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Fun Notes in Spanish Video Contest!

Hola!

With the Spanish holiday season just around the corner in July and August, we thought it was time to do something fun, Spanish-boosting, and ‘totalmente gratis’!

Here’s the big idea…

Marina and I are opening up a video contest about just what Spanish means to you.

For me it means so much - it changed my life and helped me meet Marina, it means happy plazas, great food and rowdy fiestas, plus it’s a continuously fulfilling learning experience!

How about you? We are all learning Spanish for a reason… to find new freedom, a love of language, an upcoming trip, the chance of a new romance…

We’d like you to make a short video that shows us what Spanish means to YOU!

I’ll tell you about the cool prizes in a minute, but first, here are the easy-to-follow rules:

Step 1: Make a fun 1 to 3 minute video (strict max!) in Spanish that tells us a bit about you and your life, and just what Spanish means to you, including a fun, creative mention of notesinspanish.com

Step 2: Upload the video to youtube.com with one of these 3 title choices (the videos in Spanish, the title in English!):

“Spanish - What it means to me”, or “Learning Spanish - why I love it” or “Why I love to learn Spanish!”

Step 3: Send us the link via the contact form at www.notesinspanish.com/support with the subject line ’spanish video contest’.

Nada mas!

We’re putting a short deadline on this to get all the videos in before everyone goes on holiday, so the absolute deadline is Friday July 3rd (next week!)

OK, now for the prizes!

First Prize: A 100 dollar Amazon.com or .co.uk voucher, plus a signed copy of Ben’s book ‘Errant in Iberia’ all about how he fell in love with Spain… and Marina!

2nd Prize: A 50 dollar Amazon voucher

3rd Prize: A 30 dollar Amazon voucher

But here’s the most important thing you get:

A chance to improve your Spanish fluency! Making a video in Spanish is the best way to improve your fluency and confidence massively.

We’re going to pick 6 finalists to showcase on our blog and ask our thousands of newsletter readers to vote on the winner.

Don’t let that scare you! Be inspired to have fun, to have a go at speaking Spanish on camera. It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been learning for, how basic or advanced your Spanish is, we’ll be picking the finalists based on effort, creativity and fun factor - so please, please do join in and have a go!

Make the video as soon as possible while you feel inspired (remembering the 3 step rules above!), we can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Saludos from Madrid,

Ben y Marina

Learning Spanish from Taxi Drivers!

One of the biggest Spanish learning tips I can give anyone who is likely to be spending some time in a Spanish speaking country, is:

Talk to taxi drivers! Despite the fact that a few of them are unscrupulous and grumpy, most are incredibly friendly, and delighted to have an interesting chat with the foreigner (you and I) in the back seat.

I’ve learned so many interesting Spanish phrases from taxi drivers, and this weekend I got another, real classic.

I was chatting away to the driver about how well you can eat ‘on the cheap’ in Spain with a good old lunchtime ‘menu del dia’ (3 course set lunch).

But, he said (getting suddenly worked up), it wan’t the same in London, oh no, just about everywhere you eat lunch in London:

“¡Te fusilan! ¡Te fusilan!”

Fusilar = To shoot, execute by firing squad!

What a great way to say you get charged way too much!

He went on to describe all the ways in which you can also get fusilado, overcharged, here in Spain….

Eat ‘a la carte’ instead of a menu del dia? ¡Te fusilan!
Add an expensive bottle of wine to your meal? ¡Te fusilan!

So there we have it. Talk to taxi drivers! They have all the best words and phrases!

If you don’t think you’ll be traveling in a Spanish taxi soon, don’t worry! Just about every great Spanish expression I’ve every learned in the back of a Madrid cab is included (with full pronunciations from Marina) in our sound-super-authentic ‘Real Spanish Phrase Book and Audio Guide’: Click here to check it out and get more fluent now!

