Language Link Online
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November 2006 Online Newsletter...sent every other month

Tips and information about learning Spanish and the people who speak it.  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 or a friend would like to be added to our list, email us at info@langlink.com.
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
A catch-all of common errors to avoid. 
1.       Adding un or una in front of otro, when it means another.  Correct – Otra cerveza, por favor.
2.       ¿De dónde está usted?  Wrong!  This is confusing two things – location and origin.  Correct –¿De dónde es (eres) usted?  Where are you from?
3.       Me llamo es Paco.  Wrong!  You’re literally saying that you call yourself “IS”.  This phrase is not used as “my name is”.  It literally means I call myself, so no ES, por favor. 
4.       Little prepositions dealing with time – it’s a mistake to say “en” with either of these Expressions, a las ocho de la mañana (8 in the morning), por la mañana (in the morning)
5.       Doscientos sillas – wrong!  This is one of the numbers which changes in gender to match the  noun.  Doscientos libros, doscientas sillas
6.       Gracias para todo – wrong!  Gracias por means thanks in exchange for something.
7.       español y inglés – wrong!  In this case the I sound in inglés disappears when Y is put in front of it.  Use the substitute “e” here – español e inglés.  But note you can say inglés y español!  The idea of siete u ocho (where u substitutes for o) is the same.
8.       Estoy caliente.  If you mean to say that you’re in a passionate state right now, then you’ve expressed that.  However, if you’re talking about temperature from the weather, tengo calor.
9.       ¿Es caliente la sopa? No, no.   If you want to know if it’s spicy – ¿Es picante la sopa?  If you want to know the soup’s temperature, a changeable state – ¿Está caliente la sopa?
10.   Soy un arquitecto – wrong.  Drop the un or una in front of a person’s profession when it is Not modified.  Soy arquitecto.  I am an architect.
   …And now two really embarrassing ones…11.   Tengo muchos anos.  If you’re trying to say you’re old, you’ve failed when you haven’t added the tilde NY sound to this word.  However, you have described yourself as a physical anomaly in your lower region.  Be sure to say año, especially in saying ¿Cuántos años tiene usted?
12.   Estoy embarazada.  Great if you’ll be giving birth, as it means you’re pregnant, not that you’re embarrassed. 
Cocina Cooking
Chupe de Camarones (Peruvian Shrimp Chowder)  Serves 6  - the taste of Peru’s coast, a warming soup
2 lbs. medium to small shrimp, peeled and deveined, 2 C. clam juice,  2 C. water, 2 T. olive oil, ½ red onion chopped, 1 garlic clove chopped, 1 T. tomato paste, 1 tsp. ají amarillo chili paste (located in Latin American grocery stores), 1 C. frozen peas, ¼ C. long grain rice, 1-2 ears corn, cut in 1 ½” chunks, one lb. white potatoes, peeled and chunked, ½ C. mild cheese (or queso fresco) in ½” dice, 1 C. evaporated milk, 1 T. oregano, 1 tsp. salt, 3 eggs
     Heat olive oil in large casserole over medium heat.  Cook onion and garlic 2 minutes.  Stir in pastes.  Reduce heat and cook 10 minutes until onion softened.  Warm the 2 C. clam juice.  Along with the 2 C. water, add to onion mixture.  Bring to boil.  Stir in peas, rice and corn chunks.  Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Add potatoes and 1 tsp. salt.  Continue cooking until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add shrimp and cheese.  Simmer about 4 minutes until shrimp are pink.  Stir in evaporated milk and oregano.  Return just to a boil.  Then add eggs, slightly pre-beaten before adding to soup.  Reduce to simmer and cook about two more minutes.  Soup is ready to serve when beaten egg is fully cooked.
