We got another nice review the other day from Pete, a guy who has been in Buenos Aires for a few years and created a blog, Argentina-info.net. He took Bueno, entonces…and made it through all 30 classes (go Pete!) and wrote about his experience.

I found a really great program to learn Spanish, it was recorded in Buenos Aires which makes it really fun because it’s so specific about living here, the places, street slang (lunfardo), the customs, and the “porteño” way of life.  There are two hosts, a man and a woman who are young and have a really funny banter between them.  This makes the lessons interesting and fun to listen to, you won’t fall asleep during these Spanish Lessons!

The quality of the sound is excellent, something I found annoying with other learning classes that were just digitized from old cassette tape courses.  The program runs on your PC so you can see the written dialogue along with listening to it.  You can also download the courses to your mobile device, I have a little player I can watch the lessons while running on the treadmill at the gym.  Audio only files are also provided to listen to while driving or doing other chores.

Really fun course, with the interaction of the hosts there is a “story” of their lives that goes along with the course which keeps you listening and waiting to see what happens between them.  I’ve tried lots of Spanish Course programs and I think this is the best.

F$&%ing bichos.

While many of you in the Northern Hemisphere may be complaining about snow and freezing temperatures, us Gringos in South America are burning our pasty Gringo skin and being eaten alive by bichos (bugs/little critters). ‘Tis the holiday season, after all!

We all know that whenever one leaves their country (or region) they encounter all sorts of new bichos. They may be different. They may be larger. And if you’re in a tropical location, they are most likely much more aggressive. They bite, suck your blood, or burrow themselves beneath your skin.

It’s disgusting, we know. But these situations do happen, and we at Bueno, entonces…feel that it is imperative that you, Gringo, learn Spanish and know how to explain a) what has bitten you, b) what has burrowed itself in your skin, or c) what has infested your house.

Plaga = Infestation

Repelente de Insectos = Insect repellent

Picadura = Bite

Tengo alergia a las picaduras de…/I am allergic to (type of bug) bites.

Tengo una garrapata. = I have a tick.

Araña = Spider

Mosquito = Mosquito

Hormiga = Ant

Escarabajo = Beetle

Pulga = Flea

Chinche = Bedbug

Mariquita/Vaquita de San Antonio = Ladybug

Mantis Religiousa = Praying Mantis

Abeja = Bee

Garrapata = Tick

¡OJO! Each bug name (and whether to refer to a bug as an insecto or bicho) varies from country to country, so make sure to double check with a local or Googlearlo antes de irte (Google it before you go). Yes, Googlear is a verb in Spanish, too.

So there you have it—mosquito bites? No problem. Bedbug infestation? Piece o’ cake. Tick burrowed beneath your skin? Well, not great, but at least you know how to explain yourself!

If you want to further explain what the hell is going on with your skin, we recommend you buy whole Bueno, entonces… program. We also have clips of our Spanish classes on Youtube – go check ‘em out and get a taste of our style. Become a fan of Bueno, entonces… on Facebook to interact with other users in our Spanish-learning community and learn useful (and hilarious) Spanish phrases!

By now you probably know what Bueno, entonces… is, who we are, and what we do.  If you don’t, you’ve got a little bit of catching up to do–but no worries!– just visit our site and it explains everything there.

But, what is “bueno, entonces…” and why would use this to name our program?  Okay, let’s break it down.

The term “bueno” can either mean “well” or “okay”– you will hear it used all the time. Just imagine if “well” and “okay” were combined into one word in English, and you can guess how often you would hear it used. Pretty darned often.

“Entonces” means “so”, as in “Tengo sed, entonces voy a comprar una botella de vino.” (I am thirsty, so I’m going to buy a bottle of wine).

Combine the two together and you get a phrase that sounds something like “Okay, so…”.  This phrase is typically used to start a conversation or change subjects in a conversation, which is exactly what we want you to learn how to do in Spanish– have conversations!  Even better: start a conversation!  Daunting, we know, but it’s a good goal to reach in your language-learning process.  After all, what else are you trying to learn a language for other than to communicate with other people?

So, there you have it: our secret reasoning behind the name of our ultra-brilliant Spanish language learning program, Bueno, entonces…! Check out our website to see more of what we are about and take a gander at a few demos from our Spanish classes.  We offer a five-week course of quirky, hilarious, and outrageous Spanish lessons that are sure to 1) keep your attention, and 2) have you conversing in Spanish in no time!  Bueno, entonces…what are you waiting for?

