Photo courtesy of: http://www.pbase.com

Here’s a trabalenguas (tongue-twister) to challenge your pronunciation skills: Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal en tres tristes trastos.
 En tres tristes trastos tragaban trigo tres tristes tigres.

Now, what could that jumble of words possibly mean? Let’s break it down…

Tres tristes tigres = three sad tigers. Alright, that’s easy enough.

Tragaban comes from the verb tragar, which means to swallow. Tragaban is in the past tense form of ‘them’ (referring to the tigers). What do they swallowed? They swallowed trigo, which is wheat.

Okay, so far we have three sad tigers swallowing wheat.  Continuing on: en un trigal means in a wheat field (trigo. trigal. See the connection?).

And finally, en tres tristes trastos—in three sad dishes. Whew.

The second bit of the trabalenguas is the same phrase, but reversed, so we aren’t going to bother with another translation.

Tres tristes tigres tragaban trigo en un trigal en tres tristes trastos. 
En tres tristes trastos tragaban trigo tres tristes tigres.

Try saying that one ten times fast!

Want to really improve your Spanish pronunciation? Get your hands on Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish and you could be speaking conversation Spanish in just five weeks! Check out more clips of each individual Spanish class on our Youtube Page.

Facebook Fans also get $50 off. Um, SWEET. And you’ll also learn hilarious Spanish phrases and pick-up lines. EXTRA SWEET.

Are you a Bueno, entonces… fan yet?

Before any foreigner heads down to Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, or Brazil, there is one thing they must know about the culture: mate (pronounced mah-tay).

Now, what the hell is mate? Mate is a hot beverage with a high level of caffeine (some argue that is it actually mateine, not caffeine) that is made up of natural yerba mate (the mate herb–pronounced shair-bah) mixed with hot water, and should always be drunk out of a mate gourd using a bombilla (special mate straw– pronounced bom-bee-shah). It is so much more than a drink, though. Here, mate is practically a way of life.

Mate originated out in the campo (country) and was used by gauchos (cowboys) to stay awake and maintain their energy for the day. At one point or another, it became widespread throughout the nation and now it is virtually used in every household. At first glance, it looks like it is either a) an outdated, traditional tea that only really old-fashioned Argentines would drink, or b) some sort of drug. In reality, it is neither, and we cannot stress enough how much of a major part of the culture here is based off of mate. In fact, even the production team here at Bueno, entonces… couldn’t survive without it.

As mentioned before, mate is always drunk out of a special mate gourd and done so through a bombilla (as seen in the photo). The yerba(the actual herb of the plant—it looks a bit like marijuana) is put into the gourd, and then the gourd is filled with hot water to the very top. You then sip the mate through the bombilla, which has a special filter at the bottom to keep you from sucking in the yerba until the water is all gone, then you pass the gourd to be filled (with water–you keep the same yerba until it is completely drained of any caffeine or taste) by the next drinker. It is a communal thing, and, although people drink it by themselves, it is most often shared by a group in which everyone uses the same bombilla. Germs? What germs?

Seriously, take a walk around a park anywhere in Argentina and you are bound to find some mate drinkers.

It. Is. Everywhere.

If you want to check out Episode 8 (the one about mate) of Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish check out this entry from one of our review bloggers! To learn more Spanish phrases and check out clips from our Spanish classes, go to our Facebook and Youtube pages!

Ahh, no day is complete without a little Daddy Yankee. Thanks to David (our student), we not only get some Daddy, but we get some Spanish grammar in there, too!

Think the verb gustar is a pain in the ass?  Yup, us, too.  Well, luckily we can help you out a bit! The video below is just a quick clip of one of the many lessons in the Bueno, entonces… program.  Here, David is practicing his gustars with Jimena.

¿Te gusta la gasolina?

In the Spanish language, diminutives and augmentatives are common to hear in everyday conversations. In fact, they are so common that you probably hear them in every sentence spoken.

What are diminutives and augmentatives? They are word endings that can be linked to a word to make it seem smaller or larger. Examples: -cito/a, -ito/a (as in panCITO, casITA,) or -í³n/ona (as in hueví³n, llorONA).

