Antonio, our friendly and fair-charging taller in Lanjarón, has been promising to pick up my Golf Geriatric for repair for at least a month. He's even taken to dodging behind the nearest raised bonnet when I go past in Fred's car making manic gestures. In desperation, I call him again:
"Antonio, ¿que pasa con el coche?" I ask, and then add the killer line: "Eres mas lento que el caballo del malo." ("You are slower than the baddie's horse").** Antonio bursts out laughing, and in five minutes, my car is whisked away. I feel drunk with word power and it's all thanks to an excellent Spanish language site that takes the lethargy out of learning.
When a friend in Lanjarón told me about Notes in Spanish a few weeks ago, I filed it away in 'To Do...Whenever'. But noodling around online recently I decided to take a look at the site, and now I can't wait to share.
I think Notes in Spanish is a wonderful resource for those who already have a basic grasp of the language. For a start, you can link to over 60 advanced-level and 20 or so intermediate-level podcasts available on the site, absolutely free. Each one is accompanied by a helpful worksheet, which costs under $2 to download. For that you get a full transcript of the podcast, plus a vocabulary and grammar check, and a quick exercise or two for pain-free practice.
Ben and Marina (he's from Britain, she's from Madrid), are the couple behind Notes in Spanish. Ben's been living and working in Madrid since 1998, writing and doing photography for travel publications as well as bilingual translations. (He didn't speak a word of Spanish when he first arrived). They started podcasting in May 2005.
Notes in Spanish also podcasts about Spanish cuisine, offers one to one Skype chat sessions with Marina, and provides a forum for thousands of its users to exchange information and ideas.
If your Spanish conversational talents are developing more slowly than that baddie's horse, Notes in Spanish will help you reach heroic speed more quickly!
**(The saying refers to old-fashioned Western movies where the baddie's horse never catches the good guy's nag however fast they run the film).
