Visual Link Spanish™ Newsletter
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Words of the Week
Words are taken from the Becoming Acquainted section of our Visual Link Spanish™ course -----

	English	Spanish
Monday	He needs	(El) Necesita
Tuesday	She needs	(Ella) Necesita
Wednesday	You need	(Usted) Necesita
Thursday	to practice	practicar
Friday	tennis	tenis
Saturday	soccer	fútbol
Sunday	sports	deportes
Remember to Review!	Be sure to use these weekly newsletters to review the words you have learned from our complete Visual Link Spanish™ course.

Culture ----- Ensenada Mexico: Final Chapter

To wrap up our section on culture from Ensenada Mexico and what I learned while on my trip there, this week we'll talk a little about the economy, jobs, and land purchases in Mexico.

In conversing with our tour guide Miguel in Ensenada, he mentioned that most people there are thankful to Americans for NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement). Because of NAFTA, many large U.S. businesses, that hire 1,200 - 1,500 people each, have opened plants in Ensenada and pay people $10 - $12 per day. This is a much higher wage than their minimum wage. As a result, unemployment has gone down. The businesses also cover transportation to and from work since gas there costs around $2.40 per gallon and many people still don't have cars.

Our course, Visual Link Spanish™, has been very successful in teaching managers of large businesses (and their families) who have gone down to Mexico for a few months to help open manufacturing plants. This type of temporary relocation is happening more and more. It is becoming very essential to know Spanish, not only to relocate to Latin America, but to increase business opportunities here in the U.S.

On a slightly different topic, here's one last interesting note I learned in Ensenada about purchasing land in Mexico. If you are from another country and try to purchase land in Mexico, you can not unless you are a Mexican citizen. You can only lease the land. Here are a couple of things to watch for if you go to Mexico and want to lease land:

1. Get the longest lease you can - Don't get a short 20-25 year lease; push for a 100 year lease. Even though you most likely won't be alive for 100 years, it makes provision for the land to be passed on to others.
2. Make sure it is a renewable lease - If it is not renewable, when the lease is up, it falls back into the previous owner's hands.
3. How to Own Land in Mexico (without Leasing) - Our tour guide Miguel told us about two ways to be the outright owner of land in Mexico without leasing. The first is to become a Mexican citizen and the second is to have a baby while living on the land. (That's easy enough, right?)
4. Purchase land only through a "Notario Público" (Notary Public) - The term "Notary Public" has a different meaning in Spanish than it does in English. In English (at least in the U.S.) a Notary Public is a person who witnesses the signing of documents and certifies the authenticity of the signer. In Spanish, a "Notario Público" is actually an attorney who works with legal documents. The "Notario Público" ensures that the person selling/leasing the land is the true owner of the land. Many people and organizations over the past years have purchased land without using a "Notario Público"; they lost all their money because the land wasn't actually owned by the person selling it.
5. Be sure to do a "Fideicomiso" - This is a trusteeship and is the kind of legal document you must have drawn up.

Moral of the Story: Spanish is becoming very useful and essential in today's world. Also, if you are planning to have a baby soon, be sure to deliver in Mexico so you can own land! (Do at your own risk - The U.S. Institute of Languages™ is not responsible for babies born in Mexico, or any other part of the world for that matter!)

Sneak peek at next week: Latin American's are serious about their #1 Pastime!

¡Hasta la próxima semana! (Until Next Week!)

David S. Clark -- President / Director
U.S. Institute of Languages
dave@spanishprograms.com
http://www.spanishprograms.com
866-9SPANISH

P.S. - If you have enjoyed our newsletters, please forward them to friends or relatives -- that is one of the main ways our business grows.

Responses to Previous Newsletters

Response #1
Hello! I live in the Philippines and many people here loves silver. I, myself, have been a fun of silver, i have lots of them and one thing that I have noticed. everytime i forgot to take them off before i go to shower is..... it gets tarnished easily.. the color tends to become rusty.. which you will need to have it cleaned.. lucky for us because most of the silver shops that we have offers free cleaning as long as you keep your receipt with you.So i suggest that you should take Miguel's advice for your own convenience...

God bless!

Karen.c",)

Response #2
Dave,

The reason you don't wear silver in the shower. The moisture will cause it to tarnish which is a good sigh you have bought real silver even though it may not have the .925 stamp. I bought some Rosarys and Our Lady of Guadalupe medals from a street vendor outside of a church in Mexico. Some looked old and worn which made them even more appealing to me. I figured they were well broken in with many prayers. After arriving home a few weeks later I took them out of my jewelry box to find they were very tarnished. Nothing a little polishing won't cure. They are my treasures now.

Sandra in Alabama.

Response #3
hi! I'm one of the subscriber of the spanish newsletter. As you mentioned in Ensenada Part II, bargaining is a cultural experience. I don't know if you ever visit one of Asean countries, but there bargaining is like a must. If you don't you just get cheated. And in there, you can even go lower than half the price... can you believe it? As for me i don't feel very comfortable with it... just like your wife. Sometimes i just pity the seller. Anyway that's all... i hope this can enrich your culture knowledge. Bye.

Response #4
Hi, I have just recieved the news letter, I too have just come back from Chile, my partner is Chilian, I spent three weeks there, it is the most beautiful country that I have been to. The people are friendly and the transport is far more available and cheaper than in England, and there are no 'yobos' on the street and I think it is a far safer country than England,

which puts us all to shame in this day and age. I travelled from north to the middle and from east to west, covering over 40000 miles or more all by coach and taxi, I hope to go back on a regular basis, maybe I shall be able to speak fluent Spanish soon. from Adrienne

Question and Response #5

Question:

Dave

I would like to go to Buenos Aires some day and live there, most likely. I'm am learning Spanish now and I noticed some things stated in these news letters about their lack of pronunciation of 's' after consonants and saying 'll' as a 'j', also the 'ch' not being strongly pronounced and I wonder if, when they say the name of their city, they say Bueno(s) Aire(s) (not prounouncing the s in either word), with silent 's' ?? I noticed from my tapes that some places in Spain have a pronunciation of this kind. Does Argentina have a culture that is less influenced by that region's natives? Also I read that it is not a very 'sentimental' place, I believe, in an old encyclopedia. Does this mean they are particularly materialistic and do not have much culturally influenced architecture and traditions. I just want to know more about Buenos Aires. I don't know if you have time to really reply or if you have ever been their, but it is worth a shot to learn more about it. .***Is Florida similar in climate to Buenos Aires? I guess I could get me a book, huh? Well, so far I like this on line Spanish program.

Thanks Alot! .....

Answer:

Thanks for your feedback. I'm not a specialist in the questions you asked about Argentina. However, I do know that they pronounce the "ll" and "y" strongly like a "j" and when they say certain words in the command (imperative) form (like - "Sit down"), they will put the accent on the wrong syllable, instead of saying [SIEN-ta-te](correct) they say [sien-TA-te](Argentine). Also, they heavily use "vos", which is a casual form of "you". Only around 3 or 4 countries, that I know of, in South America use "vos".

They also drink a popular drink there called "mate", which is kind of an herb drink that provides a slight stimulant (from my understanding). Also, a famous cowboy poet - Pablo Neruda - came from Argentina and wrote about the cowboys, and roundups, and so forth. Livestock is a big part of Argentina's economy.

Best regards,

Dave

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