Previously I had made the challenge to all of you to find a native Spanish speaker to practice speaking your Spanish with. This is just one of the responses I received from Nicole in Oregon who took the challenge:
Dave,
I just came in from doing exactly what you challenged us to do. I live in a predominately Spanish-Speaking apartment complex in Oregon. Today, I went outside and began to converse with some of my neighbors. They were very interested to speak with me (one even asked if he could wash my car) and were extremely helpful with words I did not understand. Most of them even knew a little bit of English. I hope others will have a similar experience.

Nicole

Thank you very much for your reply Nicole!

Now, for this week’s topic…

As many of you have already heard, I had lived in Latin America for two years among Spanish speakers. During that time, I was able to live in the Dominican Republic for about three months. It is a large island in the Caribbean that is located between Cuba and Puerto Rico. All three of these large islands are just off of the Florida coast with Cuba being the closest to Florida. The Dominican Republic shares the island with the country of Haiti where they speak Haitian Creole.

Anyway, when I was living in “la República Dominicana” (the Dominican Republic) I lived for a time in a city named La Romana. Generally most of the people that we visited in La Romana lived in small homes made with cardboard walls that were supported with only a few pieces of wood.  Metal roofs were also placed on top of the homes to keep off the heavy rains.

As I would meet people in La Romana, they would inevitably ask me where I was from since I often stood out with my blond hair. I would tell them that I was from Utah and they would ask, “Where is Utah?” I would then explain that it was located in the western part of the U.S. Then they would look at me as if a light had suddenly turned on in their heads and they would say, “So, what part of New York is that?” I would then try to clarify that Utah was another state just like New York and that it takes about 4 or 5 days driving time to get from New York to Utah. They would then look at me, with a somewhat puzzled expression, and ask “So then Utah is a suburb of New York?” I would then again try to explain that Utah and New York were both different states that exist within the United States. They would then look at me with a disbelieving look — as if I might be trying to trick them.

I do not think I was ever truly successful in helping anyone in La Romana or the Dominican Republic really grasp what or where Utah was located. Perhaps the closest I came is when I would tell them about the Utah Jazz basketball team. They would then exclaim “Oh yeah, I’ve heard of them!” (of course their response would be in Spanishe).

If you newsletter subscribers from New York maybe wonder why there are so many Dominicans there, now you know! — To many of them, New York IS the United States, and places like Utah are just small”suburbs” of New York.

To change topics for just a moment, I would like to take the chance to thank all of you newsletter subscribers who have purchased our Visual Link Spanish™ course! From the many, many positive responses we have received, I am sure you are enjoying the course and learning a lot. Remember to tell your friends and co-workers about it and about spanishprograms.com! If you currently do not have the Spanish course, you may order it in only a few clicks at: www.spanishprograms.com/store.htm

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

Apart from a great Spanish program like our Visual Link Spanish™ course, one of the most important things you can do to really improve your Spanish skills and really become fluent is to speak with the natives.

Many people can be very nervous about striking up a conversation with a native Spanish speaker. They are worried that maybe they’ll say something wrong or that the native speaker won’t understand them. They are also worried about saying things incorrectly or possibly getting embarrassed.

To really learn Spanish, I am challenging you this week to start a conversation with a native Spanish speaker. Once you get over the fear of the initial conversation, I think you will be amazed at how easy and comfortable it can be to talk to them. In general, they are really some of the friendliest people in the world.

Here are just a few phrases that I recommend to get you started. First you could say “Hola, Qué tal” [Oh-lah, keh tall] which means “Hi, how are you?”  Next, you could try saying “Me llamo Dave” [Meh yah-moh Dave], or in English “My name is Dave”. Of course, you do not want to say your name is “Dave” unless your name really is “Dave”. Finally, to spark some conversation, you could say “De dónde es usted” [Deh doan-deh es oo-sted] which means “Where are you from”.  Our last phrase this week is, “Qué le gusta hacer?” [keh leh goose-tah ah-ser] which means “What do you like to do?”

Here is my assignment to all of you newsletter readers out there; Are you ready? Practice the phrases above and set a goal of when you are going to finally approach a native speaker. Once you have done it and had a conversation in Spanish, send me an e-mail and let me know how it went. I am eager to hear from all of you!

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

While I was living in Latin America, for three months of the two years I was there, I ate breakfast every morning with the Silva family. They were native Spanish speakers and lived in a small city that was called Vista Alegre (happy view). Every morning the mother of the household would wake up very early to go to the bakery and pick up fresh rolls for us to eat. They were always delicious.

Quite often she would also make a breakfast drink that is called “kwaw-care”. They appeared to  be made out of cooked oatmeal, chocolate, and milk. I grew to deeply love my regular morning drink of “kwaw-care” and really looked forward to it. I had not heard the word “kwaw-care” before and tried to look it up in the dictionary but could not find anything even remotely close. I then looked up the word for oatmeal and it was “avena” [ah-ben-ah].

I continued drinking my “kwaw-care” for the next few months and quickly it became a “household” word for me. I would go to breakfast at the Silva’s and most eagerly await my daily dose of “kwaw-care”.

