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Popular Spanish Expressions |
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By Connie Marianacci I wanted to get together some of the typical sayings found in Spanish. Some can be very funny! I was just talking to a friend from Peru and told him tengo la vena inchada, which is Argentinean for "I am very mad", and he just started laughing and could not stop. So below I have gathered some sayings from Argentina and Venezuela. Argentinean Expressions cogotado = asfixiado // endrogado // apremiado por un préstamo usurero. Afanar = robar, volar. Alcahuete = soplón, chiva. Amarrete = codo, avaro. Andá a cantarle a Gardel! = clásica expresión argentina para indicar que se deben llevar quejas a otra parte. Andar a los pedos = conducir un carro u otro vehículo
Continue reading "Popular Spanish Expressions"
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By Sue Lavene From time to time, our clients contact us wanting to bring along their dogs on their study abroad adventure. Looking at this request through the partial eyes of a lover of dogs, I am always stuck in a quandary as to how to advise them knowing full well that I'd probably at least contemplate the same. I mean, come on, they're our unconditional life companions! Who wouldn't want to be greeted by our faithful and furry friends with soulful eyes at the end of a long day? On a recent road trip to Cape Cod, we brought our dog along and one of the most heartwarming moments of that trip was seeing her loving face - and
Continue reading "Traveling With Pets"
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By Beth Klemick As a recent birthday gift I was treated to a wonderful weekend in New York City; the highlight was orchestra tickets to see The Lion King on Broadway. What a show! From the "animals" and characters' entrance, throughout the entire performance the audience was transported to Africa. The costumes, sounds, music and scenery were rich African culture. There were moments that you if you believed hard enough you could sense and feel the African savannah and the movements for the animals as if you were on an actual safari. Sometimes you don't have travel far or at all to have a wonderful cultural experience.
Continue reading "Review: The Lion King"
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By Elizabeth Gregory OK, so a while back I blogged about French words used in English. Since then, I've been looking into other languages that English has adopted words from. There are a ton of them. Today, I thought I'd share with you what I learned about German words in English. Although there were not nearly as many as French words, there were quite a few surprises. Believe it or not, quite a few of these are actually named after the German speaking person (some from Austria) who discovered them. Everything from fuel to dogs is on this list. Among the list of names: Farenheit, Doppler (as in effect and radar), Doberman (as in pinscher), diesel, and Alzheimer's disease. There
Continue reading "German Used In English"
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Yesterday was the first day of the Chinese New Year, marking the Year of the Dog. The Chinese New Year begins on the second New Moon after the winter solstice and ends on the full moon fifteen days later. The Chinese calendar has been in continuous use for centuries, predating the International Calendar we use, which goes back only about 425 years. On the Chinese calendar, it is the Year 4703...pretty cool, huh? The system of naming years after animals is extremely practical when you think about it. The animal system of the Chinese calendar rotates every twelve years. Knowing how old you are based on the Chinese calendar makes it really easy to remember how old you are,
Continue reading "Chinese New Year"
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By Anne-Marie Dingemans I get this question a lot from prospective participants. They want to learn and/or improve their Spanish and ask which is the best place to go, in terms of accent and vocabulary. The reasons for this question are varied. Some of you use your Spanish mostly in contact with a specific population (for example: social workers working with a predominantly Mexican-descendant population, or someone who lives in a community with many Ecuadorian immigrants), others want to learn the "clearest" Spanish (easiest to understand by other Spanish speakers), and then there is the whole issue regarding Latin American Spanish versus Spanish from Spain. And I don't even want to get into the "Spanish or Castilian" dilemma! You know
Continue reading "Where To Study Spanish"
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By Connie Marianacci Trying to learn a language once you arrive to a new city, meet new people, with a lot of new things to do, a lot of excursions and cultural activities and night life, it gets quite hard to sit down and study everyday, or even do your homework. But, most likely you are going to have homework and to get most out of this experience you probably want to request homework! This is why setting up your mind before arriving to the location that you really want to be consistent and study every day at least one hour a day is important. I know now you are thinking "you are crazy" but having been there myself I
Continue reading "Language Learning Tips"
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By Beth Klemick In the spring of 1997 I had the opportunity to visit China, at that time Hong Kong was still independent from mainland China and the control of Beijing. In fact I can recall standing in Tiananmen Square looking at a gigantic sign along the one side of the square that was counting down the days until Hong Kong was "to be returned" to the control of mainland China. Although dazzled by metropolitan Hong Kong, Beijing and the political history of China absolutely fascinated me. A friend took a picture of me next to the statue of Mao Zedong, Chairman and leader of the Chinese Communist Party, the ruling government of Mainland China. Mao's legacy has produced a
Continue reading "Review: Anchee Min"
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