Bola de Nieve

Today is la última oportunidad (the last chance) to get my “Shortcut to Spanish” Video Course with the bonus “Shortcut to Informal Spanish Conversations” for 49 dollars.

Shortcut to Spanish and Shortcut to Informal Spanish Conversations

The offer on the Shortcut to Spanish videos is closing.

Only until midnight on Thursday, Aug 7, can you […]

These two Valentine’s Day lessons are 100% relevant to you today.

Es que (the thing is) that in the Spanish-speaking world, Valentine’s Day is not just about romance but also friendship.

De hecho (in fact), it’s also known as el Día del Amor y la Amistad. (the Day of the Love and the Friendship.)

Y por eso (and […]

In Spanish-speaking countries El día de San Valentín is not just for “romance”–it’s also to celebrate friendship. In fact it’s commonly known as…

El Día del Amor y la Amistad (the day of love and friendship)

Did you know you use a different kind of Spanish to talk to a amante o amigo (lover or friend) than […]

I have an incredible Valentine’s Day deal prepared for you, but it’s only good till midnight, February 14th.

http://www.shortcuttospanish.com/diadelaamistad.html

Spanish isn’t just a language, it’s a new culture. And that difference is prime for embarrassing mistakes.

I’ll never forget a situation that made me go from walking on the moon to crashing down to earth […]

Just a few days ago a potential customer sent me an email that stopped me in my tracks.

“By the way, I am not a young person, at 43 it’s not as easy to learn.”

It bothered me that someone so young would feel old already. 43 is not old to learn Spanish.

There 61 year olds graduating […]

• Spanish tenista Rafael Nadal has some weird obsessions.

I’m not picking on him. Es mi tenista favorito. (He’s my favorite tennis player.)

He seems like a super nice bloke. Always humble, always gracious, always very polite.

Plus, he always leaves it all on the court. Por eso soy fanático de Nadal. (That’s why I am a Nadal […]

The Spanish-speaking world is obsessed with Fútbol.

A little knowledge of the beautiful game is a great way to strike up a conversation. The hot topic at the moment is Cristiano Ronaldo.

He just won this year’s balón de oro. That makes him arguably el mejor futbolista del mundo. (the best football player in the world.)

Personally, I […]

If you’re not speaking Spanish the way you want yet, don’t blame yourself. It’s not your ability or your age that’s stopping you. Lots of people learn Spanish as adults.

It’s a good bet that what’s really holding you back is the way you’ve been taught.

I know it sounds loco, but for many people, traditional learning […]

Mnemonics put the power of your imagination into learning.

Mnemonics plug your imagination into learning overdrive.

Mnemonics access your right brain. The right brain is creative, imaginative, fluid, and much better at fast learning.

Here’s how mnemonics work.

Mnemonics make a link between the English and the Spanish word that you want to learn. For example:

The Spanish word for […]

¿Quién soy? (Who am I?)

Soy guapo. (I am handsome.)

Soy rico. (I am rich.)

Soy un gran jugador. (I am a great player.)

No soy español pero soy un héroe para los españoles. (I am not Spanish but I am a hero to the Spanish.)

Find out Quién es el presumido (who the big-headed guy is) on my Spanish […]

I couldn’t resist using that title

This Sideways Spanish video has nothing to do with extramarital affairs. (The expression, a bit on the side, means an affair to Aussies and Brits.)

This twist on verbs makes your Spanish flow.

It’s a very simple change in approach that brings speaking Spanish to life. It makes the language doable for […]

Tijuana is famous for drug cartels, prostitution and kidnappings… and there I was teaching English in a maquiladora, right in the thick of the city.

Maquiladoras are the other side of Tijuana. They are assembly factories and Tijuana has over 1000 of them.

In my days teaching in the maquiladoras, I met a lot of good, honest, […]

In the Spanish-speaking world today is 11/12/13.

What a cool date.

De hecho es lo mismo (Actually it’s the same thing) for Aussies like me, and Brits too.

For us, just like in the Spanish-speaking world, day/month/year is the usual order.

