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!!

Una nueva y la ultima semana!!

How quickly time passes, as I am now into the final weeks classes of the Bueno, entonces program and my attempts at learning Spanish in this way are drawing to an end…..obviously I shall continue to practice and learn the language in other forms!! I must admit that, and in the light of being critical of some classes, today was rather entertaining with the continuing stories of David and Jimena and their decisions to reconquistar their partners…..or hopeful partners in the case of the student. This is value for money entertainment which I am confident can not be matched in either Rosetta Stone, Pimsleur Spanish or other similar such courses and in case you haven’t stumbled upon it before, here is a little comparison chart of Bueno, entonces and its rivals!!

Ok, so on with the lesson. Having laid their claims to reconquistar, the lesson provided a substantial amount of useful phrases for romance and romantic situations. These I have mastered to an art and are of particularly notable importance seeing as I am in a relationship with a porteña. Any gringo on the look out for some Latin American love would be foolish to overlook such useful Spanish phrases!!

Naturally the class included the standard confusing topic, with today being that in Spanish a number of femine nouns carry masculine articles…..el agua, el azúcar (sugar) and el alma (the soul) to name a few! Of course such confusion is a pain in the arse, however no hay que darse por vencido!!

An enjoyable and fun class to begin the final week, heres hoping it continues!

Gracias por el repaso clase 24!!

As today’s title states I am most thankful to the Bueno, entonces team for the review lessons included in this Spanish learning program, as due to having a few days away from learning Spanish I had almost forgotten what topics had been covered this past week. I’d be interested to know whether other courses, Rosetta Stone for example, provide reviews as they are extremely helpful, especially when, like me, the course and classes are taken on an as and when basis.

This review, like those before, covered the main topics which had been taught through a series of games played between David and Jimena, with today’s focus being on descriptions using ser, estar and tener, comparisons, and the differences between por and para!! The remainder of this class jumped back and forth between the issues currently held by our student and profesora. David it seems is developing some stalker habits having followed his mother to Mendoza and Jimena appears to have her own personal problems, although it could just be that her culinary skills are horrendous!!

Apparently the next class is to be jam-packed with an abundance of verbs and so alongside the usual classroom issues should provide for a final week of entertainment…..esperamos y vemos!!

Numero 20…..quizas vos puedas ayudarme???

Well here was a topic of conversation which perhaps I was not prepared for, especially as I was watching the class first thing this morning. The Bueno, entonces team, or maybe the student, David, went way out leftfield on this one and a topic for sure the likes of Rosetta Stone would not cover.

The class began in the usual jovial form however began to turn sour as David requested the use of Jimena’s, the profesora, apartment for one night in order to have his wicked way with Mariana, la vecinita. The outcome, unsurprisingly was one of disappointment for David as his request was ever so politely refused. However from this Jimena was kind enough to explain to us all that here in Argentina it is not uncommon for people to visit a Telo (Love Hotel) when they are in need of some sexual satisfaction. Now to many a prude Brit the idea of this, at first sounds rather sleazy and would only be for truckers and executives away on business meetings. However due to the fact that the Argies tend to stay in their family homes for longer, such Telos come in quite handy for young courting couples…….and who can blame them, especially with their open displays of affection such a regular sight in the streets and parks!!

The topic of sex did not stop here during the class as Bueno, entonces kindly pointed out the necessity to use with care the verb acabar! When used in its most common form “acaber de + infinitive verb” it means “to have just done something” (in the recent past) as in acabo de leer el libro (I have just read the book), but when used alone acabar in Argentina means to orgasm!! You have been warned!!

Was nice to see the Profesor today, as he seems to have not been around for a few lesson, and he laid down the rules for the uses of por and para, 2 Spanish words meaning for. Like ser and estar I am still unaware of the exact pattern to follow so just go with chance for the majority of the time. I’ll get there eventually.

Vamos al shopping?…no, no quiero!!

Today I awoke with the good intention of loading up my Ipod with the Bueno, entonces class and having a relaxing morning sat in the nearby park, however it is fairly f*$&ing cold this morning so I remained inside. It is still pleasing to know that I have the chance to take the full video classes on the road with me when the time comes, an option unique to Bueno, entonces and unavailable to Rosetta Stone users. And while we are on the subject, I came across an offer to buy Rosetta Stone cheap, although was still more expensive than the $147 price for the downloadable Bueno, entonces package. In case you haven’t seen it already check out this little comparison chart!