World Environment Day And The Notes in Spanish Forest

In today’s video, in honour of World Environment Day, Marina brings us up-to-date (nos pone al día) on the ‘Bosque Notes in Spanish’, the Notes in Spanish Forest, which has now been planted, with your help, by the charity FAPAS in Asturias, Northern Spain.

You may remember that the 120 cherry trees, donated by Notes in Spanish using a percentage of the profits from the sale of our ‘Crisis Collection’ pack earlier this year, are there to help feed the endangered brown bear population, and to compensate CO2 emissions. In fact, the trees will absorb 4.5 tonnes of CO2 and produce 2.4 tonnes of fruit per year! Thanks so much again to everyone that bought the ‘Crisis Collection‘ and made this possible.

Context: In the video Marina starts out by telling us about a corner of the Retiro park that looks just like the countryside beyond Madrid, and goes on to talk about how the Notes in Spanish trees have now been planted, the care that has been taken by FAPAS in the way they have been planted, and ends by thanking you all for your help again (also, see the helpful vocab list below):

More vocab from the video:

Las afueras de Madrid - The outskirts of Madrid
La encina - Holm oak
El cerezo - Cherry tree
La supervivencia de los árboles - The survival of the trees
El abono - Fertilizer
El ciervo - Deer
La corzo - Roe deer

Finally… Helping more charities AND your Spanish at the same time:

We will continue to support environmental and children’s charities by donating up to 5% of all Notes in Spanish profits every year to good causes.

Buy a Spanisih-boosting pack from our store now and help more than just your Spanish at the same time!

Free Spanish Wine Phrases Report!

Our Iberian wine expert friends Ryan and Gabriella asked us to come up with a quick report full of fun Spanish wine phrases. It’s short and sweet (like a fine Vino Blanco ;) ), and before I explain what this is all about, you should download the report right now via this link:

Spanish Wine Phrases Report PDF

Got the report? Great. Ryan and Gabriella asked us to put this together to accompany an event later this month called ‘Twitter Taste Live’, which basically involves people all over the world trying Spanish wines while ‘tweeting’ about it on Twitter!

No idea what that means?!

Well, Twitter is a ‘micro-blogging’ website that is on its way to being as massive as Facebook - the first thing to do is to sign up and follow me (Ben) on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/bencurtis

Following me now? Great! As well as Tweeting for the wine event, I’ll try and post some cool snippets and photos from Spain there regularly. Finally, you can get more info on the Twitter Taste Live event (April 24th at 6pm-8pm GMT) at Catavino.net.

¡Saludos desde un Madrid muy soleado!

Ben

P.S. More on “Al Pan pan, y al vino vino”, mentioned in our newsletter but not in the report, in this thread in our forum.

P.P.S. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter! http://twitter.com/bencurtis

The Most Amazing Spanish Learning Ideas Ever - Free Report

When we asked for ideas about what you planned to do to improve your Spanish massively in one week, we had no idea how incredible the response would be!

Katie, who helps out with our contact and support pages, has helped me organise all your ideas into a free report that can only be called “The Most Amazing Spanish Learning Ideas Ever!”

Download the report now for free:

To download the pdf, just click on this link below (in some browsers you may have to right-click on the link and choose ’save link/taget as’)

The Most Amazing Spanish Learning Ideas Ever! - PDF

Please feel free to pass this amazing resource on to friends and other Spanish learners via Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon - anywhere you can! Friends will thank you for it!

Learn Spanish (Lots!) This Week!

March 9th, 2009

I don’t normally post our special newletters here on the blog, but this one is important, so I’d like everyone to read it and, importantly, do what it says to really help you learn more Spanish this week! Here it is:

Hola:

Here’s THE number one, typical conversation being repeated in a thousand offices around Spain this Monday morning:

“¿Como estás?”

“De Lunes…”

‘De Lunes’ is SO used in Spain on Mondays, and it basically means ‘fed up and moody that the week is starting again’.

Well, I for one REFUSE to feel ‘de lunes’ EVER, no matter what day it is!

