So this is goodbye...

Oh no! Today is the final Bueno, entonces... class...triste!

I have really enjoyed learning from the dvd, and I know my Spanish has come on ´leaps and bounds´as we say. Obviously I am by no means fluent now, but I can converse quite well, and understand ALOT more than before I started the course. The grammatical structures of Spanish still boggle me, but I do understand them, and my vocabulary is good- ok, so not perhaps not really GOOD, but decent, I no longer feel like a small mute child when surrounded by Spanish speakers!

So this final class of Bueno, entonces... was a telephone exchange between David and Jimena, both of whom were otherwise occupied with family activities- David attending a party at his parents house via webcam, to celebrate their non-divorce, and Jimena surrounded by concerned family after her break-up with Martin. Interesting that they still feel the class should go ahead. Although some useful new vocabulary was covered, for example language that can be heard in airports, I couldn´t help but suspect there was an ulterior motive behind the telephone call...

David was waiting for his neighbour to come around, and she was already almost an hour late. This is something i´m still trying to get used to in Argentina, the time issue. At home I always just to get to places pretty much on time, so when I arrived here I maintained my punctuality, but just ended up hanging around waiting, so, slowly but surely I am adapting to ArgenTIME and getting later, and later!

So finally, about half way through the class the truth behind the phone call revels itself...I feel I should ruin the suprise for future Bueno, entonces... viewers, BUT it is too exciting and suprising for me to keep to myself! Jimena want´s David to take her out! SHOCK SHOCK HORROR HORROR! Why has this exotic and beautiful Argentine succumbed to David´s kooky, offbeat ´charms´!? But perhaps i´m missing somthing? Anyway, today´s class could have been half the length if David wasn´t so obtuse and picked up on Jimena´s hints, but finally the penny drops, and they are going to go out!

Previously I said I wanted to see another series of Bueno, entonces... so I can learn the past tense, but now I want to watch how the relationship between these two develops, how exciting!

And now I am going out to celebrate finshing my course, and to practice my Spanish, because, no matter how many classes I take, the only way I will reeeallly learn is to practice practice practice!

Chau Palta!

Oh NO! Que triste! Martin The Lawyer has left Jimena. Obviously David is quick to offer consolation and ´useful´ advice, as well as offering his shoulder to cry on, so i´m sure Jimena will be ok!

But, ever the professional Jimena does not let her homelife interrupt the Bueno, entonces... class and she presses on...David wants to learn the past tense, and so do I to be honest, because although I am all for ´living for the now´ and looking to the future, rather than dwelling on the past, it is sometimes quite difficult not to be able to say ANYTHING at all about my former life! However, Jimena refuses, saying that the past tense is a level about the level we are at now, which, I suppose is fair enough, and it does mean I will have to wait (with baited breath, and no past life) for another series of Bueno, entonces...! I don´t know how other learn Spanish programmes, such as Rosetta Stone, work, but I suppose it is necessary to spread the learning out, rather than cram too much information into a short amount of time.

Entonces, El pasado es el pasado, and on with the now....This class covered language of vacations, and began with an outline of all the wonderful places on offer in Argentina. This really is a spectacular country, and although I have already been to many of the places mentioned, I am now filled with an urge to go back! If I was at home watching this dvd I would be simply bursting with excitement about coming to Argentina.....ah me encantar! From the montañas and lagos of Bariloche to the desiertos de sal in el Norte, a traveller in Argentina will be overwhelmed by beauty, and after this the Bueno, entonces... class, the traveller will also be able to discuss the sights!

An intersting little snippet of information (or should I say Folklore) I have learned in this class is the existence of Nahuelito, Patagonia´s own Loch Ness Monster- I´m glad I didn´t come across it then I was dipping my toes into the Lago Nahuel Huapi!

The vocabulary sections today included ´vocabulary of meat´not ideal for me, as a vegetarian, but for most visitors to Argentina, essential, as carne, carne and more carne will become part of the everyday diet. Talking of the vocabulary sections, our very own ´vocabulary couple´who were having a few problems throughout the series are back on, for sure...in fact, I wouldn´t be suprised if we do not hear from them for a while, I heard ´cama´mentioned in there!

On a final note, david mentioned today that he doesn´t enjoy seeing people playing sport on the beach, due to the, as he so delicately puts it, ´wobbling parts´, well David, all I can say is you obviously haven´t been to watch the footballers and volleyballers on Copacabana...

