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Archive for January, 2014

by CaptainCode

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January 27th, 2014

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Today’s 10 palabras will be about useful expressions in Spanish. Yes, there words that spice up the language, make it less ‘textbooky’ and more alive – which is the goal of Visual Link Spanish. And about no.10, all we can say: please pardon our Spanish ;).

1. You’re kidding. – Estás de broma
2. Speaking of the devil – Hablando del rey de Roma
3. Were you born in a field/barn? – Cierra la puerta
4. What a rip off. – ¡Qué timo!
5. What a mess! – ¡Qué lío!
6. What a cheek! – ¡Qué cara!
7. By all means – No faltaría mas/Por supuesto
8. Chat someone up – Ligar con alguien
9. Cheer up! – ¡Anímate!
10. A pain in the arse – un coñazo (vulgar)

Have a great week everyone!

by CaptainCode

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January 23rd, 2014

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Although we spend much time online (hey, you’re even learning Spanish online!), many of us are still at a loss for Spanish words when it comes to terms related to Internet. As all ‘dot coms’ become a regular part of our life, let’s learn some of them in Spanish.

Here’s today’s 10 Palabras (of a few more- who’s counting, right?):

  • @ (at)  – arroba
  • Bold (font) – negrita
  • dot com- punto com
  • drop down list/ drop down menu/pop-up menu –  menu desplegable
  • Forward (the name of the forward button)- adelante
  • hyperlink- hiperenlace
  • lurking- fisgoneo, mironeo (lurker – mirón)
  • surf- navegar
  • word wrap –  retorno automático de la palabra
  • to attach (to emails) – adjuntar
  • template – plantilla

by CaptainCode

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January 17th, 2014

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Happy Friday Amigos! If you are, like many today, not in the mood for a serious Spanish class (or any class, for that matter), there is no shame in that! We can just relax and have a great Friday night – and still squeeze some Spanish into it. And by Spanish we mean the language (not just the food and wine ;)).

As we talked about learning Spanish through music and songs that are easy to listen, today, we give you another great example.

Love her or hate her, Madonna has certainly left a footprint in music. And, as many of you know, she also sings in Spanish, and trust us, her Spanish pronunciation is good. Especially in this song, a Spanish version of her timeless classic, You’ll See. The future tense is Spanish makes the title Verás:

Do note how clear the words sound, and, as it’s pretty much the translation, we’re sure you’ll get them. And here’s the better known English version of the song – just in case.

Happy Friday! And remember that you can Learn Spanish Free wish Visual Link Spanish! Have a great weekend everyone!

by CaptainCode

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January 9th, 2014

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How would you describe yourself in Spanish? What about your best friend? And what about that colleague you can barely stand? How often do you feel out of words needing to describe a personality?

Today, we give you 10 palabras that can be used to describe a personality. And, while we encourage you to learn all words here, we sure hope you find yourself drawn to using the positive ones more often. Have a great day everyone!

  1. brave: valiente
  2. annoying: pesado
  3. friendly: amigable, simpático, agradable
  4. mean: tacaño
  5. open-minded: de actitud abierta, sin prejuicios
  6. narrow-minded: de mentalidad cerrada, intolerant
  7. sensible: sensato, prudente;
  8. sensitive: sensible
  9. charming: encantador
  10. conceited, full of oneself: presumido

And don’t forget that you can learn Spanish for free in the comfort of your home with Visual Link Spanish! Explore our FREE Level 1 lessons here. And when you find it’s time to step up your Spanish level, we’ve got a selection of great courses available. Start learning Spanish today!

by CaptainCode

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January 8th, 2014

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Rosca de Reyes

Rosca de Reyes

Think the Holiday Season is over? For many of us, it may be. Yet, in the Spanish culture, January is also filled with holidays and traditions – festive gatherings and food included, with the Christmas season being officially over on February 2!

The main holiday in January is El Dia De Los Tres Reyes Magos (Three Kings’ Day, or the Epiphany), celebrated on January 6. Spain, as well as most Latin American countries, don’t celebrate December 25 as the day children receive their Christmas gifts. Instead, children get their presents on January 6, El Día de Los Tres Reyes Magos (Three Kings’ Day). This day commemorates the wise men coming to see baby Jesus, bringing the gifts of gold.

On this day, children put shoe boxes stuffed with grass for the king’s camels, under their beds. The next morning, the grass is gone, replaced by a gift left by the three kings. And like Christmas, charcoal is left for children who have been naughty.

