Argentina-ing it up today, big time. Why? ‘Cause of the contest to win a trip to Buenos Aires. Obvvvio.

So, we made a valiant effort in trying to translate the above piropo on our Facebook Page, but damn, buena and dulce de leche s

Estí¡s=You are–>Estar=verb ‘to be’
mí¡s=more
buena=good/hot/yummy, etc. (all things good)
que=than (que can mean various things depending on the context)
comer=to eat
dulce de leche=sweetened condensed milk (A-mazing)
con=with
el dedo=a/the finger

I downloaded this app because I need to learn some basic Spanish because I travel to alot of Latin American countries for work. This app rocks! So easy to use and fun because you feel like you are watching a show and learning at the same time. I have Rosetta Stone and although it is also good, this application makes you want to watch the next one like a TV show. The graphic art is great and very visual for people like me that like this format for learning.

If you are trying to learn Spanish, get this app! You will not regret it and the entertainment values alone will be worth the price. I bought one of the apps and will be dowloading the whole series.

Nos vemos mí¡s tarde en la clase Bueno Entonces español!

-VinLane

Party party with cheap hats

For those of you down in South America, this weekend is one of the last of summer and a four day weekend on top of that. So not surprisingly, everyone is getting their party-party on.

Those of you in the northern hemisphere are enjoying the first throws of Spring, and therefore should be party-partying as well.

Whatever the reason, here is some essential vocab to get you there.

Puede traerme…? = Can you bring me…?

Te puedo pedir…? = Can I order…?

Una cerveza = A beer

Un champí¡n = A champagne

Una copa de vino (tinto/blanco) = A glass of wine (red/white)

Un whiskey = A whiskey

Un vodka con jugo de naranja/Coca/Sprite/agua = A vodka with orange juice/Coke/Sprite/ water

With ice = Con hielo

Without ice = Sin hielo

paja, bí¡lago; pajilla, paja para beber, popote = Straw —> OJO! The word changes from country to country.

Watch as David learns how to order a cafí© con leche and a milanesa in Spanish:

There you have it. Now you can order your milanesa and eat it, too.

Enjoy your brindis (cheers) and have a safe and enjoyable party- party weekend.

Alright, back to Jeff!

It is sort of cool seeing how the Bueno, entonces… program helped Jeff really improve his Spanish during his time here in Buenos Aires. While it is fast-paced in the beginning, as you continue on, it becomes more comfortable—as language-learning should be! Here’s his review of Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish Class 3. Jeff explains a little bit about how the program differs from others, and how for him, learning the vos conjugation was key:

Class 3: Now we’re starting to get into the meat of things. After doing more basics (numbers) we moved on to formal greetings and the all important (and sometimes confusing) verbs. This is where I think the conversational nature of the Bueno, entonces... Learn Spanish program will really earn its money. One of the hardest thing for me is to conjugate verbs on the fly. I’m o.k. when I stay in the present tense, but I feel completely lost at times when I venture into the past or future. Even worse is when I have to use different tenses in the same or consecutive sentences. For instance, I was talking today to a local woman about how I had studied Spanish in the past, am again learning it now, and will try to continue speaking Spanish when I return to the States. I needed to stop each time and conjugate the verb in my head before continuing the sentence – something that really breaks up the conversation. The method that Bueno, entonces… Learn Spanish uses has you listening to all of these conjugations from the first class. Furthermore, the teacher and student switch quickly from tense to tense as one would in normal conversation. I am able to learn how to use various verb tenses (including past and future) by recognizing patterns and by repetition.

This is also where I am beginning to see Bueno, entonces… Learn Spanish diverge from Rosetta Stone. I actually used Rosetta Stone for about 4-6 weeks (1 – 1.5 hours per day) before leaving for Buenos Aires and nearly all of that time was spent in the present tense…the least confusing one. Yes, Rosetta Stone does expose you to a great deal of useful verbs, however, it takes a long time before you learn how to use them in a tense other than the present. This nauseating repetition, for someone who has some Spanish background, was frustrating, and I felt I couldn’t just skip those units because there were a lot of useful vocabulary words mixed in. For my money, I would rather get really comfortable with all of the conjugations of a few key verbs because that is what you need to know to hold even a basic conversation.