(One of my sisters mocks me by calling me ‘Positive Ben’ - make that ‘Ben el positivo’ for the purposes of this newsletter!)

So, Ben el Positivo’s big tip for not being ‘de lunes’ today (or any day this week) is: Do something for your Spanish!

The whole world is basically permanently ‘de lunes’ right now, but we, the Notes in Spanish brigade, are learning Spanish, thereby improving ourselves immensely and ‘tirando para alante’ (steaming forwards) in the process…

——————————————-
So here’s what I want you to do:
——————————————-

Our Spanish friend Isabel is still spending 3 hours a week in the forums at our sister site notesfromspain.com, correcting your worksheets homework, helping out with your written Spanish and questions, and generally being ’super-maja’ (really nice).

So, I’ve started a new thread in the forum called “Lo que voy a hacer esta semana para mi español” - ‘What I’m going to do this week for my Spanish.’

I want all of you to take just ONE minute to register for the forum (if you haven’t already) and tell us what you’re going to do for your Spanish this week.

Even if you are a complete beginner, try writing in Spanish (Isabel will be along to help out) and you’ll already be doing something great!

Plus, this will: share ideas, motivate all of us collectively, improve our Spanish, and make sure we are NOT ‘de Lunes’!

Please go here to join in now and share your ideas for getting ahead:

http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7928

Here’s to the best ‘Spanish Learning Week’ ever!

Saludos desde Madrid,

‘Ben el Positivo’

P.S. 4,000 people are likely to open this email this Monday morning!

How motivating would it be if even just half of you joined in the forum thread with your ideas? PLEASE take a minute to register in the forum (if you haven’t already) and join in, let’s see if we can make this the most responded-to forum post ever!

Don’t be ‘de lunes’! Join in here:

http://www.notesfromspain.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7928

P.P.S. It really is possible to make a HUGE difference to your Spanish in one week. Who else wants to make the jump up a level this week?

P.P.P.S. Everyone who writes in that thread will get a special forum Private Message from me later in the week!

New Audio! “La Crisis Collection” is Here!

Febrero 12, 2009

nullMany of you will know that while Marina is on maternity leave I’ve been working on some really interesting new audio with her old friend Isabel. Well, it’s ready! I think you’ll really enjoy these recordings, you can read the full story and find out all about the new pack here:

http://www.notesinspanish.com/store/la-crisis-collection.html

P.S. There’s a big discount for those that get in early!

P.P.S. Marina may be on maternity leave, but I still pursuaded her to record a great new bonus for this pack!

Click the link to find out more:

http://www.notesinspanish.com/store/la-crisis-collection.html

New Marina Video! Filling Your Life With Spanish Learning

In today’s video Marina talks about how she keeps her English learning fresh and motivating by filling her life with English, through watching films in English, talking to me of course but, importantly, reading lots of books in English.

Plus, she suggests that it’s good to push your limits, to tackle more difficult material than you’re used to if you really want to learn fast.

Do you agree? And as she asks in the video, ¿Cómo llenáis vuestras vidas del español? Comments below please!

P.S. Marina also talks about ‘La Crisis’ Collection coming out this week, recorded with her friend Isabel, an amazing person, as Marina points out.

Update: ‘La Crisis’ Collection is now Live here:

http://www.notesinspanish.com/store/la-crisis-collection.html

Check it out while the early discount still applies!

Learning Spanish Vocabulary… y la Crisis

In today’s video I talk about 2 methods for learning more vocabulary in Spanish (and why I don’t want to cut my hair!)

First of all there is the old-as-the-hills but super-useful ‘folded bit of paper’ method. Secondly there is the best method of all: just by using new Spanish vocabulary you will learn it really fast.

I’d love you to practice right now by telling me about the ‘crisis economica’ in your country at the moment.

If you like you can just comment on your methods for learning more vocab too.

Actually, I’d love your comments on both!