Una cama por favor?

Today´s class has been quite a long one, covering the vocabulary of hotels and ´alojamiento´ (lodging). I didn´t find the class very exciting, BUT the vocabulary covered is very important to anyone who is coming to South America to travel, so obviously it was a necassary subject to cover. Much of my inital stint of travelling was camping, so I am familiar with the vocabulary of camping, including ´carpa´ (tent) and ´bolsa de dormir´ (sleeping bag) and I am also familiar with the complaints about not sleeping very well!

Substantivos are covered again, nd this time it is ´substantivos que terminan en -idad´ and I find them pretty easy to get my head around. The process of turning an adjective into a noun is really easy in English- just add an ´ity´ and it is just as easy in Spanish when you are just adding ´idad´. Por ejemplo ´responsable´ becomes ´responsibilidad´...facile!

David and Jimena practice using role play, I also find this a really good way to learn, because practicing situations is a good way to instill vocabulary in my mind, but that is one problem with the Bueno, entonces... dvd being, well, a dvd...it is not possible to actually act out a role play with another human. I could do it as I walk down the street using the Buneo Entonces iPhone application (if I had one!) but I think I might get some funny looks!

Clase con resaca!

‘Resaca' is an important word for students of Spanish in Buenos Aires: meaning hangover. Since this is a city that never sleeps, and parties go on until all hours, it is likely that, at some point, the word resaca is going to pop up! And it has today, as David has come to the class with, what we would call in Spanglish, 'a stinking resaca' after his father arrived yesterday. David's father has arrived in Buenos Aires with the intended objective of winning his mother back- but this seems a bit unlikely if he is going to get drunk and hang around with David!

Today's class seemed to contain an awful lot of English, I guess David was not in the mood for Spanish, but why should we all suffer because of his excess!?

The main portion of today's Bueno, entonces... class was about learning to invite people out, so there was a small section dedicated to reviewing freetime activities and a section dedicated to how to make invitations. This would have been useful to me a few weeks ago, when I said to someone 'quieres bebida con mi?' which roughly translated to a neanderthal 'want drink with me?'; about as sexy as a few grunts really! If only I knew then how to say in a ladylike manner 'te gustaria una vino con migo?' perhaps the answer might have been 'si'!

The Prof. has finally popped up again, he has been getting scarcer, I suppose because we no longer need him so much, but he is useful to explain concepts clearly. Today's concept was TENER QUE, meaning 'to have to/ must', and a VERY useful example was 'tengo que comprar ese vestido' (I must buy that dress.)

'Substantivos', sounds like the name of a really cheesy pop group, but in fact is the name of the process that turns a verb into a noun, and in Spanish this is easily done when following this easy recipe: simply take a regular verb, any verb will do, add 'miento', put it in a hot oven and moments later out will come a noun. An example being the transformation of the verb ‘casar’ (marry) into 'casamiento’ (marriage); if only the actual event was that simple!

Well, now is my time for ‘freetime’ so chau chau, i’m off to earn myself a resaca too!

Te gusta la Kamasutra?

Much as it pains me to think of it, I must mention that David has started a Kamasutra course. Traditionally, I think the Kamasutra has very spiritual connections as well as being about attaining sexual gratification (see: acabar!), but I really don't think David has gone in with any such conceptions as his main objective is to prove to his neighbour that he is good in bed. But, suprise suprise! David claims 'ya se todo' (I already know eveything)- Yeah, right!

Jumping away from the thought of David in bed, today's class has covered the vocabulary of rooms and furniture. This seemed a bit similar to the class about renting and place descriptions, so perhaps they could have been amalgamated.

The two new, exciting and relatively easy grammatical concepts covered in today's Bueno, entonces... class have been posessive pronouns, and definite and indefinite articles.

Posessive prounouns, 'mio' (mine) 'tujo'(yours) and 'sujo' (his/hers) are fine, easy, lovely- it's just a case of remembering them.

Definite articles speak of something in particular, they are el, la, los and las...and guess what? in English we have just ONE word for Spanish's FOUR: 'the'.
Indefinite articles speak of something in general, por ejemplo, 'una mesa' (a table) and in English we use 'a/an'. facile! Overall today's class has been quite an easy one, I think perhaps some of these concepts could have been coverd earlier on in the Bueno, entonces... course, but then again, perhaps if they were I would not have found them so easy?! I do not know what order other 'learn Spanish programs', such as Rosetta Stone cover grammar in, but overall I think Bueno, entonces... does the classes in quite a good order, and does not overload each class with too many new concepts.