This post is my farewell to all of my fabulous blog-reading minions.  Unfortunately, my time at Bueno, entonces… has come to an end, and it is now time for me to return to my ‘real’ job.  Which means it is also time for me to reveal my true identity!  Gasp!

I do have a name, and it is Teal.  I’m an American girl, but when I was in high school my parents decided to move the whole family down to Buenos Aires for absolutely no reason at all.  And we’ve been here every since.  My ‘real’ job is working on a cruise ship as an entertainment hostess (parties, games, and ohh the bingo…).  I live onboard for 6 months then I have 6 weeks of vacation, so this vacation I decided to visit my family in Buenos Aires and somehow, some way got involved with the amazing people at Bueno, entonces…

So from now on the posts are going to be written by someone else, but I WILL have you know that the person taking over the Social Media is absolutely fabulous and perhaps even more snarky with her writing than I am– it’s actually my sister, Tara!  So not to worry, the blogs will keep on flowing, as will the sarcastic humor.  However, if you feel like keeping up with my personal blog, you’re more than welcome to!

But on a final note: seriously, guys, learning another language is pretty much the best thing you can do for yourself right now– I wouldn’t have my job on cruise ships nor would I have gotten this job at Bueno, entonces…, and surely not met most of the incredible people that I know, had I not spoken the languages that I do.  So go ahead, take the plunge and REALLY start learning a new language.  Oh, and when the Bueno, entonces… team says that if you come down to BA you should visit the office and they’ll take you out for a beer, they mean it.  Pretty much the most bad-ass team of people ever.  Mucha suerte a todos!

-Teal

Here’s a fact that you might not have known about Argentina:  it is estimated that 1 in 30 Argentines have had some sort of cirugí­a plí¡stica (plastic surgery).  Which makes the cirujanos Argentinos (Argentine surgeons) some of the most experienced in the world.  Many thanks to the economic collapse of 2001, the Argentine peso is not particularly strong against the American dollar (it used to be 1USD = 1ARS, but is now about 1USD = 3.8ARS), which means that the cost of cirugí­a plí¡stica is significantly less than in the United States and other Western nations.  So, as you can imagine, a huge attraction for tourism in South America in general is what they like to call ‘medical tourism’.  Oh, what has our world come to..?!

Image taken from thaindian.com

So why are we all of a sudden talking about cirugí­a plí¡stica?  It just so happens that this past Sunday, Solange Magnano, the Miss Argentina from 1994 who was also a top model, died while in cirugí­a.  More specifically, elective cirugí­a on her buttocks.

It came as a big shock to a lot of people, especially considering she was scheduled to have a runway show coming up this month.  Not to mention people go under the knife in Argentina all the time, so going in for surgery, surely no one was expecting her to not make it through.  Unfortunately, she was the mother of 7-year old twins that are left to live with their now-single dad.

For the sake of all things medical, here’s a few useful terms:

mí©dico = doctor

cita = appointment

cirugí­a = surgery

obras sociales/ medicina prepagada = health insurance

enfermera = nurse

consultorio = doctor’s office

To read a bit more on the death of Solange Magnon’s death and this ever-growing trend of plastic surgery in Argentina, visit this article by CNN.

Here at Bueno, entonces… we know that in addition to learning Spanish, it is important to know what’s going on in the Spanish-speaking world – what good is language if you have nothing to talk about? We also made our program with that in mind: it needs to be relevant and the Spanish needs to be the Spanish that natives speak. You can check out more clips from each Spanish class on Youtube, or become a fan on our Facebook Page and learn some useful Spanish phrases.

Manu Chao…ah, who doesn’t love Manu Chao?

He was just here in Buenos Aires earlier this week, and even scheduled an extra show in Argentina because he loves it THAT much.  But what’s not to love– Argentine (especially Buenos Aires) audiences are known for being crazy and loads of fun, so a lot of artists absolutely love coming here and doing shows.

In fact, I went to a concert here once for Robby Williams, and showed up eight hours in advance just to get a good spot.  (I’m not even a big fan, but I figured ‘what the hell, why not?’) Unfortunately, there were hundreds of people in line before me.  Guess they beat me to the punch.  But I managed to make my way to the front, stand for six hours before Robby actually got onstage, and within the first minute there were about eight people who fainted around me (I’m not even exaggerating) because they were so excited to see him.  That just gives you an idea of how passionate the crowds are here.  Needless to say, those that remained conscious screamed, cheered, sang along, and cried their eyes out for the next two hours.  Absolutely insane– I’d never seen anything like it.  Can’t blame the artists for loving it here.