Culture Clips 
     A good mystery is always hard for me to resist, and here I am looking at one of the world’s greatest – the Nazca (or Nasca, both accepted) Lines.  After having traveled through many miles of coastline and desert (2 hours of rain per year!) in the south of Peru, I’ve finally reached the town of Nazca.  But before driving in, we stop to climb a high observation tower along the Pan American Highway.  From the top I can see only two of these famous figures of immense scale, only visible from the sky or a tall tower such as this.   They are quite distinct, well delineated, and etched into the desert terrain.  One is an abstract tree of many branches, and the other is a huge, four fingered hand.  What do they mean?  Who built them in this desert area?  How were they made and how were they used?  What other figures await? 
      I anxiously anticipate the next part of the trip – to fly over the lines in a small plane, being able to see all the figures.  I’m in the plane, surrounded by European tourists.  After only a few minutes out, the pilot starts his commentary.  He points out all the figures – a monkey, a spider, a hummingbird, a condor with wings outspread, and many more.  These are in addition to the many geometrical shapes – huge triangles, and what look like wide, very regular landing strips.  It’s fascinating to think these were made about 2,000 years ago.  They are still here, and I scratch my head in amazement and wonder. 
     There are so many theories, and some of them are quite fanciful!  However, when the actual evidence is all reviewed, they still remain as just that…theories.  Were these landing strips for UFOs and aliens?  Was this an astronomical calendar?  Were the lines constructed by Nascans who observed them from hot air balloons?  Were they made to be seen by men having flying experiences in religious, hallucinogenic states?  Although it’s great mental exercise to ponder all the theories, I come back to a basic rule in another subject, learning a language.  You can rarely get the full meaning of a word in isolation.  You have to know what is surrounding it.  I think the same advice could be applied to the examination of a theory about the lines.  Not until I actually arrived in Southern Peru, did I know much about the extraordinary Paracas and Nazca cultures.  To imagine their survival in this absolute desert made me applaud their ingenuity.  One of our stops was to see an original aqueduct, built by the Nazcans hundreds of years ago, and still operational in bringing water to cultivated fields.  They were super precursors of hydraulic engineering.  I also have to add into the mix their pottery and textiles, filled with supernatural beings and animals which represented fertility or rain.  Another fact of ongoing Andean ceremonial practices in which lines are walked and venerated adds to my simmering hypothetical stew.  Religion and a close connection to nature are still vital components of the Peruvian culture.  So my vote is for sacred, ceremonial walkways as a way of petitioning the gods for critical rain and fertility. 
     However, I realize that the best part of all this is that in investigating this one “mystery”, it’s made me learn a great deal about one of the fascinating cultures of archeologically rich Peru.  I am told that there is a new discovery in the north of Peru, and it’s one of the oldest sites every found in this country.  What mysteries might await there?  It’s amusing to me to think that all this curiosity has been fed for many years by the basic start of learning Spanish and resolving to learn it well.  There is so much bonus learning along the way!
 Language Link’s Latest
      Many groups are being organized for study in our programs.  These range from middle school, high school, and university students to special interest groups, such as hospital Spanish classes.  The destinations range from Seville, Spain, to Cusco, Peru.  Remember that you don’t have to be a Spanish teacher to form your own group.  It can simply be a group of your friends.  If the group numbers 10 – 15, very often you can receive free classes and housing.  All it takes is making the contacts and asking our director Kay to help a lot!
     Our second office, the Latin America one, located in Cuernavaca, Mexico, will be up and running by Dec. 15.  This expansion will help to give you even better service, as well as advice given by someone who is permanently living in a Spanish speaking country. 
OJO  (Special Deals) 
            Last round!  By the end of January we will choose our contest winner for two weeks of free study and housing in Costa Rica. Intercultura has two locations – Heredia in the mountains or Sámara on the beach.  Just enter your name and comment through our contest box on our website.  
            The International Guide Academy is offering a class (in English) which certifies international tour managers, and it will be held on the alternate campus of SLI in Cuernavaca in February 2007.  What a great skill to learn, especially if you combine it with Spanish study either before or after the tour manager class.   The class is limited in number and is more than half filled already.  See www.bepaidtotravel.com  If you do enroll in the IGA course, Language Link will waive your $100 registration fee to participate in the Spanish course.