Update: ‘La Crisis’ Collection is now Live here:

http://www.notesinspanish.com/store/la-crisis-collection.html

Check it out while the early discount still applies!

Isabel and The Secret to better writing in Spanish

Watch the video and read the important steps below:

The video talks about how recent blog comments mentioned how hard it can be to write in Spanish. As I explain, about 5 years ago Marina used to laugh at emails I wrote in Spanish to a translation agency, even saying at the beginning “you write like a 5 year-old Spanish child!!”

However, I soon found that by just writing more, and getting Marina to help out with mistakes, I was getting much much better at writing in Spanish, and it actually became easy, and even fun!

So, we’ve enlisted Isabel, a friend of Marina’s, to come into our forum (at sister-site notesfromspain.com) once a day to join in the conversations, and help out with queries and corrections.

Here are the steps we really hope you will take now to join in, and experience a huge transformation with your Spanish:

1. Register in the forum via this link (takes 1 minute!!)

2. Say hi to Isabel in this thread

3. Join in with and hopefully start new posts in the Spanish speaking section of the forum

4. Pop in once a day to join in the conversations and see a huge improvement in your Spanish writing confidence!

(Remember to say something like ‘corrections welcome’ in your forum signature if you want help with mistakes!)

That’s all! We really hope you will join us for this, I’ll be there writing too (and getting corrected I hope!)

See you in the forum! Ben

Special Podcast: ‘Conseguir Cualquier Reto en el 2009′

Listen to my special Spanish report (via player above this line) on how to achieve any goal this year, and do let me know what you think in the comments below! Many thanks, and Happy New Year!

NEW UPDATE - The free transcript for this recording is now available. Just click on this link (or right-click and ’save link/target as’) to start the download:

Reto Transcript PDF Download Link

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

¡Conseguir Tus Retos! To learn even more real Spanish, check out our Premium Learning Materials:
Notes in Spanish Store

 

Thank You For Your Help!

We did it! With your help, with 10% of the proceeds from our winter sale, we reached our 1,000 Euro target for children affected by the Cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. In fact, we decided to round things up, and used Notes in Spanish funds to raise the total donation to Unicef’s Zimbabwe fund to 1,500 Euros:

null

As it says on the Unicef website, “Zimbabue está experimentando el peor brote de cólera de los últimos años. Más de 500 personas han perdido la vida, tras el colapso del suministro de agua y de la sanidad. UNICEF trabaja contra reloj para evitar la extensión de la enfermedad y para atender a las familias afectadas.”

Many many thanks again. Finally, we hope to donate 5% of all profits from our company, Notes from Spain S.L. (parent company of Notes in Spanish), to charity in 2009, mainly children’s charities again.

Saludos desde Madrid,

Ben y Marina

A Special Christmas Message!

¡Feliz Navidades! from Ben and Marina at NotesinSpanish.com!

Our Christmas Sale in now over, we’ll be reporting on how much we raised for charity (see below) on Monday! It’s good news!

Sale News Update 2: 10% of all monies collected in this sale period will be going immediately to Unicef’s projects to help children in the midst of the terrible Cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. We hope to reach our target of donating 1,000 Euros or more before Christmas. Help us make a difference while helping your Spanish out at the same time by buying in our store now! - Ben

Our Big Promise

Hi,

Just a very quick note about developments here and our big promise for the future of Planeta Notes in Spanish.

First of all we are working on a couple of fun things we’ll be sending your way soon, full of more real Spanish, as well as a HUGE project focusing on one of the cornerstones of the Spanish language, that should be ready early in the New Year.

Which cornerstone is that? A clue can be found in the following phrase picked up from the lovely old guy who works in the underground car park where we keep our car. Looking at our baby son Leo, he said to us:

“¡Que le vean casado!” - May you live to see him get married!

… well, we certainly hope so!