The diminutive form is more commonly used, but you will hear the augmentatives used on occasion, although most often when the augmentative form is used, the meaning of the word changes (huevo means egg, but hueví³n most often will be used as a slang word for idiot, although it’s not as common in Argentina as in Chile or Colombia).

In English, diminutives aren’t as common, and closest thing we have to it would be something that resembles baby-talk (fishy, daddy, horsey, etc…) or adding ‘little‘ before a noun. But really, that doesn’t do the diminutives in Spanish any justice. A lot of people are reluctant to use too many -itos and -itas, because it feels a little… cutesy, but in Spanish, it doesn’t give off that vibe at all.

Diminutives can also be used as a term of endearment—you might have heard people call each other by Pablito or Lucita. Sometimes these are names that an individual was referred to as a kid, and it just stuck with them, but a lot of the time it is used in any given conversation as a term of endearment (In English, it’d be something like Maggie for Margaret, or Robby for Robert). Dí³nde estí¡ Pablito? (Where is little Pablo?) Or Pobre Lucita, estí¡ enferma (Poor little Lucia, she’s sick.)

Now get out there and cutesy-fy some palabritas (er..word-ies?)!

Spanish is really fun when it comes to being creative – the slang terms and -itos/-itas/-ons are just the beginning. 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.

Here’s an Argentine Internet company commercial to… well, not help you in your language learning endeavors, but it’s still worth a watch.

All you really need to know is ‘Que bolu,’ which is what they sing over and over again in the song. Bolu is short for boludo, which is Argentine slang for something like an idiot. So, the song is essentially saying ‘What an idiot, what an idiot,’ but with much more of a ring to it.

But don’t worry, if someone refers to you as a boludo, as in “Che, boludo!” no need to be offended. Boludo can also mean ‘man,’ as in “Hey, man!”

And believe us when we say this song will be stuck in your head for the next few hours. Catchiest. Tune. Ever.

Sorta makes you want to learn Spanish, huh? We can get you understanding and speaking native Spanish in five weeks! Check out our teaching style and learn some hilarious Spanish phrases on our Facebook Page.

Here’s a phrase that’ll help you (not) make some new Argentine friends: Andate a la c*ncha de tu madre.

Now, before you go and shout this into the streets, just know that 1) we were being sarcastic about using this phrase to make friends, and 2) this is actually a very, very crude thing to say, so be careful where you use it. However, you can never know too many insults, so here’s another to add to the book.

Literally, andate a la c*ncha de tu madre means go to your mother’s vagina (or a variety of other crude terms that mean the same thing, but for sake of being remotely PC, we’ll stick to ‘vagina‘). Now, you can probably imagine a circumstance or two in which this would appropriate, but hopefully that circumstance comes only once in a blue moon. How about we break the phrase down a bit.

Andí¡te comes from the verb andar, which means to walk—it’s not as commonly used as caminar, but you’ll definitely hear it every so often in conversation. The te at the end is referring to the person you are talking to (so when you say it, it is in the form of tú or vos). In this case, it is put into imperative form, which is the form used for commands, which is why it is andate instead of vos andí¡s. Essentially, you are commanding or urging the person to go to their mom’s vagina.

Now, if you know know a little Spanish, you’re probably thinking ‘Wow, they use the same word for vagina as they do for fields,’. Actually, COncha is the word for vagina, and cAncha is the word for field. One letter makes a very, very big difference, so be careful with this one. Although, when at the cancha (de fútbol), it is not unusual to hear people say (or yell) ‘concha’. In some other Spanish-speaking nations, concha isn’t even a bad word—in fact, in some places it is the word used for a shell (in English, it’s called a conch shell) and in Mexico it is a type of sweet bread. But we can pretty much guarantee if you say this phrase to anyone in the Spanish-speaking world, you’re not going to get a very friendly response.

Check out Episode 26 of Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish for Jimena’s and David’s conversation about c*nchas!

If you’re not offended by c*nchas and the Kama Sutra, check out our learn Spanish Facebook Page and learn Spanish online! Check out our other blog entries to learn more Spanish grammar and useful Spanish learning tips.

These are the top 15 Most ‘Liked’ Photos on the Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish Facebook Wall (in no particular order here). The top 10 will become Finalists in our pool of 100 fans to win a trip to Argentina! Click on any of the photos below and you’ll be redirected to Facebook, where you can ‘Like’ them!