But in the USA, it’s month/day/year. Today is 12/11/13, not nearly as much fun.

11/12/13 is much more interesting.

So, […]

Try this quick test and be amazed at what you can do.

Can you read this?

yuor mnid is azamnig.. It’s cpalabe of icnrebdile feats. Lkie raednig tihs eevn tohguh it’s all jmulbed.

Yuor mnid is an ogran but it bhevaes lkee a msucle, the mroe you mkae use of it the mroe it gorws.

It’s flxebile and is […]

• New Interactive Audio-Visual Lessons – The 68 videos in this breakthrough format make speaking Spanish doable for everyone at every age. Now […]
  

Click any of the links below to see how people from your neck of the woods are doing with their Spanish. […]

We’ve got a way to make the tricky parts of Spanish even easier.

A while back I published an article and Free Audio lesson called “Hard Spanish Made Easy.”

Hard Spanish Made Easy
[…]

Here’s how I humiliated myself by making a sexual comment with the teacher sitting next to me.

My face went red but it wasn’t from the heat. And it was bloody hot – way hotter than this Tasmanian is used to.

It gets that way in Mexico. Even worse, I was in a language-training center with dodgy […]

Can you remember these?

FB IU SAUF OU KUNIC EFNE WS

Close your eyes for 10 seconds and see how many you remember.

I’m guessing that you didn’t do too well.

Let’s take those same letters and present them differently.

FBI USA UFO UK UNICEF NEWS

Close your eyes for 10 seconds and see how many you remember.

How did you do?

Those […]

I love Mexican food.

Not the Tex-Mex sludge that you usually find around the world. I’m talking about the real deal.

One of my favorite dishes is Chile en Nogada. It’s delicious to eat, but a lot of work to prepare.

According to mi amigo Fernando, who loves to cook, the sauce includes peeled walnuts.

He loves to cook […]

The Spanish translation of “simplicity” is interesting.

Like so many English words that end in -ity, in Spanish the ending is -idad.

Simplicidad.

However, simplicidad really refers a simple or innocent person.

When you are talking about concepts, ideas and explanations the Spanish word for simplicity is claridad.

What does claridad mean?

Again IDAD in Spanish = ITY in English.

Claridad = […]

This was embarrassing.

Back when I was a lad of just 19, I had a red-faced experience.

Actually, I had a lot of red-faced experiences when I was 19. I guess we all did. This one was a bit like a scene from an old Seinfeld episode.

It happened in Italy, near Rome. I dropped into a camera […]

PT= Positive transfer.

NT= Negative transfer.

What do PT and NT mean to you and why should you care?

Making the distinction between the two means everything if you want to speak Spanish.

They represent a fork in the road on your Spanish journey. The fork leads you to two very different places.

One road is a graveyard of Spanish […]

When I was 8 years old my dad bought me the best present ever.

A guitar.

I loved it.

He also bought me some guitar lessons.

I hated them.

The teacher made me play scales.

I didn’t want to play scales. I wanted to play songs.

So I gave up.

Twenty years later I was celebrating the arrival of my best friend’s daughter, […]

I have a standing date.

Not a romantic one, it’s with a bloke.

Every second Sunday I get together with an amigo to watch Deadwood.

It’s a great show about the rough and tumble days on the gold fields in South Dakota in the 1870s.

I recommend the show if you like gritty drama. However, if you don’t care […]

Have you ever wanted to tell someone that they’re acting inappropriately?

The other day I didn’t like how a friend’s kids were talking to my kids.

Awkward.

I chose a little verbal aikido and deflected the situation. I said, “In our house we respect others so we’d had better talk about something else.”

What I really wanted to say […]

I was a miserable failure trying to learn Spanish for the first time.

Back then, just like today, most Spanish classes were built around studying units of grammar, and they were my nemesis.

Each block of grammar had nothing in common with the last one and almost no Spanish escaped my mouth.

Learning Spanish with the traditional methods […]

I was flat broke when I first started teaching English in Mexico. So broke I had to work long and hard for just a few dollars.