More on the next big thing as time goes on, it’s all part of our early New Years Resolution, Our Big Promise, which can be summed up as follows:

We are absolutely dedicated to creating and giving away the most valuable Spanish learning materials on the internet, and to improving your Spanish learning life over the long term as much as we possibly can.

All you have to do is to stay motivated, and stick with us. Really exciting projects lie ahead.

Saludos desde Madrid,

Ben y Marina

P.S. Do you Twitter? Follow Ben on Twitter (you may need to sign up for a free account) and find out exciting things first! Find and follow me at: http://www.twitter.com/bencurtis

A bit of Spanish Subjunctive for Desires

Warning: This video contains some bad language in Spanish.

I recently signed off a letter to a friend:

"¡Que te vaya todo muy bien!" Test: why does that use a subjunctive?

The answer (as explained in the video above, watch it first!):

"¡Que te vaya todo muy bien!" (’Hope everything goes well’) uses the subjunctive because of what is missing before the ‘que’… "Espero que te vaya todo muy bien" would be the full version, and "espero que" takes the subjunctive as it is expressing a desire.

Sorry, bit of a trick question, but that’s a very common usage, where Spanish speakers leave out the ‘espero’ bit when wishing someone something, for example good luck ("¡Que tengas suerte!").

Note, in these cases, the ‘Qué’ has an accent as it is a short exclamation phrase. (Oops! Sorry! After further research, we stand corrected, this is not so in this case.)

Do you know any other short Spanish subjunctive phrases like this, with Que + subjunctive?

(Note: Apologies for the unsavory language in this recording. Luckily it’s not half as bad as the examples used in the bonus ‘private lesson’ audio that comes with Real Spanish Control!)

Understanding Spanish - The Context Trick

Watch the video we made recently (filmed at home and in Madrid’s Plaza de Oriente) on what we think is one of the most useful things you can ever know when it comes to learning and understanding Spanish, what we call The Context Trick: It’s a real confidence booster!

Combine The Context Trick with the wealth of real Spanish in our audio and worksheet Super Packs, and you’ll improve your confidence SO much faster.

Check out the Super Pack for your level now, and accelerate your Spanish learning:

Inspired Beginners Super Pack: Click Here

Intermediate Super Pack: Click Here

Advanced Super Pack: Click Here

Who is Real Spanish Control For? Audio Update

Listen to this audio news update, then check out Real Spanish Control here:

Real Spanish Control

Saludos desde Madrid,

Ben

Real Spanish Control … is here!

At last our latest big project is finished. We think it’s going to be hugely valuable to our Inspired Beginners and Intermediate students. Do check it out here:

http://www.notesinspanish.com/store/real-spanish-control.html

We really think it can make a huge difference to your Spanish.

Ben y Marina

New Spanish Video!

Hola a todos!

We’ve been working away on something big we’re going to be announcing at the end of the week, plus we have 3 cool new videos to share with you.

We’ll be releasing them all this week, if you want to make sure you don’t miss them, watch the first here and follow the instructions on how to see the rest!

Don’t miss the first video!

Ben y Marina

“Cayo Una…” The Hail Storm Spanish Video

Here’s the context: In the video Marina discusses the huge hail storm we had recently, the effect it had on our terrace, how loads of local cars’ bodywork got trashed (and birds were killed in the park!), and whether our efforts to destroy the environment might be to blame…

Useful vocab from the video:

El Granizo - Hail
El Barreño - Bucket
Las Abolladuras - Dents
El Capó - Bonnet/Hood
La Chapa - The Bodywork

Real Spanish from today’s video:

‘Ayer, cayó una tormenta de granizo de impresión’ - There was an unbelievable hail storm yesterday.

Note, you could also just say: ‘Ayer, cayó una tormenta de impresión’ for a regular storm, without the hail.

If you really want to sound like a genuine Spanish-speaking local, you would say:

‘¡Ayer cayó una qué no veas!’ - There was a hell of a big one last night!

Who else wants to increase their Spanish confidence using even more real Spanish like this?

