Comments for SpanishPrograms

Comment on by danwize

danwize — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:35:25 +0000

@colleen It is amazing to see people who have almost nothing, share the very little they have. In a city called Joinville, SC in Brazil, where I lived for a few months, my friend and I worked in welfare kitchen run by a Catholic parish there. Most days we would go around to the nearby produce vendors and ask for food to serve to women and children at lunch. Even though these vendors had little to give, they would still invariably give us a few heads of lettuce or other vegetables. Whatever they could afford to give.

A lot of the produce was not in great shape, but after cleaning it and cutting off any bad parts, we were able to salvage most of it. The meals provided were a great blessing to those poor women and children, who were very grateful for the meals provided.

Comment on by colleen

colleen — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:43:53 +0000

I can understand how you feel about not wanting to waste food. When I was in Honduras we visited an orphange on Sundays. It was such an eye opener. When we arrived there would be singing and always some sort of celebration. The place was well kept even though the facility was older and somewhat short on space. When I commented about how unsanitary an open water container seemed that some kids were playing in I was told “that is the drinking water”. They wanted to share food with us but we could not bring ourselves to take away from anyone. One visit I brought candy which our group normally did but I came alone so there wasn’t very much to go around. I spoke to the man who ran everything and told him maybe I should just put it away and save it for next time. He said no it will be fine. The kids knew what was in the bag, somebody peeked…after lunch I waited as long as I could hoping we would leave. They lined up eagerly smiling and waiting for me to pass out the jolly ranchers. The bigger kids were in front and I thought “Great- now the little ones will miss out!” But I was surprized and greatly humbled to see the bigger kids take only one piece and bite off smaller pieces and give them to the other kids. I still get choked up when I think about this considering like you said how much goes to waste without even a second thought. Thanks for giving a place to share stories. I appreciate it.

Comment on Culture: Share Your Food – Especially Jell-O Pudding® by danwize

danwize — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:38:06 +0000

I lived down in Brazil for a couple years. It’s the same thing there. Even if you’re not hungry, they still insist on sharing with you! It’s great!

Comment on Culture: The Spanish John and Jane Doe, Who are They? by danwize

danwize — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:36:26 +0000

@maria @maria Thanks for sharing! I love to hear these cultural nuances.

Comment on Culture: The Spanish John and Jane Doe, Who are They? by maria

maria — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 00:56:58 +0000

I’m a polish person learning Spanish. In my country the person everybody knows is Jan Kowalski, which in English translation would be John Smith.

BTW, I enjoy your newsletter.

Comment on Culture: Share Your Food – Especially Jell-O Pudding® by Linda

Linda — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:38:10 +0000

This is so true. I come from Peru and most people like to share whatever they have for food, even if it is a little candy. I love all your posts

Comment on Culture —– Water (Agua): Don’t Drink it! Especially Cold! by Linda

Linda — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:19:56 +0000

Hello,

I come from a country in South America and what you said about the cold drinks is true. I cannot tolerate cold drinks especially with ice; I would totally get a sore throat or get sick. I live in USA now and my body cannot still get adjusted to cold drinks. In my country, we do not have drinks with ice;except in Summer. We drink most of the time room temperatures drinks or hot drinks , such as tea. So, when I came to USA, I noticed that almost everybody has drinks with ice. I do not exactly why I cannot tolerate cold drinks, but anytime I eat out I order my drinks with no ice.

Comment on Culture: ¡Salud a tu mami [maw-mee]! by Audrey Bragg

Audrey Bragg — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 16:34:25 +0000

In the American culture when someone sneezes and someone says “Bless You”
we ARE blessing them religiously when they sneeze. We wish for the good
“LORD” to bless them in any way he can.

Comment on Culture: Regional Variations in Spanish by danwize

danwize — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:52:51 +0000

@kitroy campbell To keep learning Spanish I'd recommend continuing to read this blog. You can learn a few things here. Also, you might want to get a copy of our Mini Manual for about $10.00. It can't replace the Level I course, but it will help you get started on speaking complete sentences. You can purchase it here: http://www.spanishprograms.com/store.htm#replacement-items You can also try the Personal Proficiency Trainer (PPT) for one month for free. It's a monthly subscription product that delivers new comprehension conversations with translation and interactive learning every month. There is no obligation when you sign up for a free month. You can cancel your subscription at any time. Here it is: http://www.spanishprograms.com/store.htm#ppt

Comment on Culture —– Con Permiso! by RICHMOND

RICHMOND — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:20:15 +0000

yo de seguro gusta the way Visual Link teaches Spanish especially to beginners. hoy, im thinking to buy the software. Viva Visual Link!