Love is in the air...

Ahhhh que bueno! the story behind today's class is of love and forgiveness, how heartening on this dreary day in Buenos Aires! It looks like David's dad wants his mum back (that will get her out of David's hair), and Martin the abogado (Jimena's sexy lawyer novio) was not straying, just escaping from her dreadful cooking....so the class covered some vocabulary of love and romance, for example cute little words like 'mimos' meaning cuddles! The class has also included some very useful phrases for maintaining a healthy relationship: particularly important for the male students is the phrase 'tenes razon' (meaning 'you're right': add 'bonita chica' to this and you might go someway towards being forgiven for whatever it was you did wrong chicos!)

I mentioned in a previous post the glimmering suggestion that there was something going on between the vocab teachers Emanuel and Laura. And after un poco detection work I think I have figured it out: there is a certain Diego involved, and although I think you should be watching Bueno, entonces... to find out for yourselves, I have dropped a hint when I mentioned love and forgiveness, although I don't think it's really as simple as a few vocabulary examples....

The second section of Bueno, entonces... today covered the future tense, having first re-capped the previous lesson that related to the future tense, Jimena then moves on to a new form, that of the LA = IR A INFINITIVO (to go + infinitive) which is actually quite easy, the simple structure being YO VOY A.....wherever you will go. I know I have mentioned this many times before, but one of my favourte things about using a learn spanish dvd such as Bueno, entonces... is that you can stop and rewind whenever it is necessary, but with this particular new concept I found it so clearly explained that I did not have go back and repeat any of the explanation. Perhaps I am getting better at understanding Spanish...or as Jimena says 'mejorando!'

The class also included the use of temporary markers when talking in the future tense, which seem to be an overly-complicated name for saying 'when' in the future, por ejemplo: 'en un rato' not, as both David and I thought 'in a rat' but in fact 'in a short while' (there's that useful but also confusing word association again!)

Bueno, ahora voy a mi cama, pero nos vemos manana!!

Besos

Even on Saturdays...

It's the weekend catch-up session again, and Jimena and David are both partaking in a spot of stalking...David is in Mendoza spying on his mother with the Tango instructor, and Jimena is following her boyfriend because she is convinced he is cheating on her. Unfortunate, but let´s be honest, all these gorgeous Argentine men allegedly cheat- before I came here I was warned that it's a given (and it turns out he is probaly not even cheating, she's just a really bad cook!)

Ah dear, i'm sure there are no such exciting dramas on 'learn Spanish' programmes such as RosettaStone.

So as usual the Saturday catch lesson has been a games session. ´Veo Veo´ is the Spanish version of ´I Spy´ and is useful to recap. The games this week have covered place descriptions and well as grammar and comparisons, and are a really good way to reiterate the lessons learnt throughout the week. ´Corregi a la Profe´ goes down particularly well with David (Correct the Teacher!) and is used to practice the correct useage of ´por´ and ´para´- i´m still not impressed that there is a time for ´for´and a time for ´for!

And while i´m on one of my favourite rant and rave subjects (the complicated nature of Espanol) today´s little lesson in complication was the fact that that word ´banco´not only describes a bank, but also a bench. So be careful where you deposit your money!

Now i´m going out, becasue I should not be aldentro, on the computer, on a lovely day like this!

Ticket to ride...

The weather has picked up again, and rather than comitting my Free Friday to learning Spanish I´m afraid I have spent most of the day wandering around beautiful Palermo with my roommate, drinking iced lemonaide and visting a new exhibiton at the Bellas Artes. But thats not to say I have had NO time for David and Bueno,entonces..., although to be honest his moaning did bring my good mood down a little!

David is ´preoccupado´, because he is worried about his mother going off to Mendoza with her ´musculoso´ Tango instructor. HA, Jealous morelike!? So Jimena takes the opportunity to teach David about modes of transport, and how to book long-distance bus tickets and suchlike. For me this section of the class was not that useful, because, having been travelling for such a long time, I know how all this works already, and for 5 months the language of travel was about all my Spanish skills streched to. Having said that, if I was a new arrival in Argentina I would find the class extremely useful because, like everything else, even the simple task of booking a bus can be very daunting in a foreign language!

Today´s verb LLEVAR is something I am also already familair with, because after spending alot of time gestuculating wildely at Pizza places, I decided it was about time to learn the words for TO TAKE!

