Weekly Spanish Lesson---Daily Objects This week's lesson comes from the complete Visual Link Spanish™ course. Click below for a fun, interactive lesson on Daily Objects. To check it out, click here: Interactive Lesson - Daily Objects P.S. - If you don't have the Complete Visual Link Spanish™ Course, click below and get free shipping with your order! [Back to Top] Words of the Week ----- Taken from the complete CD-ROM course.

The Official "Ask Dave" Section ----- Question If you have time could you explain this to me-In the sentence ¡Que tengan un buen día! (I hope you all have a good day!) - What does the "Que" mean? I'm just used to using it as what. Thank you, TC Answer Hola TC, The Spanish word "que" can mean "what", "that" or sometimes even "how" or "than". In the sentence you refer to, it means "that". It's almost like saying "I hope that you have a good day" only the words "I hope" is implied and not actually written in the sentence. Here are some more uses of "que" as the word "that": (I hope) that you have a good trip     ¡Qué tengas un buen viaje! I think that she...     Yo pienso que ella... I believe that it's going to be...     Yo creo que va a ser... Here are some uses of "que" as the word "how" - used in expressions (usually the word "how" is "cómo"): How sad!     ¡Qué triste! How exciting!     ¡Qué emocionante! How boring!     ¡Qué aburrido! Here are some uses of "que" as the word "than" He is taller than me.     Él es más alto que yo. She is smarter than me.     Ella es más inteligente que yo. They are older than her.     Ellos son más viejos que ella. For uses of the word "Qué" as "What", please see the Complete Visual Link Spanish™ Course. In-depth examples are found in sections 1, 6, 8 and 10 of the course. Hopefully that answers your question. ¡Hasta luego! Dave Culture ----- Ancient Cultures of Latin America - Final Chapter ¡Hola mis amigos! It's great to be back with you another week sharing cultural information about Latin America. This week's topic is one of my favorites. According to ancient Aztec legend, there is a god called Quetzalcoatl [ket-saul-co-ottle] (Kukulcan [coo-cool-kahn] according to the Mayans) who visited the ancient Indians of Latin America and educated them. According to stories, he taught them science, the calendar and created ceremonies. He also discovered corn, represented saintliness and all good aspects of civilization. Some called him the plumed serpent, but he was also known by the legend to be a bearded white man. As part of the legend, it was understood that he would some day return from the east. This legend plays a significant part in history when around 1519 Hernán Cortés came to Mexico from Spain as a "conquistador" (conquerer) seeking gold and riches at any expense. Since he was a bearded white man, many of the native Aztecs supposed him to be Quetzalcoatl returning and gave him a royal welcome. It was a great tragedy when Cortés, because of their legend and his "royal treatment", obtained incredible gold riches and defeated the Aztecs killing many and eventually subjecting them to the rule of the Spaniards. The legend of Quetzalcoatl ended up being a significant factor that influenced the history of Mexico and Latin America forever. The legend, as well as the fact that the Spaniards had more advanced weapons and armor, contributed to the downfall of the Native Americans. Now, on a little different topic, we'll take a look at theories of the origin of the Native Americans. Some scholars think they migrated from regions of Egypt due to the pyramid-style temples they built. Scientific DNA studies seem to have proven that they came from somewhere in Europe. Another theory has to do with an ancient record that was found buried in the North-Eastern U.S. around 1823. It was translated and recounts the history of the Native Americans on the North and South American continents up to about 400 a.d. It claims that the they originally came from the Middle East/Israel area. It also talks about a bearded white god that visited the people and corroborates the common legend of Quetzalcoatl. It is a very fascinating religious-type book, and I have some information on it if any of you newsletter subscribers are interested in getting a copy. I am familiar with a private organization that has given the book out for free for many years. From what I understand a public publishing company just started publishing the book a few years ago to make it available to everyone. If any of you want a copy, I'll see what I can do to get you one for free. Just e-mail me at: dave@spanishprograms.com. In summary, it's important to get to know the culture and legends of others. It gives us a greater understanding of different people and what they are like. Understanding the culture and language of a people can really enhance us as individuals. Our culture newsletters are a great supplement to our Complete Spanish Course that has taught thousands to communicate in Spanish all over the world and can help you learn Spanish effectively. Sneak peek at next week: "Horse-n-Buggy Spanish of Old vs. Technology of Today" ¡Hasta luego! (Have a great week!) David S. Clark -- President / Director Visual Link Spanish™ Fun, Interactive Spanish Courses http://www.spanishprograms.com dave_c@spanishprogramscom [Back to Top]