It was not until I was about to move on to another city that I finally solved the great mystery of what “kwaw-care” really was. I was in the Silva’s kitchen and saw the mother preparing “kwaw-care” and all of the sudden it dawned on me! She was taking the oatmeal out of a box of “Quaker Oats” and that is how they pronounced “Quaker” — “kwaw-care”! I suddenly laughed out loud and began to lovingly tease the family a little bit about it. I asked them why they did not just call it “avena” since that was the real name for oatmeal. They did not have a good answer.

The more I thought about it, I realized that it must be a common language phenomenon that happens all the time all over the world in different cultures. With certain consumer products their brand names become so familiar that people begin to inadvertently use them as the actual name for the product. For example, if I have a cut, I use a bandaid™ (which is actually a brand name). Or, if I might have a cold, I use a Kleenex™ regardless of whether it is actually that brand or not.

So, the next time you are in Latin America and someone makes you “kwaw-care”, you will know exactly what it is!! If any of you have other examples in English or from other countries, please write in and let us know about it.

P.S. – If anyone out there working for Quaker Oats™, Kleenex™ or the Bandaid™ company reads this, we’ll gladly accept advertising money from you. We will even send out a follow-up newsletter so everyone is sure to know about your products!

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

Trips to Latin American countries can be amazing experiences. At the same time, they can provide you with a wonderful opportunity to practice your Spanish and learn a lot culturally. Here are a few handy travel tips to help you get the most out of your trip to Latin American and avoid potential problems. For a complete set of travel vocabulary (including: Rent-a-Car, Bank, Exchange Rate, Hotel, Shopping and Medical Emergencies), please look up section 12 of your complete Visual Link Spanish™ course; there are both interactive computer lessons as well as audio CD lessons for use in your car. If you perhaps do not have the complete course, click here for more info, or to purchase. Now, let’s move on to our travel tips:

1. Take every occasion you have to speak with the natives. Since you have been studying with our course, you have most likely learned great deal of Spanish up to this point. Speaking to native speakers is a very important step towards higher fluency and will help boost your level of Spanish like nothing else.
2. Try to put your money in a hidden pocket; under clothes is preferable. Money belts that go underneath the clothes are particularly ideal. In some areas, pickpockets can be a very common occurrence and this guideline could save you a lot of money! If you must carry a purse, be sure to keep both hands on it in all public places. Remember, money belts are really ideal to keep your money safe.
3. It is best not to wear expensive jewelry or watches; you may not come back with them. Relatively harmless pick pockets may possibly become somewhat aggressive if they see you have a nice watch or jewelry. Inexpensive jewelry can be a great solution to remedy the problem. When I went to live in Latin America, I bought an very inexpensive $10 Casio digital watch that lasted the entire two years I lived there. As you can well imagine, nobody really wanted to take a “$10 Casio”.
4. If you decide to drive or rent a car, be sure to carry money if you happen to be stopped by the police. In the United States, it is illegal to give police officers money to let you off, but in Latin America it is more or less expected. The amount to offer can vary region to region, but I would suggest carrying at least three ten-dollar bills.
5. Do not ever leave your luggage or valuables unattended. Keep track of your things because if you lose something, it is gone forever.
6. For the most part, most tourist locations are really very safe, but it you go off the beaten path, be sure to stay in well-lit areas at night.

  To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

To learn more Spanish words, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com

In English, when we say “She is young” or “She is a youth”, it means that “she” is most likely a teenager or younger. (Those in England and Australia, please let me know if it is different there.) In Spanish, when you say “She is a youth”, it means that “she” can be anywhere from age 1 to age 29.

To demonstrate this point, when I was living in Latin America at age 19, I was talking to some people and began to tell them a story. I started off the story by saying, “When I was young.” Much to my surprise, they all started laughing and said, “You are still young!” I said “What do you mean, I am still young.” This made them laugh even more and said “You’re young.”

Because it was a cultural difference, at first I did not understand what they meant — in my opinion, I wasn’t young anymore. During the next couple of months of observation, I realized that when a native Spanish speaker talked about a “young person”, or “being young”, or “a youth”, they were referring to someone who was either a child, a teenager, or even into their late twenties.

Another example of this is from when I was in my late twenties; I went to a company called Autoliv to give some ESL (English as a Second Language) placement tests to native Spanish speakers. I was about to test a Spanish speaking lady who was perhaps in her 50’s. She was smiling and seemed to be a very happy and sociable person. When she came to sit down at the testing table, she said “Hola joven” [oh-law ho-ben] – or in English “Hi youth.” I said “Hola” to her and we began the session. As we continued, she continued to call me “joven” (young person or youth) about 6 or 7 times. She would say things like “OK joven”, or “muy bien joven”, or “está bien joven” and so forth. It is quite common for Latin people in their fifties or older to call people in their twenties or younger “joven”.

The moral to this story is this: In Latin America, until you hit age 30, you are younger than you think. This is a fun little tidbit of culture that I wanted to share with you this week.

To learn more about speaking Spanish, please visit our website www.spanishprograms.com