There is something that I have been thinking is a little odd throughout the series, but haven´t quite oput my finger on it yet...but Emanuel the vocab man keeps mentioning a certain Diego, and today he mentioned wanting to buy Laura (the vocab chica) a one way ticket to Bangladesh; I think i´m going to have to investigate the source of this bitterness a little further....

Pobre David....

Pobre Pobre David...he really has no luck, there I was thinking he was getting on well with Mariana, the girl next door, when she goes and chucks him! And to make things worse, she didn´t just chuck him, she was the catalyst for a great deal of bank related distress, involving a a shouting security guard, an unintentional robbery, a handful of ´chest´and a swallowed bank card...as I said pobre David!

But at least this drama has stimulated Jimena to teach him how to go about doing simple errands (tramites) in BA. Actually, these may seem like ´simple errands´ but I can vouch for the fact that they are not so easy when they need to be carried out solely in Spanish!

Using the ATM (cajero) in Spanish is something I had to learn by the ´trail and error´method, which can not only be ineffective at times, but also quite risky, as with, only one bank card in my posession,I did not want to lose it! So the fact that Bueno, entonces... teaches the vocabulary for carrying out an ATM transaction is another example of how it teached practical Spanish as well as the usual verbs and adjectives. Words like ´pagar´(pay) and ´cobrar´can look very off-putting when you are starting at the blue screen of a big grey machine that is holding all the money you posess in the world to ransom!

Another practical lesson, that has been mentioned before in Bueno, entonces... is the lesson of posession of ´monedas´ (coins) ie. ALWAYS have them, because there are not enough and you cannot ride a bus in BA without them. On my arrival in BA I soon discovered this, and, one night when I had no other way to get home other than the bus, a friend gave me the coins and I tried to thrust a crumpled 2 pesos note into her hand, but she refused, saying monedas are considered to be a gift here, and I must take them as such.

Aside from the vocabulary of tramites, this class covered something which I am quite sure how to name, but was basically the vocabulary of doing something NOW...meaning speaking wtih the verb + gerund (I love that word). For example, ´Como´ (eating becomes´comiendo´(I am eating NOW), so simple by adding ´ando´, ´endo´ or ´iendo´ a verb changes into a anction that you are doing now. Once again, I am not a teacher so find such things very difficult to explain, but Jimea does it infinitely better than me! As usual, there are exceptions to the rule, but these do not seem toooo difficult either.

Discovery of the day: ´cola´ can mean not only that brown fizzy drink stuff, but also bottom....AND queue. great, more confusion!

Mi casa es enorme....

Clase viente uno already! The series of Bueno, entonces... classes are going so quickly I can´t believe it, and I know my Spanish is improving, but I constantly feel I SHOULD be better by now. I think this is probably a problem many students have when learning a new language- constant frustration! I expect my Spanish to improve exponentially everyday, but in reality it will only get really good if I practice, practice, practice alllll the time. So although the Bueno, entonces... classes are fun, interesting, useful and I am learning alot from them, I am not solely relying on them to teach me everything I need to know about Spanish. I have recently picked up a copy of the new Vice Magazine, and have set myself the difficult task of reading it...so, every night, dictionary in one hand, Vice in the other I am amused by tales of, well, vice....perhaps not the easiest reading to start with, but I like Vice Mag, and reading Spanish is very important for improvement!

David has finally got some action, but it went badly. Standard I imagine! But in fairness he wasn´t in the ideal location: ´diminuto cuarto, duro cama, mucho espejos´....ie. a tiny little griefhole of a room with a rock hard mattress and full of grubby mirrors....ummm, muy romantico!

Today´s class covers environmental descriptions, which is something I already know abit about, after spending much time trawling Craigslist for a ´habitacion´. There is some very practical information about renting in Argentina (something which is not particularly easy here!) and it is useful to know how to describe ones surroundings, but I feel like perhaps this subject might have been better located abit closer to the beginning of the series of classes, as maybe people who are actually moving here and looking for a place may be using Bueno, entonces... at the start of their trip!

Yesterday I saw the BE iPhone application, and was so impressed! I use an old, basic brick of phone, so cannot download applications, but if I had an iPhone I would be very excited to use Bueno, entonces... on it. It´s such a great idea to be able to carry a whole language class: including teacher, student, whiteboard and all in your pocket...ahh techonology, it never fails to astound me! (sorry, grandma moment there...)

