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Time to start planning

Spanish learners,

I have been working this summer, playing golf, and keeping up with golf and Spanish web sites. But now it is time to make some decisions and plans. I will be doing a lot of postings over the next couple months as I plan my second immersion trip. Yes, I am really going back and continuing to learn more Spanish, but this time I won't be going to Costa Rica. I will be doing my final research, selecting a country, and taking another trip in December. In the meantime, I hope you will join me here on the Spanish Immersion Blog, companion to Spanish Immersion Online, as I go through the adventures of making the plan. It may help to give you some ideas for your trip as I share mine. So, adios for now.

Guatemala info

The Republic of Guatemala (Spanish: República de Guatemala, IPA: [re'puβlika ðe ɣwate'mala]), is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the northwest, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast.

The most populous nation in Central America, Guatemala is a representative democracy with its capital at Guatemala City. Although the nation has been relatively stable since 1996, Guatemala's recent history has been plagued by civil war and military coups, which have slowed the nation's development. Large portions of Guatemala's interior remain wholly undeveloped, including the nation's many rainforests and wetlands. Guatemala's abundance of biologically significant and unique ecosystems contribute to Mesoamerica's designation as an important biodiversity hotspot.

The Spanish of Mexico

There is no official language at the federal level in Mexico. Spanish, however, is spoken by 97% of the population. The General Law of Linguistic Rights of the Indigenous Peoples, however, grants all indigenous minority languages spoken in Mexico the same validity as Spanish in all territories in which they are spoken, and indigenous peoples are entitled to request some public services and documents in their languages. Along with Spanish, the law has granted them –more than 60 languages– the status of "national languages". The law includes all Amerindian languages regardless of origin; that is, it includes the Amerindian languages of ethnic groups non-native to the territory. So, Mexico recognizes the language of the Kickapoo, which immigrated from the United States, and of those of the Guatemalan Amerindian refugees. Mexico has the largest Spanish-speaking population having almost two times more speakers than the second Spanish-speaking country, with almost a third of all Spanish speakers around the world. The Mexican government has promoted and established bilingual primary and secondary education in some rural communities. Approximately 6% of the population speaks an indigenous language and 3% do not speak Spanish. Nahuatl is spoken by 1.5 million and Yucatec Maya by 800,000. Some of the national languages are in danger of extinction; Lacandon is spoken by fewer than a hundred people. English is widely used in business, at the border cities, as well as by the one million American citizens that live in Mexico, mostly retirees in small towns in Baja California, Guanajuato and Chiapas. I hope this helps you understand better the languages of Mexico!

Uruguay information! Immersion here?

Officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay or the Eastern Republic of (the) Uruguay (River) is a nation located in the southeastern part of South America. Home to 3.3 million people, 1.7 million of which live in Montevideo and its metropolitan area. It is bordered by Brazil to the northeast, the Uruguay River to the west, the estuary of the Río de la Plata (literally "River of the Silver", but also known in English as "River Plate") to the southwest, with Argentina on the other bank of both, and finally the South Atlantic Ocean to the southeast. It is the second smallest independent country in South America, larger only than Suriname and French Guiana, which is an overseas department of France. According to Transparency International, it is considered to be the second least corrupt country in Latin America (after Chile). Uruguay's political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. Maybe I should go on my next immersion trip to Uruguay?

Belize Language Makeup

This chart is very interesting. I have been thinking about going to Belize for my next Spanish immersion experience, and I have learned that Spanish is not the majority language. This is something to think about in my decision on where to go. Eric

Languages in Belize according to 2000 Census

Language	Mother tongue speakers	Percentage	Current users	Percentage
Chinese	1,607	(0.8%)	1,529	(0.7%)
Creoles	67,527	(32.9%)	75,822	(37.0%)
English	7,946	(3.9%)	11,551	(5.6%)
Garifuna	6,929	(3.4%)	4,071	(2.0%)
German	6,783	(3.3%)	6.624	(3.2%)
Hindi	280	(0.1%)	193	(0.1%)
Maya Ketchi	10,142	(4.9%)	9,314	(4.5%)
Maya Mopan	6,909	(3.4%)	6,093	(3.0%)
Maya Yucateco	1,176	(0.6%)	613	(0.3%)
Spanish	94,422	(46.0%)	88,121	(43.0%)
Others / no answer	1,402	(0.7%)	1,192	(0.6%)

Another friend from Costa Rica

Here is some information on the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is a major ship canal that traverses the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Construction of the canal was one of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken. It has had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, obviating the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn at the southernmost tip of South America. A ship sailing from New York to San Francisco via the canal travels 9,500 km (6,000 miles), well under half the distance of the previous 22,500 km (14,000 mi) route around Cape Horn.^[1] Although the concept of a canal near Panama dates back to the early 16th century, the first attempt to construct a canal began in 1880 under French leadership. After this attempt failed and saw 20,000 workers die, the project of building a canal was attempted and completed by the United States in Panama in 1914, when the canal opened. The building of the 77 km (48 mi) canal was plagued by problems, including disease (particularly malaria and yellow fever) and landslides. As many as 27,500 workers are estimated to have died during construction of the canal.

Since opening, the canal has been enormously successful, and continues to be a key conduit for international shipping. Each year more than 14,000 ships pass through the canal, carrying more than 203 million tons of cargo. By 2002 about 800,000 ships had used the canal altogether.^[2]

The canal can accommodate vessels from small private yachts up to fairly large commercial ships. The maximum size of vessel that can use the canal is known as Panamax; an increasing number of modern ships exceed this limit, and are known as post-Panamax vessels. A typical passage through the canal by a cargo ship takes around nine hours. 14,011 vessels passed through in 2005, with a total capacity of 278.8 million tons, making an average of almost 40 vessels per day.