Step One: Become a Fan (Wahoo!)

Step Two: Like a Photo (or 2, or 3…)

The ones in RED need your help!

#15

‘Like’ Zoe “Soie” Loftus-Farren

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#14

‘Like’ Sarah “I want to visit my sister” Sykes

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#13

‘Like’ Kaci “Keepin’ it Classy” Tucker

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#12

‘Like’ Alyson ‘Needs a Good Lesson’ Kilday

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#11

‘Like’ Paul “Caliente” Zimmerman

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#10

‘Like’ Nakia “I have the best hair in this competition” Casey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#9

‘Like’ Chris “Oh so Dreamy” Knauer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#8

‘Like’ Elish “I’m in a Bush” Henderson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#7

‘Like’ Laurence “I’m already bi-lingual, suckers” Allyson

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#6

‘Like’ Ceyda “I may cut you up into little pieces if I don’t become a Finalist” Marifet

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#5

‘Like’ Alex “Steez” Spencer

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#4

‘Like’ Trevor “Holy Crap!” Schrock

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#3

‘Like’ David “Giddy up” Rascoe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#2

‘Like’ Kathryn “I deleted my photo but I’m still kickin’ ass” Colleen

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

#1

‘Like’ Stephen “The Rockstar” Sbanotto

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Honorable Mention:

‘Like’ Amy “I’m already a Finalist but I’m such a stud that I’m competing again” Freyn

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

REMEMBER: We need to get to 10,000 fans by March 12th to give away the trip! Are you a fan yet?

*Note: If you uploaded your photo to our Facebook Page and it isn’t on here, get your friends to ‘Like’ it – you still have two days left!

Meag, an expat blogger who moved to Rosario last year, writes about the Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish program in her blog, A Domestic Disturbance.

I finally found Spanish class that speaks the same language I do. And by that, I mean that there’s a teacher speaking Spanish and a student ‘answering’ in English. My version of Spanish (or Castellano) is a half-in, half-out sort of deal. I’m not willing to commit to speaking completely in this god-forsaken language but I’ll throw out what I know to complete a sentence…as in “Gimme another glass of cerveza, por favor.”

So, when Bueno, entonces asked me to review their language videos I was delighted to see someone with a similar attitude struggling along! Honestly, it is helpful and I am learning but mostly it just makes me feel good about myself to know that I’m not the only loser in Argentina (no offense, David). Plus, Jimena speaks so articulately that I feel like maybe I do understand Spanish when I watch these videos.

To find the series helpful, I think you do need somewhat of a background in Spanish. My background is having started Spanish classes several times at a variety of institutions. (I can’t tell you how well I know the vocabulary for school supplies.) Going through the first week of classes, I’ve been reminded of some of the basics and now we’re pilling stuff on top. Useful stuff, like ‘Don’t bust my balls’ and ‘I’m useless.’ I was hoping that I could just watch and remember most of the new phrases – and I did for some, like the proper time to use ‘dale’ – but by the third lesson I started taking notes. It provides an opportunity for learning alongside a little sarcasm (the best medicine). And I’m learning all kinds of inappropriate vocabulary and phrases that I wouldn’t be able to ask my Spanish tutor about (without blushing). I also love that David doesn’t hold back with his frustrations about Spanish – ahhh, thank you, it IS a sexist language!

Anyway, as I said, I’ve watched a week’s worth of Bueno, entonces… – 6 classes. I’ve been having trouble finding time to watch an entire 35-40 minute episode every day so it may take me a little longer but I think a little extra time is great to actually practice using what I learn. The real test will be to see if I get a better handle on the past tenses from these videos.

I’m really excited to finish the series and it’s nice to have some control over learning (meaning I can wear pjs and I don’t have to go to class and be nice if I’m in a bad mood, etc). A lot of people seem to like it for their iPods and I would definitely have watched it while on the subway in NYC but I’m afraid I’ll get mugged if I try to do something like that in public here. I just watch in the comfort (and safety) of my home – usually while eating breakfast or ice cream.

Bueno, entonces… also has a Spanish grammar blog and teaches daily Spanish phrases on Facebook.