Check out the Super Pack for your level and get better at Spanish much faster… These packs are carefully designed to help you get the maximum possible from our Spanish audio, and progress faster than with other conventional courses:

Inspired Beginners Super Pack: Click Here

Intermediate Super Pack: Click Here

Advanced Super Pack: Click Here

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 30 - Horarios

Today we look at timetable and lifestyle differences in Spain and the UK, and more cool Spanish phrases as usual!

Check out the learning resources and language tools in the Worksheets discussed in this audio, in the Inspired Beginners Super Pack!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 29 - Shopping and Money

We look at useful vocab and phrases for shopping and money, and have a real Spanish conversation on changing shopping habits in Spain.

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 28 - Por y Para 2: Para

It’s Para time! In the last episode we tackled Por, and this time we cover its partner in crime, Para.

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Can you help us with a Review?

Hi,

If you have bought and used any of our worksheet packs or the Real Spanish Phrase Book, we would like to ask you a huge favour.

We would love it if you could send us a review telling us what you thought of the product in question. This will take just a couple of minutes but help us enormously.

All you have to do is briefly answer a few short questions and send us the answers via our secure contact form. To do so,

Step 1. Select and copy the following questions (to paste into the contact form at the next step):

————————————

What is your name and location? (e.g. Ben Curtis, Madrid)

Which product purchased from our store would you like to give a testimonial about: Beginners, Intermediate, or Advanced Worksheets, or Real Spanish Phrase Book?

How has the product helped you with your Spanish (e.g. what have you learned? How has your level improved?)

Were you skeptical when you ordered?

How did you change your mind?

Who would you recommend this to?

———————————–

Step 2. Next go to the secure contact form at our sister site notesfromspain.com, and paste the above questions into the message body, provide your answers, and hit send! If you have copied the above questions and are ready to proceed, click here to proceed to our contact form.

Many many thanks! Ben and Marina

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 27 - Por y Para 1: Por

It’s Por and Para time! In this episode we start with a complete rundown of Por. In the next episode, Para!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 26 - La Musica

Lots of Spanish phrases and vocabulary for music today, and an insight into Marina’s music tastes in days gone by!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 25 - Robo en Valencia

Today we look at the Past Perfect in Spanish, which allows us to order events in the past when we are telling a story (like “the robbers had left when the police arrived” in English).

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 24 - Ir de Tapas

Today we look at words and phrases connected with eating, ordering, and dealing with waiters in Spanish bars and restaurants, plus a run-down of the best Spanish tapas vocabulary and phrases.

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 23 - Ser y Estar

It’s time to tackle Ser and Estar! This is your definitive guide to why and when we use each of the Spanish verbs for ‘to be’. Also in this podcast, extra listening practice for the Past Tenses, making this one of the most useful podcasts we have ever produced!

The worksheet that accompanies this episode includes a full rundown of all the Ser and Estar grammar covered, providing a great guide for future reference and review. Pick it up as part of the Inspired Beginners Super Pack in our store.

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Useful Phrases with “Dar”

How many do you know? Which is your favourite? Join the dar discussion in our forum!

Phrases with “Echar”

Echar is one of those words that can mean a lot of things depending on what it’s paired with, and is often confused with hecho. How many Echar uses do you know? Click here to help us out in the forum!

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 22 - Odio el fútbol

More great Spanish conversation starters and useful phrases, with a touch of football for making friends with blokes! ¿Te gusta el fútbol?

Remember you can subscribe in iTunes (direct iTunes link) to download every Inspired Beginners show automatically!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Feria Del Libro - Notes in Spanish L!VE

In our latest video we chat about the Feria del Libro (Book Fair) here in the center of Madrid. ¿Lees mucho hoy en dí­a?

