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Brushing up on my Spanish

andywild

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
CF april 18.. CP sep 18.. CF april 2020
I have just downloaded the free app "Duolingo" for my phone to brush up on my Spanish before I set off on my Camino.. if anyone is walking in April/may keep an eye out for me, I'll be the guy asking everyone where I can buy some yellow trousers and explaining that I have a white cat.
Tengo un gato Blanco !!
Andy
x
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I'm also doing DuoLingo and it's great for learning to read Spanish but I'm finding the spoken part weak. For that, I'm using "Language Transfer," a free (donation requested) download audio program where a guy helps you understand how many words transfer from English to Spanish with a few simple tricks like swapping endings and altering pronunciation. Listen to that while you walk.

Oh, and just so you know, mis zapatos son amarillos. Learned that from Duolingo. Certain to be useful when I reach Melide and wish to sample the octopus.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I found a great app called Memrise, unfortunately it isn't free. But it covers a wide spectrum including listening to what they call meet the locals where they speak a sentence and you learn to pick up on words despite the speed some of them speak at! I've found it invaluable. Buen Camino!
 
If you can spend twenty pounds, there is a British course for tourists called Say Something in Spanish. There are 20 1/2 hour lessons, and while they won't teach you how to talk about your cat, they do teach how to order a beer and wine and get food. There's also a section on asking directions and understanding the answers you will receive when you want to find your way back to the albergue after drinking all that beer and wine.

But who will look after your white cat while you are out gallivanting around in Spain? It might be easier to add NO to your sentence and then you won't have to get a white cat. NO tengo un gato blanco!
 
I think they cover that in stage the three.. I've had to stop the lesson as I need to find somewhere to buy a white cat before I set off..

There are plenty of cats in Spain (more cats than dogs), and I have seen nice docile white ones, so you can pick one up on your first day. Check the alleyways...they are free. No need to go through customs with your own cat.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I am really enjoying your postings; a little bit of humour (or a lot) is invaluable on the Camino. I am wishing that I was walking at that time and on the same route. Alas, I am doing the Camino Portuguese in September. Re: the Spanish. I have also been using "Say Something in Spanish" and am able to download the lessons free. I am finding it very useful - lots of phrases and common expressions that I could really use. And it gives me the practise in listening to Spanish speakers, which is what I really need.
 
@bmcbride - I have been listening to the 25 free ones from the facebook page, then the 2nd level of 25 but the tourist course cost 20 pounds and I thought it was worth the cost. It is just for getting food and drink and finding your way around. I listen to the recordings while driving the car and last weekend spent 16 hours highway driving and practicing my Spanish. (I was actually headed somewhere - not just driving for the Spanish practice!)
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
If you can spend twenty pounds, there is a British course for tourists called Say Something in Spanish. There are 20 1/2 hour lessons, and while they won't teach you how to talk about your cat, they do teach how to order a
But who will look after your white cat while you are out gallivanting around in Spain? It might be easier to add NO to your sentence and then you won't have to get a white cat. NO tengo un gato blanco!
I wish I'd read this before I went out and bought 'Snowdrop' :(
 
How do they come up with all those great and useful sentences in on-line courses? I still remember when, decades ago, I tried to learn French, and was asked to translate the sentence: “Please help, my car has been hit by lightning”.

The value of knowing these everyday phrases cannot be exaggerated.
 
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I have just downloaded the free app "Duolingo" for my phone to brush up on my Spanish before I set off on my Camino.. if anyone is walking in April/may keep an eye out for me, I'll be the guy asking everyone where I can buy some yellow trousers and explaining that I have a white cat.
Tengo un gato Blanco !!
Andy
x
Oh, Andywild, your post made me laugh, I’ve used this app also must admit, I will look out for you and your gato, well be three Scots, setting out Mid May, hope to meet you. Buen Camino
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Cats are also a multiple use items... you can use them as a back scratcher, towel, scarf, toothpick, Q tip, white noise maker to help drown out snorers (but you have to gently pet them so they will purrrrr), bedbug death dealer (if they are trained), pillow, heating pad, etc.
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

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The only Spanish I had was Los Siento, no hablo espanol.
After that I switched into French. Another language I don't speak

I knew a bloke who reckoned you only needed to learn one
phrase in the language of the country you were visiting.
Mumble away when talking to a local. Then, when they look puzzled,
give them a Paddington stare and say "You Heard". ( A finger point is optional )