Okay, back to Mr. Manu Chao.  This guy is awesome– he has been in the music business since 1987 but really took off in the mid-90s when he went solo.  He is known for singing in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, loads of other languages, and a mixture of them all.  His background kinda explains it, too: His mom is from Basque country, his dad from Galicia, he grew up in France, spent a lot of time in the UK.  I mean, really, this guy is all over the place.  But most importantly, we love his music, and it’s great for teaching Spanish.  Now, sit back and enjoy a little Manu Chao!

You like that?  Don’t worry, there is plenty more to come– we present a new song on the Pizarra Mí¡gica every Friday for your enjoyment and education purposes.  Gosh, don’t you just love us?

But what is the Pizarra Mí¡gica, you ask?  It’s our way of helping your brain pick up on Spanish language parts of speech before you pick it up yourself – you know, the brain’s a pretty powerful thing, so we thought we’d take advantage of it.  To check out a little bit more about the symbols and colors that you see on the Pizarra Mí¡gica, take a look at our Color & Symbol Key!

And, of course, if you’d like to learn a little bit more about our Spanish language learning software and what we’re all about, visit the Bueno, entonces… site – or check out our Facebook page to see what users are saying about our revolutionary Spanish-learning product (and learn a few Spanish phrases while you’re there)!

Latin Lovers, part 2.

Now, when speaking of Latin Lovers, one typically thinks of amantes LatinOs (male Latin lovers) rather than the LatinAs.  Nonetheless, they are still Latin, and still amantes, so we are going to teach you a bit about them.  Ready? Bueno, entonces… empezamos (Okay, so…let’s begin).

Image taken from lasaelsa.com

Latina women are known for a couple of things, including curves and attitude.  Both are particular to certain areas, obviously, but lets start out with the attitude…

Latin culture in general is full of passií³n, which often turns into attitude.  Don’t give them a hard time, because they will fight back.  And what’s more?  A lot of the time they are incredibly celosas (jealous) of even the slightest contact with another person.  But a lot of time they have reason to be, because, as mentioned in the first ‘Latin Lovers’ post, ser infiel (to cheat) is really common in la cultura Latina– and not just for los hombres (the men), either.  In fact, some studies have shown that in Chile and Argentina, women cheat almost twice as often as men.  Shocking, isn’t it?  Nonetheless, Latina women are often very celosas and tienen mucho carí¡cter (have a lot of attitude/character), so you don’t want to mess with them.

Keep in mind that these are just stereotypes, though, and that not all women fall into these descriptions!  Describing Latina women is just as difficult as describing las mujeres (women) of any other cultura– they don’t all fit one mold, but a few generalizations can still be drawn.

The curves?  Some are super curvy, especially in certain regions, but come to Buenos Aires, for example, and the women are twigs.  All twigs!  Literally, it is almost impossible to find a pair of pants larger than a US 4 in this city, and curves are pretty much nonexistent.  But that’s just in the city.  Basically, it just can’t be assumed that all Latina women have bodies identical to that of Penelope Cruz, because those are some damn high standards to set.

Once again, we don’t write this to offend anyone, and these are all generalizations that we have picked up ourselves (we are a mixed group of both Gringos [who, in addition to learning Spanish, have lived here in Latin America for years] as well as Latinos who are, well, from here), but we’d love to hear what you think–please feel free to disagree and voice your opinion!

Want to see if what we’re saying is true – in person? Learn Spanish online with Bueno, entonces…now and you’ll be speaking and understanding native Spanish in just five weeks! We also have clips of our Spanish classes on Youtube – go check ‘em out and get a taste of how our classes are set up. Become a fan of Bueno, entonces… on Facebook to interact with other users in our Spanish-learning community and learn useful Spanish phrases (and pick-up lines)!

Now who doesn’t like a little Madonna?  ’Like a Virgin,’ anyone?

Leave it to the crew at Bueno, entonces... to incorporate random pop culture icons into Spanish classes – and actually make it work!  In this clip, you not only get to hear Madonna’s version of the 1984 hit, but you get to hear David sing it in Spanish, too!  And even better, Jimena joins in as the backup singer.  Absolutely brilliant!   Check it out for yourself (and feel free to sing along)!

Do you like this way of learning on the Pizarra Mí¡gica?  Take a look at our Color & Symbol Key to help you better understand all of the coding!

If you’re interested in reading a review of this Spanish class as well as checking out the rest of the classes in the series, go to this Bueno, entonces…/Rosetta Stone Pepsi Challenge review blog.  The Bueno, entonces… language learning software course offers a 5-week course that is sure to keep you entertained, and thus actually wanting to watch the classes, which is more than most other Spanish programs can say.  The whole series is available as an iTunes download, which means that it can be watched on your iPod, iPhone, Blackberry – you name it!  Convenient, isn’t it?  Visit our learn Spanish site to watch some more demos and see what we are all about!

