Gringo's Quest to Español Fluency

Practice this episode on Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/1215824814/ep-2-flash-cards/

Same sentences, focused on verbs: https://quizlet.com/co/1215829533/ep-2-verb-endings-flash-cards/

This one's about our 4-month Europe trip. I'm piecing together real Spanish now instead of just repeating words back to Tania one at a time. Tania talks about wanting to study fashion design in Paris when she was 16, and about the month she spent living with a friend's family in Turkey. It was a great experience, and it felt like home, just like Colombia. And yes, for the record, I only have one wife.

What I got wrong:

These are some of the mistakes I made that Tania corrected on the fly. Pay attention to these—they're the actual teaching moments.

1. "Mi país favorito en la mundo" → "en el mundo" (mundo is masculine)

2. "Tienen un bueno oportunidad" → "Tuvimos una buena oportunidad" (wrong subject and wrong gender)

3. "¿Tú disfruta?" → "¿Tú disfrutaste?" (I forgot the past tense)

4. "Yo me gusta otra países" → "Me gustan otros países" (gustar works backwards from English)

5. "Yo no muy emocionada" → "Yo no estaba muy emocionado" (I'm a guy, so it's -ado)

That's only five. I'm sure I got way more wrong.

Episode vocabulary:

These came up a lot in the episode. Memorize them.

Viajar - to travel

Disfrutar - to enjoy

Soñar (con) - to dream (of)

Extrañar - to miss (someone or something)

Espontáneo/a - spontaneous

Words in context:

These are words and phrases Tania used naturally. Good ones to pick up since they came from a native speaker, not a textbook.

1. De vuelta - back, returning

2. Estoy de acuerdo - I agree

3. ¿Cómo así? - what do you mean? / how so?

4. Emocionada - excited

5. Antes de que - before (takes the subjunctive)

6. Soñar con - to dream of

7. Espectacular - spectacular, amazing

8. Vivir como los locales - to live like the locals

9. Parecidos - similar, alike

10. Sentirse en casa - to feel at home

11. Costumbres - customs, traditions

12. Recordar - to remember

13. Planificar - to plan

14. Improvisar - to improvise

15. En las manos de Dios - in God's hands

How to use this:

Two decks, both built from the sentences in this episode. The first is for vocabulary and phrases. The second explains how the verbs change and when to use each tense. Pick one, or do both.

Use the Quizlet decks to learn it in context, that's where the real learning happens. The notes here are just the map.

I encourage you to listen in on my journey. Listen to my wife, she's the native speaker, speak more than you think you should, embarrass yourself, and learn.

Practice this episode on Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/co/1215843797/ep-1-flash-cards/

Same sentences, focused on verbs: https://quizlet.com/1215845559/ep-1-verb-endings-flash-cards/

I introduce myself in Spanish, get corrected almost immediately, and Tania explains how a trip through Europe led to us raising our daughter in Colombia. I also explain why I need to learn Spanish now.

What I got wrong:

These are some of the mistakes I made that Tania corrected on the fly. Pay attention to these—they're the actual teaching moments.

1. "Yo estoy un gringo" → "Yo soy gringo" (ser for identity, not estar)

2. "Ellos vivimos" → "Nosotros vivimos" (ellos means they, vivimos means we live)

3. "Tania estaba embarazos" → "Tania estaba embarazada" (it's an adjective, and it's feminine)

4. "Yo necesita" → "Yo necesito" (yo goes with -o, not -a)

5. "Aprehender español" → "Aprender español" (aprehender means to arrest, so I said I needed to arrest Spanish)

That's only five. I'm sure I got way more wrong.

Episode vocabulary:

These came up a lot in the episode. Memorize them.

Chismear - to gossip

Comer - to eat

Mirar - to look, to watch

Cantar - to sing

Correr - to run

Words in context:

These are words and phrases Tania used naturally. Good ones to pick up since they came from a native speaker, not a textbook.

1. Rola - person from Bogotá. "Yo soy rola."

2. De la capital - from the capital

3. Hemos estado juntos - we've been together

4. Visitamos muchas ciudades - we visited many cities

5. Quedé embarazada - I got pregnant

6. Creciera en Colombia - grow up in Colombia

7. Preferimos Colombia - we prefer Colombia

8. Es muy natural - it's very natural

9. Nuestro perro - our dog

10. Es bilingüe - he is bilingual

11. Es muy necesario - it's very necessary

12. Para mí - for me

13. Ya has mejorado - you've already improved

14. Acompáñennos - join us

15. Aprender español - to learn Spanish

How to use this:

Two decks, both built from the sentences in this episode. The first is for vocabulary and phrases. The second explains how the verbs change and when to use each tense. Pick one, or do both.

Use the Quizlet decks to learn it in context, that's where the real learning happens. The notes here are just the map.

I encourage you to listen in on my journey. Listen to my wife, she's the native speaker, speak more than you think you should, embarrass yourself, and learn.