Language Link Online

Spanish Language Immersion Programs in Latin America and Spain
www.langlink.com  Toll Free 800.552.2051   info@langlink.com
Full details of all programs on our website

January 2002 Online Newsletter...sent every other month
Tips and information about learning Spanish and the people who speak it.  Please send your comments. Personal attention is what has made Language Link grow, and we value your contributions.  Please send an email to the address above to remove if you do not want to receive our news.  If you would like to be added to our online or printed mail (newsletters twice a year), email us.  If you have problems with this format, please inform us and we will send a text only version.
What's in this edition
Online Lesson, Cocina Cooking, Culture Clips, Language Link's Latest, OJO (special deals), Rhythm & Book Blurbs, Been There, Loved That (reports from participants), Likeable Links
Online Lesson
Ser o no ser - a quote from Hamlet by Guillermo Shakespeare, but how about ser vs. estar, that longstanding bane of every Spanish student's existence.  It's helpful to think of estar meaning to stand, as it is used in location.  - Dónde está la oficina?  We stand in agreement - estamos de acuerdo.  Estoy perdido (I am (stand) lost). It is used on the telephone without any word for "there".  - Está Pablo?  No, lo siento, no está.  It is used for emotions or physical states which are changeable conditions - está enojado (angry), está enfermo (sick), está cansado.  When estar is used with some adjectives, it gives the feeling of something appearing that way - está gordo (he's looking fat), está guapa (she's looking good!), la sopa está sabrosa (the soup tastes good at this moment) .   A pitfall to watch out for is to use ser when an event is taking place, - Dónde es la boda?  Also there are many idioms which use "to be" in English, but are expressed with tener in Spanish - To be careful - tener cuidado.  To be so many years of age - tener años.  To be afraid - tener miedo.  To be cold - tener frío.  To be hungry - tener hambre. Another use of estar is with the present progressive tense, combined with a present participle (ing - ando or iendo).  This is used differently in Spanish, however, as it is more limited to something which is actually happening at that moment.  Think about why you hear - Qué pasa?, rather than - Qué está pasando? to express the idea of what is going on generally. If speaking in general terms, the present tense is used, not the present progressive.  Where is he working (in a general way) - - Dónde trabaja?  - Dónde está trabajando? would indicate that he is actually doing work at that very moment in a specific place.
Cocina Cooking
Empanaditas - nice little appetizers, but can be made larger for dinner sized portions - makes about 24 small filled pastries
Filling - 8 ounces Italian sausage (add whole cumin seeds and a bit of chile powder if doing the sausage) or Mexican chorizo, 4 T. chopped green chile, 1/3 C. sour cream, plus pastry for two double crust 9 inch pies.  Cook sausage and drain well.  Mix in green chiles and sour cream to form a thick filling which holds together.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Using a water glass, cut out rounds of the pastry dough. Place a spoonful of filling in the center of each pastry round and seal with a forked edge or use your thumb to press dough together with a fluted edge.  Place on cookie sheets and bake about 15 minutes. You may want to turn them in the last five minutes of baking.  They should be golden brown.  These can be frozen or reheated after they are baked and refrigerated.
Culture Clips
Wine is quite important in Chile, and it rates very highly on a world scale.  Reds (tintos) have figured prominently in recent health studies which tout the benefits of drinking of red wine, specifically cabernet sauvignon.  And the Chileans go further to say that their cabernets rate the highest of all in health protection.  Some of the grapes in Chile are used to make a grape brandy with a high sugar content, pisco.  This is famous for pisco sours, the national mixed drink of several South American countries. The middle part of Chile produces its best known wines, mostly reds planted under French supervision in the 19th century.  Some well known vineyards are Concha y Toro, Undurraga, Santa Rita and Tarapaca. One of the most common types of Concha y Toro wine is called El Casillero del Diablo...a great story associated with this.  When the vineyard's founder discovered that his private family cellar was repeatedly missing some great bottles, he figured out a way to keep his superstitious workers from entering his domain and lifting some of his choice stock.  He hid in the cellar one night and made all sorts of frightening noises.  Then he spread the word that the "devil" lived in this cellar and that the noises were made by the devil himself.  This solved his problem, and there were never any further thefts from the home of the "devil".  Concha y Toro vineyard offers a very enjoyable and informative wine tour, and the guides love to tell that story.  The tour of this vineyard is very popular among students at Bridge-Linguatec of Santiago.  See all the details of this program and its enjoyable excursions on our website under the Chile section. www.langlink.com
Language Link's Latest