One day I was without a car. I got up at 5 a.m. to catch two communal taxis. They squeeze 4 people in the back seat in a communal taxi […]

I just received this email from one of my students in New Zealand.

As I was born on the other side of the ditch (the ditch being the Tasman sea) I was chuffed to hear from a Kiwi.

In the USA I used to joke “I am an Australian, living in Mexico, teaching Spanish to Americans.”

I […]

I can’t think of a better time to send you this Spanish Beyond The Textbook tip.

American Independence Day falls on a Thursday this week, which makes it a good day to hacer puente.

Can you guess the meaning of hacer puente?

We don’t have an exact translation in English.

Words or expressions like this without a single […]

Have you ever listened to a language audio and felt totally lost? So many courses have long dialogs or situations with Spanish spoken very fast right from the first lesson. Somehow you are expected to magically learn Spanish by listening to something you can’t understand.

The audio lessons in Synergy Spanish are designed to actively […]

Me da coraje.

That expression literally means “it gives me courage,” but it’s also like saying it pisses me off.

And that’s how I am feeling.

I just stumbled on two reviews of Synergy Spanish on the internet. They give my course a moderate review and a glowing review to a competitor.

That would be fair if they were […]

Here’s the second Sideways Spanish lesson in a portable version so you can learn Spanish anywhere.

This sideways approach is an easy to use Spanish solution that works.

It frees you from linguistic jargon, conjugation charts and analysis of grammar.

I instead of intimidating terminology like STEM CHANGING VERBS, RADICALLY CHANGING VERBS AND IRREGULAR VERBS.

We’ll just turn the […]

I used to teach English at a University in Mexico. During one of the classes, one of the girls brought me fresh baked cookies made from a regional recipe from her home state of Sinaloa. I think she liked me.

One day, she begged me for a 9.5 on her English exam so she wouldn’t lose […]

Here’s a portable version of the first Sideways Spanish lesson.

Portable Sideways Spanish

These days with iPods, iPads, smartphones etc., learning Spanish while you get some sun, commute or do chores has never been easier.

You can improve your Spanish while you are walking, exercising, or doing the dishes.

If you like Spanish away from the […]

I first released the video lesson on this post in an audio-only format.

3 Chord Spanish

Here’s my favorite comment about it:

“This system of yours takes all the stress and resulting angst caused by the stress, out of learning how to tackle the Spanish language. I am well past the school-yard age […]

Poverty like this makes you cry.

I‘d made friends with some poor Mexicans. Very poor! They invited me to their house in Tijuana for dinner.

The neighborhood was cut into the side of a hill that would never get building approval in the first world.

And the houses…

It took me back to childhood seeing them.

Not that I ever […]

The voices in my head are speaking Spanish.

I trained them to speak it.

So can you.

You can think in Spanish.

Let’s face it, we all have a voice in our head. The Dalai Lama can silence his voice. My voice never shuts up. But I […]

I received this disturbing email recently; here’s a portion of it.

———————————————————————–
“Was just about to order your product when I noticed that one of your ‘personal testimonials,’ from a Jamie Roberts, was identical (even the same picture!) to that given by another course, Rocket Languages.

“Really?”
———————————————————————–

That email did send us into a panic here at Synergy Spanish. […]

Before the Beatles became famous they made a demo tape of 15 songs for Decca Records, which included the Mexican song “Bésame Mucho.” (Kiss Me A Lot)

Here’s the feedback that the Beatles manager got from Decca about those sessions: […]

There’s a place where you learn best. There’s a place where you get your best ideas. And there’s a place that gives you the most energy.

Do you know where these places are for you?

If you don’t know them, it’s worth searching. I know exactly where my high performance zones are.

I have a magic zone for […]

I was riding through a park in Australia recently and rode past three young hooligans getting drunk and acting obnoxiously.

One of them yelled, “here’s a guy on a bike, you look terrible!” Then another one slurred at me, “you’re an A-hole.”

How Charming!