One hour of sex please..

I think there was a bit of a theme in today's class...I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think it may have been strongly focused on...sex.

David started it (por supuesto) by asking Jimena if he could borrow her apartment for a bit of booty. In fact, a friend did the exact same thing to me last week- he is feeling the frustration of sharing a room. My answer was, of course, the same as Jimena's.

A big fat NO.

But, as Jimena explains in this Bueno, entonces... class, sex is a funny old thing in Buenos Aires. The kids love it, as their regular shows of affection on the streets demonstrate, but, because most people live at home until age 26, there are not too many opportunities to get past 2nd base. So a phenomenal solution exists in the form of 1 hour hotels. Most countries see such places as seedy and a little taboo, but here they are pretty normal and frequented by all strands of society, not just 'mujers de la calle' (in fact the is a plush looking one just around the corner from my house). NO good for me though, can't get any Spanish pricatice done in one hour....

Today's verb form was ACABAR meaning 'to just' when 'de' is added to it, but even this sticks with the sex theme, because, without the qualifier it means 'to orgasm' so be careful with that one!

When David did manage to tear himself away fomr the aforementioned subject the lesson covered POR and PARA. Typical of the Spanish language, there are two words when one will do, since both mean 'for'. But they are used in different circumstances, and it is just a cse fo learning when. Por ejemplo, Por is used for reasons, a specific porcion fo time and an approximate place, and para is generally for results, a future time limit and directions....I do find myself foregetting the correct usuage of such things often, but sometimes it just sounds right (or wrong) so often I just go with what my untrained ear feels...supposing an ear can feel that is...

To be or not to be.

David didn't have a great deal of enthusiasm at the beginning of today's class, after his disastrous trip to 'Mar Del Plata' (a small case of mistaken identity, ie. the wrong destination...) and I have to confess I did not find this class particularly engaging either, due to the fact that it was primarily committed to the practice of verbs....and I know this is necessary, but I like the more gossipy conversational classes Jimena gives!

However, I know, having talked to other people using Learn Spanish dvd's that Bueno, entonces... is generally much more entertaining and interesting that RosettaStone, so I can forgive it this one slightly less exciting lesson!

And actually, even as I write this I am remembering parts of the class I did enjoy...I like the way Bueno, entonces... imparts some historical information, and as a big history geek I was interested to learn Mar Del Plata was discovered by Sir Francis Drake in the 16th Century, and Jimena has sold a trip to Mar Del Plata to me, becasue she made it sound so attractive in the 'describing cities' section of the class.

But on with the verbs: SER and ESTAR. Vitally important, a little confusing, and typically, there is no discernable pattern for learning when to use which. Both mean TO BE, but SER is used for temporary location, posession and identification, and ESTAR is used for concrete location and mood amongst other things. Things like this are not easy to learn, as it is simply practice, and as Jimena says, it comes 'little by little', but BE uses enough examples and repetas these lessons often enough that by the end of the class I was feeling relatively confident in their usage.

So off I go to practice!

Subte Spanish

Today I was running out of time to watch Bueno, entonces... Learn Spanish at home, so I watched it on my ipod on the Subte. What a brilliant feature: I know that other Learn Spanish programmes, such as RosettaStone, do not have portable capability, so if I was using that particular dvd I would not have learnt ANY Spanish today! and I don't think a human teacher would agree to a lesson on the Subte, so Bueno, entonces... Learn Spanish is ideal for the 'busy student'.

Today's lesson was the telephone catch up, and also David's Birthday...I certainly won't be studying on my birthday here in BA, but I suppose it was a good way to learn Feliz Cumpleanos!

I have been continually confused since being here about the usage of 'Castellano' and 'Espanol' which seemed to me both to describe the Spanish language and I didn't know the difference (I know I could have asked someone ages ago, but often I spend alot of time wondering and not enough time finding out). Today's Bueno, entonces... Learn Spanish explained the difference to me- the difference not being much. Castellano comes from the Castilla region of Spain and is referring the language of the region, where as Espanol is used to describe the Spanish people, so although both are used to describe the Spanish language, only one really refers to a language as such (this garbled description demonstrates why I am not a teacher!)

Catch up lessons are game lessons, and once again Jimena had Did playing some random but quite amusing Spanish games, which, as per usual, he managed to turn into cheesy chat ups! The cat up lessons are good because they incorporate everything that has been covered in the week's classes, so this week the games included colours, descriptions, food, weather and so on...Well I suppose the title 're-cap lesson' is pretty self explanatory!

