Redemption Song

For all that I have complained over the past few days about Bueno, entonces... Learn Spanish dropping the ball with regards to introducing new material, I was happy to see them redeem themselves with today's class (#29). No, they did not introduce a new verb tense, but they did fill the class with new verbs and vocabulary. The general theme of the class was travelling, and we learned things from sea wildlife to pool accessories. Words like antiparras (goggles) and malla (bathing suit - woman's?) will, at the very least, come in handy when I bring my son to his weekly swim classes. We also learned about the different regions of Argentina and how to describe the geography.

I would also like to say a little more about the subject of my recent rants - verb tenses. What was redeeming about today's class was that it acknowledged and addressed the lack of the past tense, saying that it will be taught in the next level of classes. It would have been nice to know this up front (maybe a table of contents for example) though - appropriate expectations are often the key to a learner's happiness and fulfillment. Past tense or no past tense, I'm still not excusing the lack of content over the last few classes. I was nice to see Bueno, entonces... Learn Spanish go out on a high note because I really have enjoyed the course.

One of my favorite parts of today's class was the discussion about meat, one of the staples of daily Argentine life. There was an interesting tutorial that covered how animals are called by different names when they are alive and when they are dead. For instance, a living fish is called pez but fish on your dinner plate is called pescado, and a sheep is oveja and lamb is cordero. All of my kids' farm animal books now make sense.

Although today was supposed to be the last "official" class, it sounds like there is one more "class" tomorrow in which we listen to another of David and Jimena's phone calls. And for those of you who care, Jimena revealed that she had been dumped by her boyfriend - David might just move in for the kill tomorrow.