noemi was sick with the flu, so her father jumped in to help.

First Look at the Internet
Noemi and her family came down from the moutains to Angangueo's Internet cafe for a first look at the Web. Over the years, we've written several stories about the family on Journey North, so it was fun to be with them.

Noemi and her Mom are surprised to see themselves, shown in their own kitchen!

Noemi's Dad points out a spelling error in a translation.

Noemi and Elizabeth
December 2002