Brits are happiest when talking about the weather. Fact.

The weather: A very British subject. If Brits get a chance to comment on the weather we will....whether it be hot, cold, wet or dry, we will have something to say on the subject. Which is why I have particularly enjoyed this episode of Bueno, entonces..., focusing on, guess what...THE WEATHER!

Thank God! Do you know how hard it has been for me not to be able to make weather-related small talk in Spanish?! (I make weather-related small talk, but only David could make weather chat somehow relate to sex and his passion for Jimena, and that is exactly what he does!)

Many of the 'palabras de clima' sound appropriate to the weather conditions they are naming,and I learn really well by playing word association games, so this is good for me. For example (or should I say por ejemplo, like Jimena) 'Viento' means wind- so naturally my immediate chain of thought leads me to think of an air vent- and voila! wind. 'Nublado' means clouds, and that is easy as I can relate it to a cloud formation, but my favourite is 'tormenta' meaning storm- the perfect palabra to describe a storm that torments our trees and roof tiles etc!

Talking of torment...listening to David caterwauling his way through 'like a virgin' whilst similtaneously translating it from English to Spanish is torture...this has to be the worst 5 minutes of Bueno, entonces... I have watched so far, even the prepositions section was a welcome relief!

Despite the fact that David tries to woo Jimena at every given opportunity, he claims he has been getting on very well with his neighbour. Obviously we can only take his word for it, but it will be interesting so see how this turns out!

Shopping.

Bueno...so, I have been a busy Buenos Aires bee, but not so busy that I haven't managed a little Spanish practice, which is always easier when there is no sun, and unfortunately there has not been much of that!

I feel like I need much more Spanish immersion to go alongside these Bueno, entonces... classes, so I have been making a huge effort to chat to as many new people as I can in Spanish, but sometimes my conversation is not exactly riveting, due to that fact that I do not know enough of the language yet...so I think quite a few people I have met recently must think I am a rather aburrido, ah well...de nada

Today's class started off rather randomly and I was just wondering if I would find a lesson dedicated to the vocabulary of competition useful, when Bueno, entonces... came up trumps again and changed the subject...to shopping. Ideal! BA is a city of amazing shops, and as anyone interested in fashion will have notices, the streets are full of gorgeous women in gorgeous clothes. So, a lesson on how to buy clothes and what the names of garments are is very useful to anyone who wants to fit in and look remotely good here!

I really like the way Bueno, entonces... always covers the most easily applicable topics, so many times I have gone into shops and had to use abstract hand gesticulations to get the size, shape and colour of the items I want...and God forbid a shop assistant asked me if I was ok...before this lesson I would simply smile blankly and walk on by...but now I can cheerfully respond 'estoy mirando!' (I am just looking) and breeze by (I would never accept the offer of help- far to embarrasing to have a tiny sleek Argentine watching me try to squeeze into the Argentinan 'apple bottom jeans'!)

The section of the lesson dedicated to pronouns was good, but seriously...only Spanish could have masculine, feminine and neutral foms- this is the 21st century..I think we should be pushing for gender neutrality here (so much easier!!)

Humm...maybe I should go and test my newly learnt shopping vocab in Palermo, it is market day afterall...

How to tell a girl they look fat...

Time goes so fast in Buenos Aires. This is probably because it is so much fun all of the time...not a day goes by without something interesting or exciting happening, and I am enjoying myself even more now I can speak some Spanish. Obviously I am by no means amazing yet, but a few vodkas and the words just flow out of me! I thank Bueno, entonces... for this, but I can't believe I am half way through the course already...

So, my Spanish has been improving rapidly, but David's luck with Jimena has not, he is still struggling on that front. She is just not going to leave her novio!

Today's lesson has been about descriptions, and the verbs SER (to be) and TENER (to have). Compared to many other lessons we have been through, I found this one relatively straight-forward, it is just a question of learning the new words for describing people, as the sentance structures are not too difficult.

There are a few tricks in the Spanish language, false cognates. I hope these get everyone, not just me, but one that always stands out in particular is the word 'sympatico'. Yes, you would think this means sympathetic, but no...it means nice...why did they do that!?

