La frontera final!!

So 5 weeks of learning Spanish comes to a close with Bueno, enotnces and like all good stories we are left with an open ending! This class, as ever for the weekly review, was conducted over the telephone between David and Jimena, but was far less of a review than previous ones and more of a friendly conversation which went a little something like this:

David, our student, whilst attending a family party via Skype, was at home awaiting the arrival of his vecinita for a night of fun and romance, whilst Jimena, who also at home, was being consolled by her family following the breakup of her relationship…..does it get anymore soap operaesque!! Anyway the conversation continued with discussions about their future trips to Bolivia and Bariloche and it became apparent that la vecinita was not to show. Therefore, and with a good deal of hints from Jimena, the fairly obvious, although unthinkable at the beginning of Bueno, entonces occured…..the arrangement of a date between our hapless lovestarved duo!! But wait…..just as they were eagerly preparing to leave, there was a knock at the door……for me to find out who I guess I’ll have to go ahead with the next level of Bueno, entonces and continue to learn Spanish…..and for you to know whose door the knock was at, then you’ll have to get off your arse and purchase this entertaining course!!

So what of my own progress?? Through this course I am happy to say that my Spanish has improved and I’ve been able to grasp the concepts of many grammatical functions. Some aspects are still rather confusing and I would like to have had some extra activities to accompany the classes and perhaps a little more interaction. However, I have been entertained and learnt a good deal of vocabulary and slang particularly focused at living in Argentina. I am by no means fluent, and one will not become so through Bueno, entonces alone, so naturally I, like all us gringos, need to get out there and practice as much as possible with the those close to me and the ever so friendly locals!!

Hasta la proxima y espero que haya disfrutado su estadia!!

Hanging by a moment at number 29!!

Tomorrows review aside this was the last of the Bueno, entonces telenovela/Spanish learning program and like all good soap operas, not that I can lay claim to watching too many, there was drama, sadness and a little bit of hope and expectation…..although I can’t really say I was too surprised!! The lesson began with our profesora, Jimena, revealing that her novio had packed his bags, much to the delight, however not without compassion, of David…..the drama and sadness!! And of course the class terminated with a cliffhanger situation…..the expectation of possible future happenings between the 2!!

Being the final official class it was far more relaxed and free than those preceeding it, with the majority of the time spent discussing Argentina and all its glory. In terms of an advertising campaign Bueno, entonces did a fine job in promoting this incredible country, and I think anyone learning Spanish with this course around the world would for sure be tempted to make their way to this end of the world and enjoy!! They class covered the diverse regions of the country, activities, sights and, of great importance and which there is an abundance, el carne!!

Beside the relaxed atmosphere of today David seemed a touch frustrated in that Jimena refused to go into, and teach, el pasado (the past)…..a very important verb tense…...although there were mentions of the “next level”, which suggests that there could be more to come from this team! I know from my experience of attempting to learn Spanish away from Bueno, entonces that el pasado is a tricky tense to get the head around and so maybe was deemed to much for this installment! Would be interesting to find at what stage the likes of Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone introduce this topic to its users…..but I’m not willing to fork out the money to find out!! Bueno, entonces still appears to be the cheapest on the market, as you can see here on this funky comparison chart.

All there is to do now is wait for tomorrows review to discover whether David and Jimena will be dancing un baile de apareamiento!!