Drinking isn’t allowed in the park, so I thought about confiscating their alcohol but […]

“I spy with my little eye something that begins with M.”

No answer.

My daughter says, “Andre doesn’t know what M is, Daddy.”

Of course not, silly me, he’s only 4. How could he know?

The other diners are giving me the “can’t you control your kids?” stare. I’d better come up with something to entertain them fast. So […]

Here’s a question that came in via email:

“Hi Marcus,

Your Spanish teaching method is very impressive. I am a British ex-pat living in Spain and find learning the language difficult. I live on the Costa Blanca where Castilian Spanish is spoken and which I am trying to learn. As you live in […]

When I was teaching English in Mexico un estudiante had some fun getting me to spell out “socks.”

This is dangerous with youngsters, but I knew this one was very innocent. You see, if you say the letters S-O-C-K-S, it sounds to Spanish ears like:

eso sí que es
S O C K S

¡Eso si que es!

It […]

Recently I shared a popular lesson called 3-chord Spanish.

If you missed 3-chord Spanish it’s on this page:

I compared communicating in Spanish to communicating with music. You can say a lot with just a little. The soundtrack to our lives is mostly made up of 3-chord songs.

Since I wrote the 3-chord […]

In just 12 minutes and 36 seconds, a beginner can use this simple three-chord pattern to speak future tense Spanish.

The free audio lesson below this article shows you how:

Thousands of great songs have just three chords. These are songs we all know and love, such as:

Twist and Shout
Johnny B. Goode
Sweet Home Alabama
Free Falling
Amazing Grace

I […]

You’ve heard of Elvis, but what about El Vez?

He’s the Mexican Elvis.

With titles like Graciasland, En El Barrio (In The Ghetto), and Esta Bien Mamacita (That’s alright Mama) you’d think El Vez would be a short-lived parody.

Amazingly, he’s widely loved instead of being considered a novelty. In fact he has produced seven albums so far.

Unlike […]

Here’s a difference between Latin American Spanish and Peninsula (Spain) Spanish.

It’s also a really good expression to add to your repertoire:

Que lo pases bien

In Latin America they tend to say it like this:

Que la pases bien

It’s a small difference; a bit like that song, “you say tomaYto I say tomaHto.” Perhaps the song should say,

Yo […]

¡Qué extraordinario! (How extraordinary!)

That was a top 40 of modern hits with just 4 chords.

My music collection doesn’t have anything from this millennium, so I was tempted to channel my father and rag on today’s music for having just 4 chords.

That wouldn’t be fair.

After all a lot of my favorite music doesn’t even have […]

I had a girlfriend around 15 years ago who was such a good swimmer that she even competed in triathlons. Of course, I on the other hand would sink like a stone.

Like any good girlfriend she decided I needed fixing. She made it her mission to teach me to swim. Little did she know what […]

‘What if you had to live the same day over and over again?’

That’s what happened to Bill Murray in the comedy classic Groundhog Day.

Some people’s lives are like that, and they don’t even realize it.
They say, “I have 25 years’ experience.”

Often 25 years’ experience is […]

I’ve coach thousands of people to finally speak Spanish even when they had all but given up.

When they thought they were over the hill I’ve shown them that their age was irrelevant

Saying you can’t learn Spanish because of your age is like saying you cant learn Spanish because of your street number.

I borrowed […]

Here’s a quick invitation to download my special new Spanish Audio-visual lesson.

It’s a breakthrough addition to my best selling Shortcut to Spanish course and it’s now available for download.. It’ll prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt you really can speak Spanish.

Here’s what people have been saying about the video format:

Recently I discovered a breakthrough way to teach Spanish quickly. It’s an online video format that makes Spanish easy.

My first training video received over 1100 comments. Hundreds of people said it was the missing breakthrough to finally speaking Spanish.

After such an amazing response, I had to convert my best seller, “Shortcut to […]

Symptoms include:

Headaches and bewilderment

Lose of concentration

Extreme confusion

Disorientation

If not treated soon it also leads to:

Lack of motivation

Lethargy

Inability to speak Spanish in real situations

I have to warn you of this affliction. It could affect you. If you are enthusiastic about Spanish you are particularly vulnerable.