Arriba Abajo
 
@bmcbride - I have been listening to the 25 free ones from the facebook page, then the 2nd level of 25 but the tourist course cost 20 pounds and I thought it was worth the cost. It is just for getting food and drink and finding your way around. I listen to the recordings while driving the car and last weekend spent 16 hours highway driving and practicing my Spanish. (I was actually headed somewhere - not just driving for the Spanish practice!)
I agree with you that the course would be worth the money. I am still working my way through the free ones, but like them so much (and find them so useful) that I would pay and continue further.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I have just downloaded the free app "Duolingo" for my phone to brush up on my Spanish before I set off on my Camino.. if anyone is walking in April/may keep an eye out for me, I'll be the guy asking everyone where I can buy some yellow trousers and explaining that I have a white cat.
Tengo un gato wild
Andywild, I’m a native speaker and also a university Spanish professor. If you have a list of expressions you think you would love to learn and/or practice, I would gladly help you.
 
The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
I have just downloaded the free app "Duolingo" for my phone to brush up on my Spanish before I set off on my Camino.. if anyone is walking in April/may keep an eye out for me, I'll be the guy asking everyone where I can buy some yellow trousers and explaining that I have a white cat.
Tengo un gato Blanco !!
Andy
x
Oigo camarero! quiero pulpo y natillas, por favor! :)
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Tip for seeming accomplished in Spanish when online: learn how to type accented characters. ¡Olé! :)

Bad idea. Somebody may think you actually know the language.

Being intermediate (even intermediate +) in Spanish is really a serious drawback. Once you have finally got your question/statement/whatever formulated, the Spaniards will answer you speaking so fast you’ll understand nada, and then you’ll have to suffer the embarrassment of having to try your luck in English anyway.

Either be fluent or pretend to know nothing except ‘cerveza’, ‘vino tinto’, ‘menu del dia’ and ‘por favor’.
 
A selection of Camino Jewellery
Bad idea. Somebody may think you actually know the language.

Being intermediate (even intermediate +) in Spanish is really a serious drawback. Once you have finally got your question/statement/whatever formulated, the Spaniards will answer you speaking so fast you’ll understand nada, and then you’ll have to suffer the embarrassment of having to try your luck in English anyway.

Either be fluent or pretend to know nothing except ‘cerveza’, ‘vino tinto’, ‘menu del dia’ and ‘por favor’.

In Australia I met a guy at a party who, when being told I was Dutch, was proud to claim that he could actually speak some Dutch too. He had learned it from a girl he had met at the same party, and told me it was supposedly a great pick-up line. He then said to me, in Dutch and with a rather touching look on his face: "I am a dishwashing brush and I fly like an onion."
I was able to keep a straight face, complimented him and immediately started looking for the girl who taught him that. When I found her and asked her what was up with the onion, she just shrugged and said: "I was bored."
Buyer beware...
 
Bad idea. Somebody may think you actually know the language.

Being intermediate (even intermediate +) in Spanish is really a serious drawback. Once you have finally got your question/statement/whatever formulated, the Spaniards will answer you speaking so fast you’ll understand nada, and then you’ll have to suffer the embarrassment of having to try your luck in English anyway.

Either be fluent or pretend to know nothing except ‘cerveza’, ‘vino tinto’, ‘menu del dia’ and ‘por favor’.
Yup. I can ask the questions, but understanding the answers in a problem. :)
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
I think they cover that in stage the three.. I've had to stop the lesson as I need to find somewhere to buy a white cat before I set off..
Gotcha covered. She’s only small so shouldn’t mess with the weight issue.
 

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Bad idea. Somebody may think you actually know the language.

Being intermediate (even intermediate +) in Spanish is really a serious drawback. Once you have finally got your question/statement/whatever formulated, the Spaniards will answer you speaking so fast you’ll understand nada, and then you’ll have to suffer the embarrassment of having to try your luck in English anyway.

Either be fluent or pretend to know nothing except ‘cerveza’, ‘vino tinto’, ‘menu del dia’ and ‘por favor’.
Or you can take the view that diving into the deep end is the best way to learn to swim. :)
 
The focus is on reducing the risk of failure through being well prepared. 2nd ed.
Another source that I am finding helpful is the book “Camino Lingo” by Reinette Novoa. Lots of good phrases and vocabulary specifically attuned to the Camino. Thin enough to take on the Camino if you’re so inclined. Good supplement to the apps you are using.
 
Down bag (90/10 duvet) of 700 fills with 180 g (6.34 ounces) of filling. Mummy-shaped structure, ideal when you are looking for lightness with great heating performance.