Some vocab from today’s video:

Un monzón - Monsoon

He vuelto constipado - I’ve come back with a bad cold

Estreñido - Constipated

Casetas - In this case they are stands in the book fair, but this word can also be used for bars at the beach

Editoriales - Publishers

Me aburro - I get bored

Subscribe to these videos in iTunes

Like the Real Spanish we use in all our videos? Check out the Real Spanish Phrase Book and Audio Guide!

Inspired Beginners Spanish Podcast 21 - Intercambios

We’re back! In this, the first episode of Season 2, we look at great conversation openers in Spanish to help you out at parties, when you meet new poeple, with intercambios and more! Plus, useful language to help you learn even more when talking to others in Spanish!

Coming up in the next four episodes: More great conversation starters, the Definitive Guide to Ser and Estar!, Tapas bars and restaurant vocabulary, and the last past tense, the Past Perfect.

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Inspired Beginners Super Pack

 

Advanced Spanish Podcast 96 - Los Bomberos

Marta worked in a UK school for a while this year, and her experiences highlight just why the Brits can be uptight and the Spanish much more relaxed! It’s all about the firefighters!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Advanced Super Pack

 

Advanced Spanish Podcast 95 - Adopciones

We discuss adoptions in Spain, and a recent terrible case from Argentina.

¿Sabes si hay muchas adopciones en tu paí­s? ¿De qué paí­s proceden los niños adoptados principalmente? ¿Qué opinas del caso de Marí­a Eugenia Sampallo?

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Get The Worksheets! To learn even more real Spanish, get the Worksheets discussed in this audio now:
Click here to get the Advanced Super Pack

 

Se me ha caido el pelo - Note in Spanish L!VE

¡Hola! It’s time for another one of our L!VE video blogs, ideal for Intermediate to Advanced Spanish lovers, though the phrases taken from the video and listed below are great at every level.

(Subscribe to our videos in iTunes)

Cool ‘pelo’ phrases from today’s video.

Se me ha caí­do el pelo - I’m in trouble! I’ve done something bad!

Me he rapado - I’ve had a really short hair cut.

No me tomes el pelo - stop pulling my leg!

More ‘pelo’ phrases…

Por los pelos… - In the nick of time

For example: Justo ha empezado a llover. Hemos llegado a casa por los pelos - It’s just started to rain - we’ve got back home just in time!

Enjoy these phrases? Want more?

If you enjoy using real Spanish phrases to sound really Spanish, then you can find over 100 more just like these in our Real Spanish Phrase Book and Audio Guide: Check it out here!

Advanced Spanish Podcast 94 - Ser Mujer en la Epoca de Franco

Marina talks to Maria Rosa about life as a woman under Franco’s dictatorship.

¿Qué te parece el hecho de que Marí­a Rosa tuviera que contar con el permiso de su marido para abrir y sacar dinero de su cuenta bancaria? ¿Cuál era la situación de la mujer en tu paí­s en esta misma época (años 60-70)?

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

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Advanced Spanish Podcast 93 - Plagas

What happens when rats take over an entire region in India?

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

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¡Muy chungo! - Notes in Spanish L!VE

The new Notes in Spanish L!VE video blogging adventure continues (subscribe in iTunes!) Today we talk about a few of our favourite phrases, first of all focusing on the wonderful, and pretty informal, Chungo:

Las cosas se han puesto chungas - Things have got pretty hectic/tricky/difficult.

Lo veo muy chungo - I think it’s going to be difficult (e.g. to get a certain project done by Monday).

¿Qué tal tu abuelo? … Pues está muy chungo - How is your grandfather? … He’s in a pretty bad way.

Other phrases from today’s video blog:

Hasta el 40 de mayo no te quites el sayo - this great phrase basically means it could still get a bit chilly any time up until about June 10th. After that you can pack your coat away!

Se está de miedo - It’s lovely (in this case the weather)

Estamos en la gloria… estamos de maravilla… estamos estupendamente… estamos guay - we are super happy, comfortable and contented (in this case about the wonderful temperatures)!

Le llevo dos años - I’m two years older than her

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