One of the cultural norms here, that I have not yet been able to grasp is the use of a 'shrink'. When my South American housemate said he needed to go see his shrink I was pretty suprised. No one in England has a shrink unless they are sectioned...so I was slightly worried about who I am living with. But, as I learnt from Bueno, entonces... today, it is the norm here in BA, along with having a yappy little dog, and some false ´lips, boobs or both, so if I really want to fit in i'm going to have to make a few changes...

I can't stand a double negative!

Today I am afraid to say I was not very engaged with the class, perhaps due to yesterday's late night, or perhaps due to the fact that I am looking forward to the day ahead...NO WORK, yey!

Mentioning last night reminds me that I met a fellow Spanish learner in a bar in San Telmo, and she is using the Rosetta Stone Learn Spanish dvd, which are alot more expensive than BE, and although she seemd to know a little more Spanish than me, she had no amusing tales of teacher-student flirting, and no Spanish slang to impress me with. I think now might be a good time to show you a Comparision chart between Rosetta Stone and Bueno, entonces... because last night's conversation proved to me that I have the best learn Spanish dvd there is on the market!

All my life I have been told never to use double negatives, and consequently I have a huge aversion to them, and now my beloved Prof. is trying to tell me that it is ok!? This is a problem in my mind, can I justify their use, even if it is in another language? I suppose I will have to...but saying 'I dont want nothing' (no quiero nada) just makes me think I should put on a stupid accent not talk proper- something like this: 'I dont wan nuffin'!

I think the Spanish language has some amazing sayings, and a particularly good one popped up today: 'mas pintada que una puerta' meaning 'more painted than a door' referring to a girl with too much make up on, genius!

13...unlucky for some, pero a mi me gusta.

The weather in BA is abit gloomy today, so for me the best thing to do is stay inside and learn Spanish from my Bueno, entonces... dvd, rather than go out and spend an unnecessary fortune on getting fatter...so here goes!

Poor David is still plagued by his mother, but I really think he likes her more than he lets on. And that is whats today's class has been about, likes and dislikes- or more specifically, how to say whether you like something.

As usual there is no simple verb for 'like' in Spanish, rather, it is necessary to say 'to me, it appeals'. A bit long winded in my opinion, but the pattern is easy enough: a mi, me gusta, a ti, te gusta and so on....and for once I think I have grasped this pattern the first time around without having to pause, rewind, pause rewind. Perhaps learning Spanish is getting easier after all! The Bueno, entonces... dvd really does teach in a very clear way, and after each new lesson is taught, useful Spanish phrases are given as examples, which is something I particularly like about this Spanish immersion course.

However, something I did not like about this episode was the overplaying of that dreadful Daddy Yankee reggaton song 'Gasolina'. Fair enough it might have been useful to make an example, but I have deliberatly been seeking to avoid reggaton after it plagued my travels through Peru and Equador, and then suddenly it is blasted into my ears during a Spanish lesson of all times! Having said that perhaps even Gasolina is better than David's attempts to sing...

Favourite word from this class? Osito de peluche meaning teddy bear, aaahhhh!

Recapping...

My week does not correspond with David and Jimena's, so while they are enjoying a lazy Saturday I have been hard at work (ahem), but they are back on the phone for the weekly recap class, and David seems abit annoyed that his mother has still not left town. I can't even begin to imagine how much this is cramping his style! And on top of this David still won't take Jimena's no for an answer, but I have to say his deperate attempts make the viewing of Bueno, entonces... all the more exciting, I enjoy watching not only to learn Spanish but also for the soap opera- the story really is quite addictive, and I know other Learn Spanish DVD's, for example Rosetta Stone, do not have such a high entertainment value!

Not only am I being entertained by Bueno, entonces..., I am certainly learning alot, I found I did not have to constantly read the English subtitles for the whole of the episode, because, as a lot of this episode was recapping the week, I found I already remembered much of the information. However, that is not to say these re-cap lessons are not useful, because I cannot be told enough times about Spanish grammar and I still haven't quite got it, and I find practice and repetition really is the best way to learn Spanish. The support material that comes with the Learn Spanish dvd is also very useful to recap lessons.

Object pronouns, prepositions and posessive pronouns were covered in this lesson, and typically the rules in Spanish are different from the rules in English, but Bueno, entonces... ensures all the rules are well explained and clear examples are given throughout. Jimena had David playing some games again, and I must confess, I found the scrambled letters game quite hard, but the third word was Medialunas, and I had been thinking about them only minutes previously, so got that one straight away! And the game of 'Simon Dice' took me back to childhood days and rainly school lunchtime entertainment...ahhhhhh...

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