Free Spanish Courses

I remember it like it was just yesterday. My parents who had always loved Spain, rather spontaneously decided that we would spend our next Christmas in Barcelona. Now, this was in October, which didn’t give a lot of time to prepare! Luckily we had found a great deal that would allow us to fly to Europe. Travel was cheaper back then, and the dollar was stronger! Anyhow, for those who dont know, Barcelona is a beautiful city on the coast in Spain. It is in the area of Catalonia, which has a rich history and some would say even partially independent from Spain. There is a lot of tradition there, even to the point of having their own language, which you will see and hear scattered about if you visit. Barcelona is famous for its seafood, being a coastal city. Make sure to eat as much as you can, often choosing the ‘chef’s special’ by going for the menu del dia. The menu del dia is a great way to get a taste of the local flavor and a fresh dish made with whatever is good that day. It usually includes a few courses and also has the option of coming with wine. Now who doesn’t like wine? The main street in Barcelona is La Rambla, which travels through the heart of it and has many alleys leading to great hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Contrary to what is often believed, Europe doesn’t have to be expensive and Barcelona is in fact a lot cheaper than many European cities (but no less beautiful). Make sure to practice your Spanish while you are there!

Why learning Spanish is a good idea, part two: Travel

Everyone loves to travel! It’s true in the US that our dollar doesn’t buy what it used to be, but if you are a lucky Canadian, Aussie, or even better a UK person (look at that Euro go go go! you know travel is up to exotic locations. Some of the most beautiful beaches in the world are located in Spanish speaking countries. For example, Argentina — Buenos Aires, Mexico — Cabo San Lucas. You get the idea. What a lot of people don’t realize is that the difference between a good vacation and a great one can be knowing the secrets of the place you visit. For example, what about asking the locals where the best paella is? Or finding that nice secluded beach. What if there’s an attractive local woman/man who you would like to get to know (get your head out of the gutter :). Well, learn some basic Spanish and you will find your vacation to be made that much more sweet!

Do you know Cabeza de Vaca is? Probably not. Cabeza de Vaca is Spanish for ‘cow head’. Now I’ve got your curiosity, eh? Well, here’s the deal. Cabeza de Vaca was one amazing dude. He was one of the first Europeans to walk clear across North America, and he did so in the 1500s when the land was full of Native Americans. The Native Americans were initially very suspicious of Cabeza de Vaca and his crew, and killed most of them. Cabeza de Vaca and three of his companions survived and were slaves for many years. Over time, they learned to adapt to the new surroundings, and eventually found their freedom. Using their foreign appearance as a means of gaining an advantage, they actually went ahead and pretended to be medicine men with supernatural powers. I don’t want to give too much of the story away, but here’s a link to one of the best books about it:

A Land So Strange

Los Maños’ boss was adamant that the Spanish international keeper has won his side more than any other player in the league this season and did so again in the Bernabéu.
After seeing a string of chances saved by Casillas, Zaragoza were beaten thanks to second half goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy and Robinho.

“Madrid count on the most decisive player in the league, the one that wins the most points for his team, and that is Iker Casillas,” Fernández said.

“If you add up the saves he makes, the difficulty of them and the timing of them then he wins more games than anyone else.

“He did his job perfectly against us and has been decisive.”

Despite losing, Fernández praised his players for their performances but did call upon them to find even more focus after another defeat.

“I thought that we were great and we wanted the ball and constantly attacked them. We had intensity, ambition and tried to play football at all times,” he continued.

“In the end only what is the scoreboard counts and because they had two extraordinary players in important area they won.

“Those two players are Casillas and Van Nistelrooy. We were also unlucky as we hit the post.

“We need to strengthen our mentality. We have taken many blows this season and we have to be strong. We did everything out there to win.”
Lucas Brown, Goal.com

from: http://goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=537570

Guest post by Mister Drunkems

Do you love penguins? What about Chilean Penguins? There are some there, you know! Me too! No, I haven’t lost my mind…my girlfriend just got ‘Happy Feet’, a movie about, you guessed it, penguins! Penguins are all the rage these days. What’s not to love about them? Fuzzy and cuddly. Sure, they regurgitate fish but other than there’s nothing gross about them. So where am I going with this? Well, you can learn Spanish and watch movies at the same time. How? By choosing the Spanish language option on the DVD. Especially if you’re familiar with the movie, this can be a great way to add to your Spanish vocabulary. So, the next time you feel like learning some Spanish, why not watch a movie?

Another way to learn Spanish, believe it or not, is to play soccer! Not only is a good way to work off the holiday cheer and get you fit, but you might well make some new friends who speak Spanish. It’s not just a stereotype — soccer really is a very popular sport in Spanish speaking countries. The rules of soccer are very basic, so don’t worry about having a lot to learn. Basically there are two goals, and the object is to put the ball into the opponent’s goal. You may use any part of your body to do this, most notably your feet and head. The use of hands is strictly prohibited of course, unless you are the goalie. The goalie is placed in front of the goal and can use any means to keep the ball from going into the net. So get off the internet and go play!

This might be a bit advanced for some of you, but another fun way to learn Spanish is through the use of puzzles and games to get you thinking in Spanish. They say the sign of true fluency is when one can thing in another language. They also say if you dream in another language, that’s a good sign too. But back to the issue at hand, here are some crossword puzzles via the BBC website. The BBC site is a great resource for learning Spanish. Check it out at:

BBC Spanish Crossword