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Build your Spanish Vocabulary - Monthly Spanish Magazine! "Practice makes perfect!" Perfect your Spanish with THINK SPANISH! MAGAZINE - now available with Audio CD. Think Spanish! Magazine is the monthly publication designed to increase Spanish fluency, BUILD VOCABULARY and GRAMMAR and IMPROVE LISTENING COMPREHENSION while teaching you about life in Spanish-speaking countries. Now available with a monthly Audio CD - Think Spanish! Magazine will keep your Spanish strong all year long. Each issue includes dynamic articles about culture, travel, art, people and more and contains useful lessons and tutorials. Each month the dynamic articles in Think Spanish! Magazine are read by native Spanish speakers. Think Spanish Audio CDs increase listening comprehension and pronunciation skills. For more info - Click Here! [Back to Top] Responses to Past Newsletters: Note: Any links recommended by newsletter subscribers are not necessarily endorsed by the U.S. Institute of Languages™ - use at your own risk. Formatting on responses may have been changed to fit your screen. Response #1 Dave, Regarding Chan Chan, I was in Trujillo a year ago and Chan Chan was open to visitors. It's unfortunate that you didn't get to visit when you were there. It is an impressive ruin. It is not built of stone as Machu Picchu is; rather, it is a mud/adobe structure. However, because of the coastal desert climate, erosion is not really a problem because there is so little rain. Plus, when you touch the structure itself, the mud surface is actually as hard as cement. Chan Chan is enormous. There are a few large plazas as you mentioned - immense open spaces enclosed by tall walls. There are also long corridors that make you feel claustrophobic because they continue on for so long and are towered over by such tall walls. One area is subdivided into many small rooms with low walls, which you can look down on from above because there are no roofs anymore. Another area has a deep burial area for the remains of some sort of noble or king. One of the most surprising and delightful features is a large lagoon built within the structure; it is a perfect square and obviously a man-made construction, but it also seems very natural because it is full of growing marsh reeds. The day I visited, there was even a native Peruvian Hairless dog swimming in the lagoon! Another thing about Chan Chan is all the designs and motifs carved into the walls. Even though the walls are a cement-like mud, they contain surprisingly detailed images, especially of fish, sea birds, and fishing nets. (That picture you have of the lattice-like low wall is a representation of a fish net, which was common throughout Chan Chan.) Jamie Response #2 My dear David, You have an excellent course. Why did I take up Spanish at 76 years old? I read an article that says if you do not want to suffer with Alzeimers which is about my age when you get it, then they say you must tax the brain and one way to do it is to study a language. Well I am in Miami so I decided to study Spanish. Believe me, I am doing well listening to you and Maria, but I do not understand when someone speak to me in spanish, and even when I catch a word or two, they would have gone on way ahead of me. Secondly, I tend to translate the spanish I hear into English, Think the reply in English, translate it in Spanish and then reply. I think the Spanish Course I have will last me for a long time because I am not exposing myself to Spanish Speaking people. Trust me, when I am more confident using what I have, I will certainly come back to you for the course on verbs. Desmond Woosam [Back to Top] Note: You are receiving this newsletter because you have requested the travel password, signed up for a membership to http://www.spanishprograms.com or opted in to receive our newsletter. Send to a friend: Please feel free to send this newsletter to your friends, as long as it is copied in its entirety. Subscribe: If a friend forwarded this to you and you would like to get your own copy each week, click here. ***: Please see instructions below to ***. ©2006 U.S. Institute of Languages