Recycling.  It’s a pretty big deal these days, and every ciudad/estado/provincia/paí­s (city/state/province/country) has a different way of going about it.  Some, obviously, are more effective than others, but most places seem to at least be making an effort, which is always a good start.  In Buenos Aires, however, the recycling system is unlike that of most other major cities in the world.  Why?  Let’s talk about cartoneros…

Image taken from todoarquitectura.com

Cartoneros are the name for the recycling system here in Buenos Aires, or rather the recycling people.  Surely you have heard about the major economic crash that happened in Argentina in 2001 (if not, it was massive, and pretty much the entire population lost thousands upon thousands of pesos.  Definitely worth a little Internet research, especially if you have any plans to come down for a visit.)  Because of the crash, the population of the paí­s, and especially of el capital, were left scrounging for money in any way that they could.  For some, the most lucrative scavenging market happened to be in recyclable goods, so people began living their lives collecting all the recyclable goods from the streets, and from there the cartoneros began.

Cartoneros typically live in specific neighborhoods called villas (shantytowns), located within and on the outskirts of Buenos Aires (the ciudad, not the provincia).  They typically start their days at about 6pm or later, whenever most city-dwellers have put out their trash in the evening along the streets.  The cartoneros rummage through the various garbage bags left on the streets, pulling out any items that can be recycled.  They put all these items into a large cart, which they all carry with them, and by the end of the night, often around 11pm to 1am, they head back home.

Transportation is obviously not easy for them, as most public transportation does not run during this time, and even if it did, it could not accommodate the large carts that the cartoneros carry with them.  At the end of the night, the cartoneros bring all of their finds to recycling factories in exchange for cash, but these factories are often located one or two hours outside of the city.  For this reason, there are ‘unofficial’ trains provided by the government that run throughout the night, bringing the cartoneros to and from the city and factories.  The most popular of these trains is called el Tren Blanco (the White Train).  These trains are not a nice ride, though– they have no seating, no lighting, and as you can imagine, not the nicest of aromas.  Some of the trains have police protection, but for the most part there is no protection at all, which makes for a long, dangerous, unpleasant ride made by hundreds of families every single day.

Nonetheless, the government of Buenos Aires has always supported the cartoneros and their hard work, because it not only serves as a recycling program for the city, but it also is the way that hundreds of families are supported throughout the ciudad– it provides an income that might not be found anywhere else.  However, with an new mayor in office (well, new-ish–since 2007) who happens to be from one of the richest families in Argentina, there is now talk of shutting down el Tren Blanco, which would leave the cartoneros without transportation to and from the city.  As you can imagine, this has caused a bit of controversy.  What do you think?

Get your hands on Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish now and you’ll be speaking and understanding native Spanish in just five weeks! We also have clips of our Spanish classes on Youtube – go check them out and get a taste of our teaching style. Become a fan of Bueno, entonces… on Facebook to interact with other users in our Spanish-learning community and learn useful Spanish phrases!

Juan Martí­n del Potro is probably a name that you’ve been hearing an awful lot about lately.  At the age of 20 he won the 2009 US Open, beating Federer from Switzerland in an incredibly close match.

Image taken from bahamaderek.files.wordpress.com

Why do we care about del Potro?  Because he is Argentine, of course!  This incredible athlete is from the city of Tandil in the provincia de Buenos Aires.  He’s been playing tennis since he was seven years old, and has wowed fans all over the world.  He has a few nicknames that include El Torre de Tandil (Tandil’s Tower), Enano (Dwarf), and Palito (Little Stick)– all of which refer to his 1.98 m (6′ 6″) stature.  He’s massive, crazy talented, and a few of us on the Bueno, entonces… production team think that he is absolutely adorable.  What stole our hearts?  Watch this clip of him at the trophy ceremony of the 2009 US Open– and see if you can catch what he says to his fans in Spanish!

If you didn’t catch that, he basically says what most other winners say– He thanks all of the Argentines in the audience that came out to support him, including his abuelos (grandparents..Aww).  He thanks everyone that has supported him thus far, and he says that this is all for them.  Oh, Juan, you had us at ‘hola‘.

Start Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish now and you’ll be speaking and understanding native Spanish in just five weeks! We also have clips of our Spanish classes on Youtube – go check ‘em out and get a taste of our style. Become a fan of Bueno, entonces… on Facebook to interact with other users in our Spanish-learning community and learn useful Spanish phrases!