The other big advantage I am seeing of Bueno, entonces… Learn Spanish over Rosetta Stone is the use of “vos.” For someone who is considering traveling to Argentina I think this is vital. Understanding “vos” is obviously a necessity for understanding daily conversation, but is also needed for speaking in commands. I spent a lot of time with Rosetta Stone practicing the “tú” tense, and didn’t learn, until my wife told me when we were boarding the plane, that it isn’t even used here. Therefore, I have spent a lot of my time early on learning the ins and outs of “vos” – in reality its a fairly straightforward tense to learn, but still takes some time.

Want to feel bi-lingual? Tell your friends you know an entire song—in Spanish!

Think of it as our gift to you.

Felices Fiestas!

Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Prospero Año y Felicidad.

Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Prospero Año y Felicidad.

I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas
From the bottom of my heart.

P.S. Want to really be bi-lingual in 2010? Stay tuned and score some major deals (and some amazing prizes) with Bueno, entonces… in the New Year!

¡Quí© lindo!

Erin at The Lime & The Coconut wrote about Bueno, entonces… this week. We love it when people like the program–it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

They are said to be “like Rosetta Stone® meets South Park – edgy, funny, and completely inappropriate. It keeps your attention, and you’ll watch it over and over so you don’t miss anything. Best of all, because it’s engaging, you remember EVERYTHING.”

My favorite parts about this whole set up:
1. They include sexual connotation, vulgar language, and off-color jokes. I know that seems unexpected – and to some people unnecessary. But having had tons of friends and a boyfriend who is Hispanic, I think this would add to anyone’s conversational skills.
2. Instead of paying upwards of $500, you only pay only $200 for a 6-dvd set or $147 for an instant download. You can’t beat that.
I have taken years of Spanish, and have been surrounded by people who speak the language and I’m still not even close to fluent. I’m definitely wanting this in my stocking for Christmas. Maybe I’ll gift it to myself for the New Year… hmmm.

Read the full note on learning Spanish with Bueno, entonces…!

Thanks, Erin!

Shopping vocabulary:

Hacer compras

Bolsa

Billetera

Effectivo

Tarjeta de Credito

Descuento

Retornable?

Liquidacion

Cola

Tienda/local/?

Whew! The holidays are right around the corner and that means that both your patience and your credit card are hanging by a thread. While we don’t have the power to make money grow on trees (yet) we are able to offer two THINGS:

1) Spanish shopping vocabulary

2) An awesome, mind blowing 72 hour sale. Nothing is better than a sale a week before Christmas (well, that and spiked eggnog.)

Here are ten words that we’ll surely be using, and hope that you try ‘em out, too! (swear words not included–check our Word of the Day for that material)

WORDS

David COMPRAS VIDEO

And, here are the deets on our sale. 72 hours. 50% off all Bueno, entonces… Learn Spanish DVDs. Why only 72 hours, you ask? Well, in order for them to arrive on Navidad, we have to recieve your order by Thursday.

So get on it, chicos. Be bilingual in 2010!

In addition to Jeff (link) and Cody (link), Juniper also wrote a blog and documented her journey through the Bueno, entonces…Learn Spanish series. Here’s her experience with Class 3:

The weather is ridiculous right now…probably around 70 degrees…amazing. When I finish my “strenuous” tasks of picking up the laundry (2 loads washed, ironed, folded all for 5 dollars!!), make something delicious to eat, begin the process of boxing up my room to move, and finish my lessons for Bueno, entonces…, I am going to treat myself to mimosas in a bikini. I have a beautiful patio full of plants and plenty of space to stretch out and paint, play guitar, and read in the sun…while sipping back bubbly decadence. Ah, life is good!

I watched lesson 2 of my spanish learning program, and I just can’t say enough how well done this spanish program is. If I were to write a program to help others learn spanish it would be very similar to this. I used to teach Physiology to high school students in the east oakland hood…really intense, through a program called “oakland teaching fellows”. One of my biggest concerns (beside staying alive, not getting my car stolen, or robbed) was to find a way to connect the material to the students interests and actually teach something. I don’t like wasting time, mine or that of anyone else. Here I was, Berkeley educated, guitar playing (dont say the hippy word…I am not a hippy dammit – but definitely not versed in the Bay area hip hop scene) trying to come in to this other world and humbly yet with passion and entertainment value, teach something. How to connect the lessons? I hit upon the universal truth: Everyone is interested in sex. There it is. I found that by connecting every lesson to sex, drugs, or “disgusting” bodily processes (easy in a biology course), my class was full of laughter and non stop hands in the air and questions.

This spanish program is excellent because it has an undercurrent of sexuality that makes it hilarious, interesting, and entertaining. You remember what they teach. Here is another clip: