Can someone recommend a good Spanish Learning CD?

[WinterStorm]

A friend of mine won two tickets to a resort in Cancun and she invited me to go the day after Christmas.

I need to be able to say where is the bathroom, can I have more towels, I don't eat any weird meats, I want my food extra mild in spice, bottled water not tap water, where is the nearest doctor and some simple things like thank you, good by, how are you doing, have a nice day, good morning and I need to say I am a democrat and I didn't vote for Bush.

I know that's a lot but I would like to be able to understand what they are saying also.

There was a tape with a big dinosaur or a big bear and it was a kids language tape. Does anyone know about that tape?

:hi:

[DU9598]

1. Nahhh

You will pick up what you need to know while you are there. Plus, most of the staff will be able to speak English.

If you want to learn, local libraries usually have great books on tape or CD to help you learn.

Have a great time and relax up for the inauguration when you return!

[Kikosexy2]

2. Here's...for

starters:
"Donde esta el bano?" (n in bano is pronounced as y sound)
Where's the bathroom?

"Necessito mas taollas por favor" (taollas pronounced twa-yas)
I need more towels please.

Yo no come carne (come pronounced in two syllables co-me)
I don't eat meat.

Yo quiero mi comida menos picoso.
I want my food mildly spicey.

Yo quiero aqua en botella (double "l" sound is pronounced like "y")
I want bottled water.

Donde esta un medico mas ciercas.
Where is the nearest doctor.

Muchas gracias--thank you.

Como estas? How are you?

Quanto questa este... How much does .... cost?

Yo soy una Democratica/Democratico y yo no voter para Bush. Bush is muy malo y anticristo.

I am a Democrat and I didn't vote for Bush. Bush is bad and the antichrist.

Donde esta el policia?
Where's the police?

Then there's the bad stuff

Chinga tu madre/padre

Pinche cabron

Comer mierda puto
etc.etc.etc.

Hope this helps!

[WinterStorm]

3. Muchas gracias

:loveya:

[GOPisEvil]

4. Remember: pendejo means friend

Just kidding. Only call someone a pendejo if you want to get into a fight (unless you know them well).

Yo soy una Democratica/Democratico y yo no voter para Bush. Bush is muy malo y anticristo. Hehehehehehehehehe! :thumbsup:

[WinterStorm]

6. By any chance

Is that pronounced bendaho?

You rotten man if it is that would get me beat to death. LOL

[GOPisEvil]

8. Pen deh ho

Yeah, it's not a nice thing to call someone. I'm just being evil. :evilgrin:

[WinterStorm]

15. Your just living up to your name

:evilgrin: :hi: :loveya:

[Bridget Burke]

9. Clue: Don't use the bad stuff.

Those words are not for beginners & could get you into lots of trouble.

I'd check out a phrase book. Spanish pronunciation is not tricky.

[LanternWaste]

5. Your own personal DU Tourguide...

Aren´t you a lucky one? I happen to live in Cancun and will let you in on something...

If you're staying in the Hotel Zone and plan on spending most of your time there, you don't need to know Spanish, 90% of the nationals working in the Hotel Zone know English better than most Americans... :) and that includes the hotels, restaurants, fast food joints, grocery stores, etc...

I'm not knocking the Hotel Zone, it's simply not my cup of tea... Discotheques, loud bars and clubs, bright lights, etc. To me, it's the same thing repeated in a thousand cities all over the world.

Now, if you plan on going into the REAL Cancun (El Centro), Spanish is helpful, but there still so many nationals who speak English, you really won´t have many problems. I was surprised as hell when I moved here how many people speak English... to the point where it's actually inhibiting me in my quest to learn Spanish.

If this is something you want to do out of politeness, make a list of the phrases or questions you have and simply use the babelfish language translator. It's not perfect (boy! Have I found that out) but it does work pretty well for the simple stuff.

Feel free to PM me if you want to know more about things to do in Cancun while you and your friend are here. Be glad to give you some suggestions. :toast:

[Kikosexy2]

13. A little...

Spanglish won't hurt either. Funny, I speak mostly English to my father (Detroit native) and only Spanish to my mother (or mainly Spanglish--a Mexican national).

[WinterStorm]

18. Great mix!

I will be speaking a horrible form of Spanglish.

:hi:

[WinterStorm]

16. Ola...Thank you!

My friend won a timeshare week long stay in Cancun.

I will PM you when I get a chance...thanks.

It would be nice to meet some fellow DU members.

:hi:

[Beware the Beast Man]

7. Mi aerodeslizador es lleno de anguilas.

A little joke out there for the bi-lingual Monty Python fans :crazy:

[pagerbear]

10. Come te gusta mi pinga?

[Kikosexy2]

14. Depends..

how big it is or is it cut or uncut.

[WinterStorm]

17. Come te "How do you say"?

Gusta me pinga (You are?)

I can't speak Spanish please fill me in.

:hi:

[Kikosexy2]

20. Ooooh..

that's nasty--but he's saying How do you like my dick? or Do you like my dick? Just tell him Es muy piqueno--(pronounced pe-ke-yo)--it's too small.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

11. Go to your local mega bookstore and check out the language section

There will be a whole shelf full of beginning Spanish materials. Look through them, and see which one appeals to you, since tastes in language learning materials are highly individual.

Be sure to get something that has tapes or CDs with it, not so much because Spanish pronunciation is hard (it isn't--once you get used to the fact that certain letters are pronounced differently, it's spelled exactly as it sounds) but because you need to learn to *hear* the language as well as speak it. In fact, there's a certain weird stage of second language acquisition where you can say more than you can understand.

Learners underestimate the listening part of learning, but when you think about it, what's the good of being able to say, "What time do the stores open?" if you can't understand the answer?

If you have cable, listen to the Spanish language stations. You won't understand much, but even understanding individual words and phrases is a positive step.

By the way, your initial reaction will be, "But they talk so fast!" No, they talk at normal speed, and you just haven't learned to process it yet. Foreigners coming to the U.S. complain that Americans talk too fast.

[pagerbear]

12. Seriously, I recommend Pimsleur tapes and CDs

I found them very useful when I was working on my German.

[FrankBooth]

19. Everybody in Cancun speaks English

Do yourself a big favor when you are in Cancun, go to Puerto Jaurez and take the ferry over to Isla Mejueres for a day - it is awesome.