You might be tempted to search the net (or the bookstore) for more […]

If you studied Spanish for years and you’re still struggling to string sentences together, it’s probably not your fault. Read this case study below about Dorothy. And know this:

Dorothy is intelligent. She’s in a PhD program, she had two tutors […]

People are loving the new Spanish video format. I have received over 1100 positive comments since I release them.

Hard Spanish Made Easy video

BUT…

What if you don’t want to be stuck at a computer?

Maybe you like improving your Spanish while you are walking, exercising, or doing the dishes.

I totally understand. I like learning […]

This second video is all about using informal Spanish.

By the way the first Spanish video is still available on this blog post:

Hard Spanish Made Easy.

In this video you’ll use Informal Spanish. It’s the way to speak with amigos cercanos, la familia y niños (close friends, family and kids).

It’s sometimes tricky knowing the […]

In May 1954 Life published a report about illiteracy among school children. It said children were having trouble learning to read because kid’s books were boring.

The story in Life inspired a publisher to challenge a moderately successful children’s author, Theodor Geisel’s to write a different kind of book.

Could he create a book using just 250 […]

My tennis coach was great at hitting a ball. He was athletic, charming and quite good-looking according to the girls.

He did have a weakness though. One rainy morning when it was too wet to play, his weakness became very obvious

We all piled into a classroom, coach says, “today we are going to learn how to […]

Do you understand this Spanish riddle?

¿Cómo, cómo como? ¡Como como como!

By the end of this email you’ll understand a common Spanish expression that you hear all the time in the markets, plazas and cafes… But you won’t find it in your Spanish dictionary.

Let’s break this Spanish riddle down into simple steps.

Firstly como = […]

Fútbol is a subject guaranteed to spark a passionate conversation with just about any red blooded native Spanish speaker. That’s why I have a special audio lesson to get you into those conversations.

This Sunday Spain takes on Italy in The final of the European Cup 2012. […]

Who’s on first?

Did you ever see that Abbott and Costello skit? It’s pretty famous and very funny. I’ll give you a link to it in a moment.

My wife and I used to communicate in a mixture of Spanish and English, which at times channeled those two comedians.

Like when she said, El martes tenemos una junta […]

“Get out and get down behind the car.”

“What’s the $%#@s going on? What did I do?”

“Just get down… NOW.” The beefy agent told me.

Two lanes across, four US border patrol agents had guns drawn. Each pointed directly at the heads of the car’s passengers. Another two officers were behind poles also aiming guns at the […]

In Synergy Spanish I tell you to be bold with your Spanish. It’s some of the best advice I can give you.

synergyspanish.com

Mistakes aren’t usually a big deal. Everyone makes them. Mistakes help you learn.

On the other hand, I’ve seen people’s communication ability get killed as they try to be perfect.

They’re scared stiff […]

Sometimes a simple solution to a complex problem is best. Around 20 years ago in Panama, “shock and awe” US forces came up with “Rock and Awe”.

Back then Panama wasn’t what it is today. These days it’s a retirement haven. It offers a fully appointed beach lifestyle with just about everything that the first world […]

Hola amigos

Today I am going to show you how to get an instant Spanish vocabulary of 1,016 words.

It makes Spanish suddenly seem familiar and much less foreign. Once you know how to make simple changes to English words you can get an instant Spanish vocabulary of thousands of words.

Here’s what I mean

Almost all English words […]

I remember feeling 10 foot tall and bullet proof.

It was the night my karate Sensei taught me a secret to mastering any skill. You can use it for karate, playing an instrument, and especially for learning a new language.

Sensei Ambrose made us spend the whole night practicing just one block and a counter punch. A […]

British tourists overrun Nerja, Spain in summer.

According to Gordon Ramsey, they aren’t there for the Spanish culture, art or food. They just hang around the beaches, party hard, get sunburned and go home.