    Our partner schools in Argentina report that despite the CNN reports, life is continuing normally in Buenos Aires, with students enjoying classes and going about their daily lives.  Argentines feel that the political unrest is exceptional, although it is typical of the economic protests seen often in Europe and other parts of the world.  The staff of both our programs in Buenos Aires feel that their students are quite safe, and we can confidently recommend travel there.
    Many people have been asking how the perceived fear of travel has been affecting our numbers of students.  We are pleased to report that our numbers match almost exactly our volume of students at this time last year.  The kind of people we attract are still as interested as ever in enlarging their worlds.
OJO (Special Deals)
    Delta Airlines has some terrific airfares online with South American destinations.  They must be purchased by January 24 and through Delta's website.   A sample fare is New York to Santiago, Chile, for $594...also outstanding ones to Argentina.
   We have a new resource for airfare, Exito Travel.  For travel to Latin America call 800.655.4054 Ext 8531 or email: ken.exito@wonderlink.com  For travel to Spain call 800.809.9878 Ext 8573 or email:
justin.exito@wonderlink.com
    An entire semester including housing and meals in Spain with 18 hours of academic credit for only $4,730 at CLIC of Seville through Benedictine College of Kansas!  Classes for this semester long program start in mid January and mid September, so do keep it in mind for next fall.  Information on the school is included on our website under Spain (CLIC) www.langlink.com, but you will need to call us at 800.552.2051 to request details of this special semester program.  There is also a nine week summer program for 12 credit hours, and the total cost including the credit is $3,690.
Rhythm & Book Blurbs
    Rock (called Rock in Spanish...just make the letter O rounder when you pronounce it) music in Spanish has its own superstars and top hits.  One very popular piece was heard by Marcy in both Peru and Costa Rica.  The specific song is La Flaca, found on the CD of the same name by a Spanish group called Jarabe de Palo.  The liner has lyrics in Spanish, and it was even used as a teaching tool at Intercultura of Costa Rica.  You can order these through popular online music and book sources, like amazon.com.
   The Last Cowboys at the End of the World - the story of the gauchos of Patagonia in lower Chile.  This is a well written book by Nick Reding and is a look at a disappearing culture, crumbling under the inevitable pressures of modernization.  It's a fascinating in depth portrayal of the legendary gaucho figure, but in his contemporary role.  Although the word gaucho appeared in print first in Chile, the leading theory of its origin is that the word comes from guache, which means orphan in several Indian languages.  It describes a mixed lot of horsebound men who hunted wild cattle on the pampas.
Been There, Loved That
Our students are so helpful to us in sending in evaluations of the schools they visit. We'd like to share these with you...
    Academia de Español Quito of Quito, Ecuador  "What a wonderful experience!  Everyone at the school was so helpful, warm and kind.  Special thanks to Elisabeth--a fantastic teacher!"  Patricia Kettle, Travel Agent/Retired Teacher, Canada
    La Janda of Vejer de la Frontera, Spain  "The school was fabulous!  The classes were small and our professor kept the studies interesting.  The town was perfect for our family."  Michelle Burke, Professor/Psychologist, California
    Don Quijote (formerly Amauta) of Cusco, Peru  "Excellent school, felt very welcome, teachers excellent.  They zeroed in immediately on where I needed to be.  Family muy amable, lots to talk about, good food, very pleasant."  Bill Messer, Ship Pilot, Florida
    Spanish Language Institute of Cuernavaca, Mexico  "This was a wonderful, challenging experience.  My instructors were compassionate and very supportive.  Many thanks for providing this opportunity!"  Mary Gibbons, Retired RN, Illinois
    Intercultura of Heredia, Costa Rica  "I have always wanted to travel and study.  Intercultura made that possible by providing endless opportunities to learn Spanish and then explore the country.  I found each professor to be more than helping, always enthusiastic in and out of the classroom.  My host parents never failed to be anything but kind and supportive."  Marjorie Knepp, Student, Maryland
Likeable Links
Here are some websites with general information or history of Chile...
www.odci.gov/cia.publications/factbook/geos/ci.html
www.emayzine.com/lectures/HISTOR~5.htm
www.chileny.com/02history.html
www.visitchile.org
And some about Chilean wine...
www.chileweb.net/wines/history.html
ohoh.essortment.com/chilewine_rmmn.htm
www.tastings.com/wine/wine_reports/98/chile.html
www.chilewinemarket.com
www.chip.cl/tours/wine/background.htm
We hope you enjoyed our news. Please visit us at  www.langlink.com Or if you like us live, call us at 800.552.2051. We're on Central Standard Time.
Kay G. Rafool, Executive Director/Marcy Slane, Assistant Director
Language Link, P.O.B. 3006, Peoria, Illinois 61612 USA
Fax 309.692.2926 Worldwide telephone 309.692.2961 Toll free 800.552.2051
info@langlink.com
Hasta luego!

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