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How are we going to feed 9 Billion people in 2050? We look at the main problems, and possible solutions.

Get More Out Of Gold:

- We publish each Gold episode every wednesday, but you can get instant access to all 28 Season One audios, plus all the worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation) in the Gold Season One Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 7 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.

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Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

Hola!

It’s revision/review time – Last year we emailed some of you about Spanish for snacks, and we wanted to make sure you all get this great Spanish language information:

It can often be confusing how the Spanish can have 3 different ways to say the same thing!

Having a between-meals snack is a classic example.

If I (Ben) am investigating the fridge for a snack Marina might say to me either of the following things:

Hmmm, hazme un piscolabis también…

A mi también me apetece un tentempié…

If it’s afternoon teatime, she’ll probably use ‘merienda’:

¿Vas a preparar la merienda?

So, piscolabis and tentempié are both wonderful sounding words used here in Spain for between-meal snacks and merienda is more for teatime, though it could be used for a morning snack in the context of what you send a child off to school with to keep her going until lunch.

The verb is often used too – voy a merendar algo, and the Spanish often talk about having an early merienda-cena, a ‘high-tea’ that fills you up enough to not need a proper supper later.

So snacking in Spain can sound like a complex business, but we like to make sure you are aware of all the variations!

Try using these in real life Spanish conversations!

Saludos desde Madrid,

Ben y Marina

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Ben’s sister finds love, despite it being more likely to find aliens in our galaxy, and online dating flourishes in Spain.

Get More Out Of Gold:

- We publish each Gold episode every wednesday, but you can get instant access to all 28 Season One audios, plus all the worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation) in the Gold Season One Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 7 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.

Click here to get the Gold Season One Pack now

Getting the podcast in iTunes

- Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes And do leave us a review in iTunes if you can!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

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Marina is rightly proud of her nations high-speed train network. It’s so good that Obama wants to copy it!

Get More Out Of Gold:

- We publish each Gold episode every wednesday, but you can get instant access to all 28 Season One audios, plus all the worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation) in the Gold Season One Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 7 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.

Click here to get the Gold Season One Pack now

Getting the podcast in iTunes

- Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes And do leave us a review in iTunes if you can!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

The above statue was spotted near the Palacio Real by a friend as we walked around Madrid – some witty person has hung a sign around his neck:

‘No tengo ni pa’ ropa’ – with the ‘pa’ being short for ‘para’ to show it is mimicing coloquial speech.

No tengo ni para ropa – I can’t even afford clothes! (Which is clearly a bit of a dark joke in these times of financial crisis…)

More for you to sink your Spanish-learning teeth into…

First of all, 3 useful phrases we’ve come across in the last 24 hours and wanted to share:

¿Qué vamos a hacer para la cena esta tarde? ¿Comemos en casa o en un café? – What are we going to do for supper tonight – eat at home or in a cafe?
Pues, vamos a decidir sobre la marcha. – Well, let’s decide on the go/when the moment arrives.

Tengo un examen esta tarde – I’ve got an exam this afternoon.
Pues ya nos contarás que tal te ha ido – Well you can tell us later on how it went.

Lo que no mata engorda – What doesn’t kill you will make you stronger (when Ben ate some bread with a bit of mould on the crust! This is a very typical Spanish phrase, literally meaning ‘what doesn’t kill you will make you fatter.)

Next up, time for some video revision!

Take a look at our Spanish table manners video again, very important to get this right if you ever eat in Spain!

If you like this video, you’ll love our Gold Audio – are you listening yet?

And finally – follow us on our Facebook page! (We sometimes post cool stuff there!)

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A burned hand leads to a trip to ‘Urgencias’, plus we discuss private and public healthcare in Spain, the joys of Spanish hospital food, and whether or not the Spanish are illness-obsessed!

Get More Out Of Gold:

- We publish each Gold episode every wednesday, but you can get instant access to all 28 Season One audios, plus all the worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation) in the Gold Season One Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 7 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.

Click here to get the Gold Season One Pack now

Getting the podcast in iTunes

- Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes And do leave us a review in iTunes if you can!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

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We discuss the world’s Blue Zones, where a very high life expectancy is the norm, and the formula we might try to follow to live just as long ourselves (and why we often fail in the west).

Get More Out Of Gold:

- We publish each Gold episode every wednesday, but you can get instant access to all 28 Season One audios, plus all the worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation) in the Gold Season One Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 7 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.

Click here to get the Gold Season One Pack now

Getting the podcast in iTunes

- Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes And do leave us a review in iTunes if you can!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

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This week Ben and Marina talk about the animal kingdom – pet fashions in Spain, endangered (and dangerous!) species in the Iberian Peninsular, and more useful animal phrases.

Get More Out Of Gold:

- We publish each Gold episode every wednesday, but you can get instant access to all 28 Season One audios, plus all the worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation) in the Gold Season One Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 7 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.

Click here to get the Gold Season One Pack now

Getting the podcast in iTunes

- Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes And do leave us a review in iTunes if you can!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

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As the Catalans debate banning bullfighting, and Spain looks set for a full smoking ban in public places, we ask, will Spain still be Spain when the dust settles?

Get More Out Of Gold:

- We publish each Gold episode every wednesday, but you can get instant access to all 28 Season One audios, plus all the worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation) in the Gold Season One Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 7 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.

Click here to get the Gold Season One Pack now

Getting the podcast in iTunes

- Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes And do leave us a review in iTunes if you can!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina

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Adolescents sailing around the world, kids playing with fire, driving cars, and carrying pocket knives… can these things really be a good idea?

Get More Out Of Gold:

- We publish each Gold episode every wednesday, but you can get instant access to all 28 Season One audios, plus all the worksheets (with full transcript of the Spanish conversation) in the Gold Season One Pack in our Store now. You’ll also get 7 Bonus Spanish-boosting Q and A audios, useful links for each episode and more members-only bonuses.

Click here to get the Gold Season One Pack now

Getting the podcast in iTunes

- Subscribe to the Podcast in iTunes And do leave us a review in iTunes if you can!

Saludos desde Madrid!
Ben y Marina