Gordon Ramsey is a famous celebrity chef with a potty-mouth. A recent show of his grabbed my attention because he was in Costa […]

Soy yo, Marcus, with another Spanish Beyond the Textbook tip.

Some say George Bush was the first American president who thought he spoke Spanish.

He would use a sentence or two in Spanish during his speeches, which his speechwriters would have made sure he got correct.

Ted, One of the characters from the Sitcom “How I Met Your […]

I received this story via email. It’s particularly interesting for anyone in a relationship with a Spanish speaker who doesn’t speak English

[…]

I can’t believe it took me five years to see this.

I want to share with you a breakthrough combination that has been staring me in the face for a long, long time.

Yet, somehow I missed the obvious.

A cocktail of tactics that make it almost impossible not to speak Spanish.

I’m very excited to give this […]

Spanish is accepted as one of the easiest languages for English speakers to learn.

So why is it so hard?

Spare a thought for anyone trying to learn Chinese. They have to deal with a tonal language.

If you say mai with a falling then rising tone it means buy. However if you say it […]

Would you believe that Obi-Wan Kenobi is about to teach you Spanish?

He’s a Spanish Jedi Knight prepared to become your mentor.

That’s right, I actually recruited Yamil Atala, who overdubbed into Spanish the voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in La Guerra de las Galaxias 1- La Amenaza Fantasma (Star Wars 1 – The Phantom Menace)

He’s also the […]

It’s good to be part of the Spanish-speaking world right now. You can get double presents.

You get Christmas gifts and then tomorrow Jan 6 even more presents.

Mañana is el Día De Los Reyes. It’s more exciting than Christmas for many Spanish-speaking kids.

Why not make 2012 the year you join them in the Spanish-speaking world?
Here’s my […]

There’s a part of Tijuana that is actually good.

Nothing like it’s seedy reputation.

Unfortunately, these days Tijuana is only famous for drug cartels, prostitution and drunkenness.

And if you just crossed the border from the USA and turned right, that perception would be […]

Here’s a quick quiz.

Q) What’s the similarity between a Spanish onion and an elephant?

A) Both are red, except for the elephant.

Q) What the similarity between Chinese and English?

A) They are both languages

Q) What’s the similarity between Spanish and English?

A) There’s a lot more than you might imagine.

Yes, Spanish and English have many differences; they also […]

Everything was going well with the local butcher in Australia until he called me that horrible word.

I was home for my dad’s 70th birthday. As I’m the closest thing to a Mexican in those parts I was asked to make the carne asada.

Yes, I was the taquero. (The guy on the taco stands who makes […]

Did you know that just 100 words make up 70% of all spoken Spanish?

You can start with those.

Most Spanish courses grind you into the ground with 14 tenses and thousands of verb conjugations.

Yet with the right patterns you can make 88,000 phrases from just 138 words.

It’s time to make Spanish […]

In Spanish speaking countries Split bills are much less common than in the English-speaking world.

And there’s always a check dance. It’s goes something like this:

pago yo
I’ll pay

No, no, no no, no, pago yo. Yo te invito.
No, no, no, no, no, (saying no 5 times has a good Latin rhythm) I’ll pay. It’s on me

No, me […]

Do you speak grammarian?

When was the last time you heard a mother tell her four year old, “You should have used the indirect object pronoun instead of the
direct object pronoun.”

When you were that 4-year-old kid, you had no trouble learning your first language without being a grammarian.

You can do it again […]

The many similitudes (similarities) between Spanish and English are due to Guillermo el Bastardo (William the Bastard).

Guillermo became better known for his deeds than his illegitimate birth after 1066AD. Since then, he’s been known as Guillermo el Conquistador(William the Conqueror).

His Norman invasion of Britain on October 14, 1066, saw French become the official language of […]

Ben Franklin the guy who invented the lightning rod, bifocals and the Franklin Stove also knew a thing or two about teaching.