For this holiday, a traditional feast is prepared. In Mexico, all bakeries offer the Rosca de Reyes, an oval wreath-shaped sweetbread, decorated with candied fruit. This tradition was brought by the Spaniards centuries ago.A plastic figurine of the Baby Jesus is hidden inside the Rosca. Hiding the baby symbolizes the need to find a secure place where Jesus could be born, a place where King Herod would not find Him.

During the family gathering, everyone cuts a slice of the Rosca. The knife symbolizes the danger in which the Baby Jesus was in. The guest who gets the baby figurine becomes the hostof the next celebration, Candelaria or Candle mass day on February 2. That day marks the end of the Christmas season in Latin America. This is when the nativity scene is put away. The holiday would not be complete without the traditional family gathering and dinner of tamales and hot chocolate.

Although not so widely, Feast of San Antonio Abad to honor animals and Feast of San Sebastian are also celebrated in January. Now, what’s your favorite Spanish or Latin American holiday? Don’t forget to visit Elefloor for Asian real estate offers, including stunning properties for sale and rent in Thailand.

 

by CaptainCode

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January 2nd, 2014

Happy New Year! Let’s make 2014 a great year!

Guess what? It’s time to go back to your Spanish studies. We suggest that you start nice and easy today – with some Spanish music! We’d like to introduce you to a great band to practice your Spanish comprehension skills – La Oreja de Van Gogh. These guys are Latin Grammy winners winning and a Grammy-nominated Spanish pop band from San Sebastian, Spain. The name of the band refers to the famous post-impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh who cut off the lobe of his own ear (look him up some time, he was a great artist and an interesting person, but that’s absolutely off-topic).

Yet, we didn’t pick this band because of their name. Speaking of Spanish pronunciation, we often hear students complain that Spanish accent is a lot harder to understand – compared to the way Mexican Spanish sounds. Let’s say, it’s not exactly harder, it just sounds a little different.

La Oreja de Van Gogh’s lead singer, Amaia Montero, has a very distinct Spanish pronunciation (do note the ‘s’ sound in this song). Yet, this music is truly an easy listening, and, once you follow the lyrics for a couple of times, the Spanish pronunciation will grow on you. Don’t like this song? Go ahead and browse for your favorite artists and songs – there’s plenty of awesome stuff out there!

For now, we recommend this song. Here’s the video with both versions of the lyrics (Spanish and the English translation) pasted for you below. Enjoy and be sure to share your favorite Spanish music with us!

Ven acercate
Ven y abrazame
Vuelve a sonreír a recordar Paris
a ser me angustia
dejame pasar una tarde mas
dime donde has ido donde esperas en silencio amigo
quiero estar contigo y relgarte mi carino
darte un beso y ver tus ojos
disfrutando con los mios hasta siempre
adios me corazon
ven te quiero hablar
vuelve a caminar
vamos a jugar al juego en el que yo era tu princesa
ven hazlo por mi
vuelve siempre a mi
dime donde has ido
donde esperas en silencio amigo
quiero estar contigo y relgarte mi carino
darte un beso y ver tus ojos
disfrutando con los mios hasta siempre
adios mi corazon
no hay lugar que me haga ovitar
el tiempo que pase andando por las calles junto a hazi
ven quiero saber
porque tu fuiste sin me
siempre tuve algo que contarte
dime donde has ido donde esperas en silencio amigo quiero estar contigo y relgarte mi carino
darte un beso y ver tus ojos
disfrutando con los mios hasta siempre
adios mi corazon
no hay nada que me haga ovitar
el tiempo que ha pasado ya y no volvera
adios mi corazon

***

Come close to me
Come and hug me
Return to smile and remember Paris
To be my anxiety
Let me spend one more afternoon
Tell me where you have gone where you wait in silence my friend
I want to be with you and give you my love
To give you a kiss and see your eyes
Enjoying mine forever
Good bye my love
Come I want you to talk
Return to walk
Come let us play the game in which you were a princess
Come, do it for me
Always return to me
Tell me where you have gone
where you wait in silence my friend
I want to be with you and give you my love
To give you a kiss and see your eyes
Enjoying mine forever
Good bye my love
There is no place where I can forget
the time which we spent walking the streets together
Come, I want to know
why you left without me
Forever I had something to tell you
Tell me where you have gone where you wait in silence my friend
I want to be with you and give you my love
To give you a kiss and see your eyes
Enjoying mine forever
Good bye my love
There is nothing that can make me forget
the time which has passed and won’t come back
Good bye my love

 

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