So lesson 16 today, already the second half of the Spanish learning program, the time has passed fairly quickly, and today I was treated to a lesson on shopping. To be honest this one is more for the ladies as we all know that the female race are more inclined to increase excitement levels when out in the abundance of shopping malls and stores aligning the streets of Palermo Hollywood! However the lesson was not without its use as I now feel well equipped to provide convincing replies when my girlfriend returns from a shopping spree (which is fortunately not too often) and asks me questions about the camisas, vestidos, zapatos and other such things, like my favourite clothing word bombachas (knickers). There were also a lot of colours discussed today and the fact that in Spanish, some colours agree in gender and number with the noun, some only in number and some not at all…..confusing I know…..even more so when you are unable to distinguish between each colour on the screen…..looked like a kaleidoscope of rainbows to me…..lucky that Bueno, entonces are smart enough to include the colour-blind friendly English translations at the bottom of the screen!

My old friend the Profesor MC Grammar was once again on hand to provide more insightful and invaluable knowledge with today’s focus on Direct and Indirect Objects Pronouns….lo, la, los, las and so on and so forth! This is something which I find myself having frequent trouble with and any attempt usually results in me breaking out into the classic 90s reggae/dance track Sweat (A la la la la long) by Inner Circle…..but I’m all for reliving the teenage years!!

Laters.

Una nueva semana y clase 13!!

And once again another week begins in the fine city of Buenos Aires and so another instalment of the Buenos, entonces language classes. Today was fairly hectic and I must say that had I not had previous knowledge of the conjugation and usage of such verbs as gustar then I would definitely need to watch this episode again. In my opinion, for people using these Spanish lessons with no previous experience of the language, this class went a little too fast and at times would therefore be a little confusing for the student. As ever David and Jimena were at their best to make things as simple and easy to follow but I cant help but think that Bueno, entonces users might benefit from some sort of “picture – text” recognition exercises, as are present in the likes of Rosetta Stone……but then of course it would not be possible to complete these via the fully portable audio Ipod option….ups and downs for every scenario!

This aside Bueno, entonces still retains its entertainment value and always comes up trumps with its decision to teach away from the norm and include topics such as slang……with today’s selection of useful phrases/words being caradura (jackass), desfachatada (jerk), cararrota (asshole or broken face for a literal translation) and sinverguenzas (shameless)…..with the latter being by far the more formal of insults!!

We also, today, had a little song from Jimena attempting to teach David the different vowel pronunciations existing within the Spanish alphabet, what seemed like a ton of other verbs which follow the same format as gustar, with encantar and qedar being but a few examples and the lesson also touched on 3 verbs with similar meanings parecer (to seem), pensar (to think) and creer (to believe) which so far to me have appeared as though they can all be interchanged without causing any major issues in a conversation…..although perhaps those on the receiving end of my attempts have just been appeasing me!

A mi me gusta la comida…….homemade milanesa…..just one of many fine Argentina dishes I have come to discover!

Pobre Diego y pobre Argentina!!

So it’s Sunday lunchtime and seeing how this country is one fully loaded with football lovers, one can only imagine the anguish and despair felt across the nation this morning following last nights rather humiliating 3-1 defeat at the hands of arch enemies Brazil, leaving the Argies with a small but significant mountain to climb in order to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. Mr Maradona, as much as a hero on the playing field you were to the likes of myself, it seems your managerial talents have once again been measured and found wanting…..but there is still hope…..and fortunately England continued their winning streak so I am able to write this with plenty of confidence!!

Anyway on with el repaso for the second week of the Bueno, entonces… Spanish course. As in the previous week the review is conducted via a telephone call between an, it seems, rather run down David, and the ever tolerant Jimena. And again as of last week plenty of information in this quite comprehensive Spanish learning program……I wonder whether Rosetta Stone or others have weekly reviews like this? Something to investigate perhaps!!

Today then the review covered some matters which I, and I hope other Spanish learners, have a certain amount of confusion with: 1. Possessive Pronouns – in Spanish I’m told, by the Profesor, these agree in gender and number with the object being possessed and whereas in English we think of “possessing things” in Spanish it is more passive with “things being possessed!, 2. Indirect and Direct Pronouns – with these I just become more confused than a chicken in a pillow factory and am forever putting the pronouns in the wrong place or relating to the wrong person, so thanks for covering this again Buenos, entonces!, 3. E and I – once again pure confusion enters the frame and I’m forever having to go with the old school “was that E for Elephant or I for Island” when being spelt a word……I’ll get there though….eventually.

