Nogales international., 1944-01-21
u. s. Army
Specialized Training Program
New York City

Specialized Training Program
New York City
January z, 1914
Dear Craig:
Had intended writing to you for
a long time but as you probably
know, the Army here or anywhere
takes up a lot of time. New York
also takes up lot of time as there
are SO many things to see and some
of them are sometimes hard to get
tickets to, but we're getting there
slowly
Times Square was really a sight
last New Years eve as it was lighted
up for the night after long spell
of semi darkness. The sidewalks
we're jammed to the middle of the
street. The shop keepers from the
Times building to the SOS boarded
up their windows as insurance
against the happy, surging crowds
who sometimes stampede like a herd
of steers.
The girls were especially amiable
that night 1t was like a happy
party which is unusual for New
York, but then even this diluted
liquor we get here has its merits
when nothing else is available but
at times fails in zero weather There
was lot of lipStick in evidence
that night and. it seems. the service
men got the bulk of it.
I saw service men from all over
the world that night. AS our service
oreanlzat tions are open to them. it
was my pleasure to see and talk to
soldiers and sailors from the four
corners Of the globe. The French
sailors seem to be the most breezv-
happy go lucky bunch of red tas-
seled froggies on shore leave making
the best of the situation There
were New zea1anders, s. Africans.
Australians, Chinese, Polish, Free
French. Brazilians and God knows
how many more.
In conjunction with our studies
here. we have been attending con
ferencias'' at the Spanish house at
Columbia on Monday nights and
aside from the educational value we
have derived a good deal of pleasure
out of talking and mixing with the
Spanish people as well as Americans
Interested in Spanish.
It is really pleasure to talk to
American girls who have mastered
the language and speak Spanish al
most like a native. I'm getting so
accustomed to hearing Castilian
Spanish that when I hear the lang
uage as it is spoken in Mexico, it
sounds rather foreign to say nothing
about Cuban and Porto Rican. They
talk Spanish like they dance the
rhumba-vou know, very fast and
lot of chill.
Now that our quarters have been
changed, we have Russian section
on one side of us and a French
bunch on the other side and then
in front of us we have the italian
boys who never stop talking.
To a stranger, the washroom after
reveille when everybody rushes in
to shave would seem like the foreign
quarter in an international settle
ment The four groups talk their
adopted languages at once and when
you mix Spanish, Italian, French
and Russian, all in one room, it
sounds like mad house in distress
BY the way, I have picked up a
lot of choice expressions in these
LANGUAGES which some day I may
have the opportunity to use.
I have been receiving The Inter
national every week for a long time
and don't for a minute doubt that +
don't read every line in it including
the legal notices and advertise
mentS. And whom have I to thank
or all this? Of course. it must be
your magnanimity. Craig, and if
everybody else enjoys it as I do.
they really must derive a lot of
pleasure from it as you really pub
lish the real newsy news. After all,
we can get world news in any news
paper, but when it comes to getting
NogaleS' news. you're right there
Craig as no other paper. carries it
like The International.
enjoy Martyrs column especially.
Sometimes I think we have it easy
in the Army after reading all about
his troubles. He manages to get
there, however, which is what
counts, and let's hope that his
tomato ventures turn out as sue
cessfully His letter to Nanny Esca-
lada was good and it was of special
interest to me because I have heard