How about Peru

Spanish Learners, I met a new acquaintance who is from Peru, and we agreed that I would try to help with her English and she would try to help with my Spanish. I think this is a good idea for any of you wanting to practice. I will keep you updated on whether this really enhances my learning. Here is a map of Peru.

Panama or not?

Spanish learners, I am starting to plan my next immersion experience to complement my trip to Costa Rica last September. Where do you think I should go? How about Panama? There is a lot of natural vegetation there. Eric

Costa Rican Monkey Photo

Isn't he cute?

New Spanish Word

Here is another word to have in your vocabulary.

tener ganas (de) (teh-néhr gáh-nahs)

feel like (verb expression) Example: No tengo ganas de estudiar hoy. Translation: I don't feel like studying today.

Sin Embargo

Spanish learners, I recommend using the following word in your Spanish practice. Eric

sin embargo (seen ehm-báhr-goh)

however (conjunction) Example: Ella no tiene dinero en efectivo - sin embargo sí tiene muchas acciones. Translation: She doesn't have any cash - however she does have a lot of stocks.

Practice, practice, practice

Spanish learners, we need to practice our Spanish as much as we can. Living in Northern Virginia, I am fortunate to have many opportunities because of the large Latino population. I can talk to people in Spanish in stores, restaurants, and other places. You should try to practice, too! Eric

Cost Rican news

Spanish learners, Here is a really good web site to get Costa Rican news.

Spanish Word

Here is the Spanish concept of being afraid.


Locución: tener miedo

Significado: to be afraid

Ejemplo: Tenía miedo, miedo de perder mi trabajo, pero tenía que hacer huelga.

Traducción: I was afraid, afraid of losing my job, but I had to go on strike.

thanks for coming to blog

Spanish learners, I am been looking at the hits, and I really appreciate you coming to this new blog. As you know, the old blog will be discontinued in a couple weeks. I hope you will keep coming back here to learn Spanish and talk about Spanish issues. Remember, before and after going to the blog, please visit the main site, www.spanishimmersiononline.com for all of your information on learning Spanish. Eric

Here are some more Spanish Words

especial (éh-speh-see-áhl) / Spain: (éh-speh-thee-áhl)

special (adjective) Example: Tú siempre serás para mí la persona más especial de mi vida. Translation: For me you will always be the most special person in my life.

puro (póo-roh)

pure (adjective) Example: Quiero ir a las montañas para respirar aire puro. Translation: I want to go to the mountains to breathe some pure air.

supervisar (soo-pehr-vee-sáhr)

supervise (verb) Example: Tenemos que supervisar más a los nuevos empleados. Translation: We have to supervise the new employees more.

New word - CASE

Here is a Spanish word which might come in use for you. I will provide in each example the Spanish sentence and the translation.

caso, noun:case

En casos así es mejor callarse.
In cases like this it’s better to keep quiet.

No me hacen caso.
They don’t pay any attention to me.

No hizo mucho caso de lo que le dije.
She didn’t take much notice of what I told her or She didn’t pay much attention to what I told her.

Hazle caso, que ella tiene más experiencia que tú.
Listen to her, she has more experience than you.

More Spanish words

Hi Spanish Learners, I offer you today 3 Spanish words to study.

cansancio (cahn-sáhn-see-oh) / Spain: (cahn-sáhn-thee-oh)
tiredness / weariness (noun)Example: El cansancio al volante es causa de muchos accidentes. Translation: Tiredness while driving is the cause of many accidents.Learn Spanish:

(la) comisión (coh-mee-see-óhn)
commission (noun)Example: Los bancos ganan gran parte de sus beneficios con las comisiones. Translation: Banks earn a large part of their profits with commissions.Learn Spanish:

privilegiado (pree-bee-leh-hee-áh-doh)
privileged (adjective)Example: Somos personas privilegiadas porque no nos tenemos que preocupar por las necesidades básicas. Translation: We are privileged people because we don't have to worry about basic necessities.

Spanish lesson of the day

callarse, verb:to stop talking; to keep quiet

The basic idea behind callarse is that of ‘not talking’.

Cuando entró el profe, todos nos callamos.

When the teacher came in we all stopped talking.
Me callé lo que ya sabía. I kept quiet about what I already knew.

You can use it to tell people to be quiet:
¡Cállense, por favor!Please be quiet!
But callarse la boca is rather informal:

¡Cállate la boca!Shut up!

Web site is fine

Hello Spanish learners. Well, it looks like the new web site is in good shape and the new blog is taking shape as well. Right now, the plan is to eliminate the old blog within about a week and just use this one. Today, I spoke Spanish at a lavanderia with a person from Bolivia. He did not speak English, but that did not matter. Eric

Web site is fine, but need to make a fix or two

Hola,

The web site seems to be fine. All of the new features are working, except a couple, such a the flash cards. Spanish learners, we will fix those as quickly as we can and you will be pleased to see the full 19 pages will be helping you learn Spanish. Eric

New Web Site is Up and Running!

Well Spanish Learners, we are very proud that our new web site is up and running. We hope you will enjoy all the new features. We will correct any errors we see on the pages, and we thank you for using Spanish Immersion Online.

Countdown to new site

Spanish Learners,

This Saturday, we will launch the new web site, and expect to see many new ways to learn Spanish.

New Travel Articles

Fellow Spanish Learners,

We now have 9 of the 10 Spanish Learning Articles up on our web site. We hope you will read the articles and enjoy them. Eric

Blog is moving here

Well, Spanish learners. We are moving the blog to a new service. We think this will be better for the future. Don't forget that the other sites, past and present are

www.spanishimmersiononline.com
blog.spanishimmersiononline.com
ericsgolf.blogspot.com

Keep coming back as we upgrade all the sites.