Once more, as in last weeks review, I will ask the question, can I learn Spanish from these lessons?? I do feel I am improving and developing more confidence so for now I would have to say yes…..so here’s hoping the next few weeks provide further improvement.

Te diste cuenta…………

…………that there are between 18 and 54 verb tenses in this language……..well at least thats what I think the Profesor has so kindly informed me this morning!! Certainly something to contemplate in my continued quest to learn Spanish…..so come on Bueno, entonces this is your chance to shine and prove to me, and the rest of the Gringos, that your classes are the best and fastest way to learn Spanish….and in turn superior to such competitors as Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur!!

Regradless of this drastic new found verb related knowledge the Profesor as ever was able to play down the difficulties and put me at ease…..and as he said, I’ll just have to get used to the fact that often when I think someone is saying that they are going to call me, te llamo, in actual fact they will be asking if my brother called me yesterday, te llamó!! It’s only practice afterall!

Other useful points of todays class were the conjugations of tener, poder and querrer……irregular of course giving directions with imperatives and the differences in the questionning forms: dónde hay? and dónde esta?….with the first being for general information as in: dónde hay un banco? (where is there a bank?)….and the latter for specifics: dónde está el banco HSBC? (where is the HSBC bank?)

Jimena it seemed was a little frustrated with David today, perhaps due to him claiming to be sick or that she was having to look at the horrendous shirt he was wearing…..which has done nothing to dispell my belief that far too many British people get dressed in the dark!!

Laters!

Mas comida y mate!?!?!

Well then this lesson, number 8, in the Bueno, entonces series was fully loaded with all sorts of interesting and informative things in learning Spanish the Argie way! We began with this Mate situation, the strangely looking herbal drink that our friends down here in Argentina, and other parts of Latin American, appear to be very fond of. I must admit I did switch of a little during this part as am not a fan of the drink, although appreciate the value of informing the listeners of local traditions and customs…..something I am confident to say which competing Spanish immersion classes as Rosetta Stone do not cover. One new phrase I did discover, and will be of great use, from this though was que asco, meaning how disgusting…and interesting, to some maybe, that a new supermarket chain will be opening in the UK in the coming months, going by the name…..Asco!!

So what else was covered today? There was something about adding oso or ura to nouns, and ada or ido to verbs in order to form an adjective…..some more irregular verbs, que horrible…..and the fact that the letters C, S and Z, although having their own significance, are pronounced in the same way!!

And then more food, a topic particularly close to my own heart and especially appealing as the food here in Argentina is fantastic, with la carne (beef) being the leader of the gang! There are also many other culinary delights such as empanadas, milanesa y choripan to name but a few and seeing how this lesson contained so much information I feel my palate is now deserving of at least one of the aforementioned above.

Nos vemos en el proximo!

Que bueno es el fin de semana!!

Bueno, entonces, it is of course the weekend and naturally I had a few cervezas anoche, therefore for this reason I watched today’s instalment through my Ipod…..sat in the sunshine in a nearby park, in hope that my body would recover. Such a fantastic idea to have this interactive Spanish course available and with you at all times, making it fully portable!! Am pretty sure that this full video option is not available on other such Spanish language courses like Rosetta Stone. Anyway check out this little comparison chart and you can see for yourself the advantages which I am currently benefiting from!!

Today, as I mentioned yesterday, was a review, involving a telephone conversation between David and Jimena, and less intense than the previous 5 days of lessons, vocabulary and grammar issues. However a review is always useful as a reminder to the brain of what has been previously taught. For example, during this first week the lessons have covered greetings, giving personal information, emotional expressions, numbers and ordinal numbers, moods and the conjugation of present tense verbs like ser, estar (both verbs to be), tener (to have) and gustar (to like) to name but a few. Although this may read daunting it has not been so bad!

The underlying question after 1 week has to be, can I learn Spanish with Bueno, entonces?? These Spanish lessons so far have shown a good balance between the teaching of necessities and making the classes enjoyable, therefore maintaining mine and, I imagine, other viewers interest…..and accompanied with the additional vocabulary and grammar review written exercises the course looks set to have the tools to fully immerse the student into the process of learning Spanish!

Time to enjoy the weekend in true Argentine fashion…..carne, vino y mas cerveza!!