Part 1: Spanish Menus, Chaos, and Meaning
So I’m sitting there, staring at a ceviche menu that may as well have been written in Martian. Not because I don’t know some Spanish – I do. Kind of. But because language, as always, refuses to cooperate when food is involved.
The mind starts spinning. Is “leche de tigre” something I drink? Is it aggressive? Does it go in a shot glass or on raw fish?
Here’s what I learned, after letting the menu stare back long enough for the waiter to raise an eyebrow.
Mini rules that helped the chaos make sense:
- a la = in the style of (e.g.,
pulpo a la gallega= octopus in the Galician style) - con = with (e.g.,
pollo con papas= chicken with potatoes) - de = of/from (e.g.,
tarta de queso= cheesecake, literally “cake of cheese”) - leche de tigre is not a dairy situation. It’s citrusy marinade used in ceviche, and no, you don’t order it solo.
My mental coping mechanism:
[Protein] + [Preparation or Sauce] + [Sides or Garnish]
And with that, menus start speaking a bit more clearly.
You still don’t understand them like a native. But at least you stop panicking long enough to eat.
Part 2: My Imaginary System – Someday, Maybe, If the Universe is Kind
This is where my tech brain kicks in.
I want a tool – not because I love tools, but because I’m tired of forgetting. I want frictionless, low-bandwidth memory. Something that connects moments like ordering grilled octopus to actual learning. Here’s what I imagine:
The dream setup:
- Take a photo of the menu. On Telegram, I send it to my bot. No explanation. No tags.
- Bot uses OCR + LLM magic. It extracts dish names, sauces, preparation styles. Highlights unknown words. Does not just translate – that’s too easy.
- It explains.
- What’s delicious
- What’s culturally expected
- What I might regret ordering (e.g., super sour, or meant for sharing with 4 drunk locals)
- Suggests phrases to use when ordering: “
Quisiera el pulpo a la brasa, por favor.”
- After the meal, it writes a “learning card.”
- What I saw, what I ordered, what I learned.
- Stored to Emacs – maybe
org-roam, maybeorg-capture. - Automatically adds to spaced repetition if I want.
The point is not flashcards. The point is long-term memory that doesn’t punish me for being alive. I want to revisit these learnings as casually as I scroll Instagram – but better.
Why I Want This
Because I’m tired of forgetting the cool stuff I learn in chaotic moments.
Because I want my tools to be kind to the version of me that’s overwhelmed, underfed, and trying to order a meal in a language that’s 80% intuition and 20% bluff.
Because repetition, done right, is mercy.
And because LLMs, Emacs, and chatbots aren’t just toys. They can be memory prosthetics. They can be tutors. They can be quiet friends who remember what I forget.
So yeah, I’m building it. Slowly. One menu at a time.