I found this quote from Benny in the Spanish language version of Readers Digest.

dime y lo olvido, enséñame y lo recuerdo involúcrame y lo aprendo

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

So what’s old Ben […]

This came in via email. I know a lot of people are in Paul’s situations are struggling to learn Spanish too. At the bottom of the post you can get the same free lessons that have helped Paul.
[…]

Have you ever felt like banging your head and saying “dumb, dumb, dumb”?

That is how I have felt lately.

I had a breakthrough that has sent my personal productivity through the roof. If only I had realized it earlier, I would be so much more successful now.

If you use it you’ll become a […]

This glues your Spanish together making it flow naturally and easily.

In the Sideways Spanish lesson # 3, also known as the world’s strangest Spanish lesson, I showed you that you can say a lot even with just one verb. The secret is adding some mortar to tie it all together.

The mortar […]

I doubt you’ve ever seen a Spanish lesson like this one.

It uses just one verb with just one conjugation. Yet, it will have you speaking real Spanish on different everyday topics.

It has an overlooked secret to getting your Spanish to flow.

This ingredient helps you use any Spanish verb that you already know and put it […]

I had a question come in recently.

I’m interested in downloading one of your courses, but I’m a little unclear about how to choose between Synergy Spanish and Shortcut to Spanish.

My reading/writing skills could probably be described as low-level intermediate, but my verbal comprehension skills are awful.

What is […]

Ernest Hemmingway was challenged to write a novel with six words. Some say it was a bar bet, others say it was a writing challenge to himself.

Whatever the reason, here’s the gem he came up with:

For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.

Guau! (Wow!)

It’s a complete work of fiction in six words and proves just how much […]

I’ve been to bathrooms on building sites, mechanics workshops and junkyards, I’ve seen their calendars…but I have never seen anything like what I saw in the video store.

My son did his get-me-to-a-bathroom-quick-dance.

The young guy behind the counter saw the emergency. He quickly came to our aid and let us use the staff bathroom.

And there it […]

Marcus here with the latest Spanish Beyond the Textbook tip for you.

Is chili good or bad for you?

I’m not sure. Some reports say it helps blood circulation and digestion. But my father-in-law’s doctor told him not to eat chili. So, when we go to restaurants in Mexico Don Roman always asks the waiters,

¿La comida […]

I’m NOT going to teach you to speak like OG the Neanderthal or Tarzan.

NO, you won’t say,

Me Tarzan. You Juana.

No way Jose!

The lesson I am giving you actually shows you how to speak correct Spanish. What’s more you’ll speak your first proper Spanish sentences in less than 10 minutes.

The ideas […]

I used to think that way all the time because I was so self-conscious of my Spanish.

Anyone speaking Spanish and smiling and giggling made me feel like an outsider.

Of course it was my lack of Spanish skills that created this problem.

Why would I be the topic of conversation all the time anyway?

As gorgeous looking […]

Back in the sixties there was a popular folk outfit called the Mamas and the Papas. Their most famous song was called California Dreaming.

Well I have my own version of the Mamas and the Papas. I call it Spanish Dreaming with MA and DAD.

My Ma and Dad are part of the best jump-start to […]

In my last post I ruffled a few feathers.

I said, “Check out this old geezer.”

I wasn’t intending to offend. In fact, I was being ironic because that guy was no geezer. He’s in better shape than me!

Here’s the video if you missed it.

http://www.synergyspanishsystems.com/blog/fiesta/

It reminds me of a time […]

Let me tell you about my Mexican houses.

I’ve been told I have houses from Baja California to Acapulco and from Cancun in the Yucatan Peninsula to Mexico City. I have been told I have houses everywhere in Mexico

If only they were really mine…

My wife has friends all over Mexico and each time we visit […]

Hola

Have you ever looked up a word in the dictionary only to find what you were trying to interpret still made no sense?

In fact, it made even less sense after you looked up the word.

It happens a lot and there is a very good reason for it.

You see there’s a part of the Spanish language […]

If you want to make sure you don’t miss any Sideways Spanish Audio lessons, just leave your email address below and I’ll send you the series so far and updates via email.
[…]