Rhythm & Book Blurbs
Book   An international bestselling trilogy, Incas, written by A.B. Daniel, recreates the mysterious, forgotten civilization of the Incas.  It’s historical fiction, with the requisite romantic characters, but it does make you feel as though you are an actual eyewitness to history.  It offers all the intrigue of the period just before the Conquest, the actual arrival of Pizarro, and the cataclysmic aftermath of this pivotal point in history.  Book 1 – Incas: The Puma’s Shadow, Book 2 – Incas: The Gold of Cuzco, Book 3 – Incas: The Light of Machu Picchu
Music    We always like to recommend music with very clearly sung lyrics.  The well known Mexican artist, Luis Miguel, has a new CD out of old holiday standards, Navidades.  The arrangements are really lovely, and some are backed by a choir.  You can’t help but sing along to Noche de Paz (Silent Night), Va a Nevar (Let It Snow), or Llegó la Navidad (Winter Wonderland).  It’s great pronunciation practice.
            You can easily purchase all these items through our Language Link Shop.
Been There, Loved That
               From a group leader, SLI of Cuernavaca, Mexico  - We had a wonderful experience.  I continue to get positive comments from parents and students.  Our schedule was a perfect balance of classes and excursions.  I think the kids got a great taste of Mexico . . . its history, culture and families. – Gina Alcala, Teacher, Colorado
               Lacunza of San Sebastian, Spain -  On a scale of 1 to 5 (superior), it was a 10!  San Sebastian, my family, the school, the beach, the weather, the learning.  I was very lucky to have Clara Fernandez as my mother. She is immaculate and fun. We did things together and I felt it was a real family situation with her 2 young daughters and parents living down the hall.  We ate together, talked, went for pinxtos and drinks, movies.  Couldn't have been better.  – Gail Gold, Bilingual Speech Therapist, Illinois (her 8^th language immersion trip)
               Amauta of Cusco, Peru – I spent three months in Cusco and the Sacred Valley.   I learned a lot of Spanish and can manage to communicate somehow with non-English speakers. I had ten instructors over a period of 12 weeks, which lent a lot of variety to the learning experience.  The 13th week I revisited Machu Picchu, this time via the Inka Trail.  There were 7 people in our group:  two from Spain, two from Argentina, three from the US.  It was a great experience. – Garth Lehman, Hospital Chaplain, Kentucky
               PLFM of Antigua, Guatemala - The school staff were flexible, friendly, and amenable to changes, but I was impressed by the structure and efficiency of the program.  I ended up learning more than I would ever have thought possible. My host family was also excellent.  I keep kosher, so I had a number of dietary restrictions that were respected and observed throughout my trip.  I just wish I would have known to spend longer than six weeks there--it was fantastic! – Vikki Katz, University Lecturer and Ph.D. Candidate, California
               ECELA of Santiago, Chile - I never imagined it would be as fabulous as it was.  I learned so much and made amazing friends. I had great opportunities to travel and really get to know the culture.  The school was set up great.  I learned so much in such a short time.  – Danielle Carlow, Student, New York
Likeable Links
http://gosouthamerica.about.com/od/nazcalines/ig/Nazca-Lines/index.htm
http://archaeology.about.com/od/nterms/glnasca.htm -  An overview of the entire Nasca culture
http://discoverychannel.ca/adventure/mysticplaces/nazcalines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazca_lines
http://www.world-mysteries.com/mpl_1_2.htm -  A good description of all the theories 

We hope you enjoyed our news. Please visit us at www.langlink.com. Or if you like a real voice, call us at 800.552.2051. We're on Central Time with office hours 9:00 to 5:00. 
Kay Godfrey, Director Latin America Office/Meredith Butler, Director, U.S. Office
Language Link, P.O.B. 3006, Peoria, Illinois 61612 USA, NEW Fax 309.673.9221 NEW Worldwide 309.673.9220       SAME AS ALWAYS Toll free 800.552.2051
info@langlink.com        ¡Hasta luego!

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