Practice Saber and Conocer - see what you know!!

saber and conocer practice

nouns/genders

Nouns - gender

Importance of Learning a Foreign Language

Tapas - those tasty appetizers brought to us from Spain.

What are tapas? They are a gastronomic miracle that has its origin in Spain. This past Spring, our LS students who traveled to Spain had the opportunity to go to a real culinary school and learn from professional chefs how to make the most popular types of Spanish Tapas.

Tapas are said to have originated in southern Spain (Andalucia). The word "tapa" means a lid and in the past, crusts of bread or slices of meat were used to cover drinks (typically Spanish sherry) so that flies would not go into the drink. The idea of tapas evolved from that idea.

Some of our LS students preparing Tapas in Madrid.

Making Tapas at a culinary school in Madrid, 2013

Hints for Speaking Spanish!!

Practice makes perfect!!
In order to learn any language you must practice it out loud. I know that it can feel strange to pronounce these new foreign words but just remember that everyone is feeling the same. La practica hace el maestro - practice makes perfect! In class we will do a lot of speaking with partners, with the class, in small groups, and yes... in front of the class. Take a look at the following website to give you some practice. Also, I have a page that has links and videos to help you practice your Spanish on a tab on my home page.

Spanish Pronunciation - vowels

The good news is that Spanish is a phonetic (fonetic, ha!) language so the vowels have just one sound each - unlike the English language.

Madrid

In this photo, diners snack on tapas in the Mercado de San Miguel. The market is constructed of mainly iron and glass and can be found off the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. Bring your appetite because you can find anything from stuffed olives to sushi.

Ahhh- Spain and it's famous capital, Madrid. The Spanish capital is geographically located in the center of the Iberian Peninsula and is the highest capital in Western Europe. Because of it's location, Madrid is known for very dry and warm summers as well as cool winters. I have been in Madrid in each of it's seasons and can attest to the need for scarves and hats in the winter, umbrellas in the Spring, as well as tank tops and fans in the summer. Autumn is my favorite time to visit Madrid and stroll throughout her many neighborhoods to try a tapa in the Plaza de San Angel, enjoy a chocolate con churros at San Gines, shop in the Salamanca district, or just meandar around the Buen Retiro Park  gazing at the variety of shrubbery, monuments such at the Crystal Palace or view the statue of the Fallen Angel. I often stop to ponder this statue because it is said to be one of two statues in the world depiciting Lucifer and is homage to Milton's Paradise Lost.  In all her splendor, it is difficult to give pointers on what one must see when visiting Madrid. Of course there is the Prado and Reina Sofia museums for the art lovers. This past Spring I was able to set my eyes on the earliest copy of Leonardo da Vinci's the Mona Lisa

The original Mona Lisa on the left.

which is housed in the Prado museum. I listened to the history behind Picasso's "Guernica" in the Reina Sofia museum (which incidentally used to be a hospital for the mentally ill and is thought to be haunted!).

Festivals in Spain

It is that time of year again in Spain for many festivals.
The following video from Lonely Planet shows one of the many different types of festivals. This one focuses on the celebration of Corpus Christi and The Running of the Bull.

http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/adventure/news-bloodsport-running-bulls-pamplona#duGdcRDjxg1w7fPh.30

The first video shows a clip from Pamplona, Spain.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50150602n


Significance of Corpus Christi:  http://www.sharefaith.com/guide/Christian-Holidays/feast_of_corpus_christi.html


While watching the following video of the running of the bull in Spain, take note of the winding streets:

www.lonelyplanet.com/spain/videos