€149,-
I have just downloaded the free app "Duolingo" for my phone to brush up on my Spanish before I set off on my Camino.. if anyone is walking in April/may keep an eye out for me, I'll be the guy asking everyone where I can buy some yellow trousers and explaining that I have a white cat.
Tengo un gato Blanco !!
Andy
x
Hi, Andy! I am starting g Primitivo April 25 - will meet my niece in Lugo for the walk to Santiago...hope to meet you on the way in!
 
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€60,-
That is SO mean. Why would you suggest that? Why?
Obviously I prefer vino tinto.. but for the times when I don't quite feel like it (breakfast etc) I find it is a great way of still getting the tinto into me. :)
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
I feel your pain Andy.

Having once asked for an additional plate for the bathroom in a French hotel (serviette/assiette - potato/potahto) I find that if you speak loudly and slowly enough Johnny Foreigner will understand you well enough.

Try this: remove one's bowler hat (or bobble hat in your case) and place it firmly on the table. Snap one's fingers at the waiter, look him/her firmly in the eye and say, slowly and loudly: "Fish and chips, two slices of bread and butter, and tea with milk, garcong!" Do NOT say please - it gives them ideas above their station.

He'll soon get the message.

By the way, has anybody else thought that Spanish food is a bit, well, slimy in texture and tastes a bit odd?
 
I have just downloaded the free app "Duolingo" for my phone to brush up on my Spanish before I set off on my Camino.. if anyone is walking in April/may keep an eye out for me, I'll be the guy asking everyone where I can buy some yellow trousers and explaining that I have a white cat.
Tengo un gato Blanco !!
Andy
x
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Damn, now I'll have to look out my first ever Spanish course - towards the end, once you are truly proficient - you can order name branded umbrellas as a company give away with . . . . a built in recording device!
 
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
That darn French training all Canadians got in school. French just keeps creeping in to our Spanish!:confused:
I know what you mean. When I went to Ontario House for my immigrant's interview all went well until the interviewer suddenly changed into French. Had I been forwarned and prepared . . . .

As it was he simply smiled and said "I wouldn't worry. Canada is bi-lingual but I don't expect you'll meet many French speakers where you'll be living."

And he was right. I lived in Thunder Bay Ont. for two years. It certainly was bi-lingual except the two languages were Ukrainian in the south part of the city and Finnish in the north.

In parting I offer you Eddie Izzard and for those not au fait (see what I did there?) with the word, un Travesti is a transvestite.
 
Very light, comfortable and compressible poncho. Specially designed for protection against water for any activity.

Our Atmospheric H30 poncho offers lightness and waterproofness. Easily compressible and made with our Waterproof fabric, its heat-sealed interior seams guarantee its waterproofness. Includes carrying bag.

€60,-
OK, let me add my two bits...I have an ex-brother in law who only speaks spanish. However that is not true. Whenever he is completely drunk he can oddly enough speak pretty good english. Has anybody given this a try for speaking spanish? I'm just saying....
 
OK, let me add my two bits...I have an ex-brother in law who only speaks spanish. However that is not true. Whenever he is completely drunk he can oddly enough speak pretty good english. Has anybody given this a try for speaking spanish? I'm just saying....
Yes it's true. I can understand spoken Spanish quite well but when it comes to replying it's tricky because of conjugating verbs correctly/choosing the right tense etc.. however after a bottle or two of rioja I'm actually quite good. The problem is if I have to go to a shop to buy breakfast it means I have to get sozzled at 8am and I find it kind of affects the rest of the day's productivity.
 
St James' Way - Self-guided 4-7 day Walking Packages, Reading to Southampton, 110 kms
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
I talk to a couple of Spanish people every week on Skype. and find that " a couple" of glasses of Spanish or Latin American red wine helps much more than that from other countries. Maybe if I drank more I would be fluid er! ehm! effluent or whatever the word is when you know what you are talking about!
 
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Ideal sleeping bag liner whether we want to add a thermal plus to our bag, or if we want to use it alone to sleep in shelters or hostels. Thanks to its mummy shape, it adapts perfectly to our body.

€46,-
Love it Michelle...the man is mine! Leave the gun, take the canoli! Of course!

Coffee break Espanol! It's free, it's fun, and it's a podcast of about 10 to 15 minutes long. Do not pay! I repeat...DO NOT PAY!. Check it out. It's fun and the guy who has an amazing acento is......wait for it..... IRISH! Holy guacamole! Sounds fine .
 
Get a spanish phone number with Airalo. eSim, so no physical SIM card. Easy to use app to add more funds if needed.
The MONEY is mine!

....and I think Mark on Coffee Break is Scottish
 
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