La Bamba - La Version Definitiva!

Leave it to J & J, right?

Raquel Rodriguez - Before and After

Here's the Raquel we know. Her actual name is Liliana Abud.



Now, here are some recent shots. Is it the same person? Apparently, she is writer/producer of Mexican telenovelas. What a difference 16 years make...

Pronunciation Quizzes

This website has several helpful areas to help you in your Spanish pronunciation.

Coming Soon...

This entry is a bit different because it is not about language per se. It is more of a spiritual nature with a language/culture connection.

I was in England in 1985 when I got into languages. I got into languages because I wanted to travel the world as a missionary. Perhaps I will get that opportunity in the future, but this story reminds me of some of my dreams. I guess I relate a lot to the work of a gentleman by the name of David Gates. Perhaps, like me, some of your parents grew up on Eric B. Hare's Mission Stories from Burma and the Far East.

I have heard the name David Gates several times, the earliest was from Henry Livergood, who was AUC's Cafeteria Director for about 40 years. He lives in Lancaster and is around AUC a lot. He is a large man with a white handlebar moustache. I have since become good friends with two of his sons. They also live in the area. They have been around AUC all their lives.

Now about David Gates...

David was born to missionaries in Bolivia. His wife was, too. His life is dedicated to international mission work as a pastor/pilot. You probably know all about him, but he's rather new to me. He speaks with an interesting accent. It's perfect English, but I hear a little something there. Perhaps growing up in Spanish did it.

Anyway, he has a ministry called Gospel Ministries International. You should check it out. They actually run Christian television stations around the globe. On the website, he has sermons and videos to listen to. I heard one last night call "The Coming Crisis".

I strongly suggest you listen to it.

It was given in April 2008 at Southwestern Adventist University in Keene, Texas. In this message, he speaks about what is happening in America right now. He tells us that we need to get back into the little red books and get serious as spiritual warriors in the days in which we live. I pray that you will be blessed by listening.

Dear students, I can tell you that I have no doubt in my mind that you are the last generation of young people before Christ's return. Everything in all our lives could fall apart at any moment, but there is one thing for sure. Jesus is coming again... and soon!

Now is the time to ground ourselves in the Word of God and the Spirit of Prophecy. We need, all of us, to get out lives right and our spiritual houses in order. Not just for ourselves, but in order to help others prepare for His coming, too.

"The final movements will be rapid ones..."
E.G. White - Testimonies, Volume 9, Page 62

Hasta martes!

España 1986

Plaza Mayor - Madrid



I walked into this beautiful place to the sound of Flamenco guitar. The huge speakers were blazing along with the sun. I was a traveler in a wonderful moment surrounded by the colors and people of that place. It is a terrific memory.

I wanted to forever capture those sounds, so I ran to a hole in the wall shop asking what was the music playing. They answered proudly, "Paco de Lucia! Es Paco de Lucia, el maestro!" I was broke of course. But moments like that pass, and you don't just get them back. I took whatever I could find in my pocket and bought two cassette tapes happily knowing I would starve for a while, but one day learn that music. I'm still working on the Flamenco...



Sometime later, in Sevilla, I was sharing a room with two fellow travelers, one Moroccan and the other Canadian. We had an interesting language communication system. I spoke English and Spanish at the time. The Canadian spoke English and French, and the Moroccan spoke French and Spanish, besides his native Arabic. It was interesing for those few days using the multitude of languages to communicate.

In the house we were staying, there was a blonde German fellow constantly playing Flamenco in the interior patio balcony. He was there studying Flamenco with a teacher for 6 months! How envious I was. That is still one of my dreams.

I hope you like the music. You can hear some similarities to the Arabic singing/prayer towards the end of this video. Let me know if you get into Paco de Lucia, too!

Speedy Gonzalez

This is the kind of stuff I grew up watching. I bet your parents remember it, too! Back then, these kind of stereotypes were common. We didn't think much of it. Enjoy a laugh!

Some Resources

Free Spanish Lesson. Personal Pronouns - Watch more amazing videos here

Listen to the Bible in Spanish - Select your passage and listen to a familiar Biblical story.

Free Pronunciation Tutorials - Listen and Repeat

How about going to Mexico for a month?

Climb Every Mountain

Last week I invited students to join me at Mt. Monadnock. I don't think anyone made it because of the short notice, but we did make it to the top! We were joined by some family and friends, but it was not an easy hike.

We began at 12:30 p.m. and got to the summit at 4:00 p.m. Then we had a very difficult descent. But it was a lesson to us all. Just as in life, even though things are tough, if you just keep going, you can make it. Diego climbed up and down. Nicholas made it about 80% up alone. Going down with the receding light was to dangerous, so he hitchiked!

Join us next time!

Mount Monadnock

Mount Monadnock is my favorite mountain. I have seen it for the last 10 years and climbed it maybe 4 times. Some have done it a lot more! It is one of the most climbed mountains in the world. It is always competing for number 1 with Mount Fuji, Japan.

Let me know if you would like to join this Sabbath for a climb. A lot of us are going! Here is a map and some more photos. By the way, it will be chilly up top...

Greetings and Introductions

The net makes it so easy...tan facil!

Silvio Rodriguez - Sonrisas de papel

I couldn't resist posting this...

This is one of my guitar heroes! I had never heard this song. I have about three of his albums on MP3.

Silvio Rodriguez is a troubadour from Cuba. If you are into guitar, you could crudely say he is the Latin American James Taylor. But that is not really a fair comparison. They are both masters.

Anyway, if you would like to hear more of Silvo's stuff, youtube his name/song or ask me.

Some other of my favorite titles are: Fabula de los tres hermanos, La era esta pariendo un corazon, El mayor, and Cita con angeles (one of his newer ones). I also have all his lyrics. Just email me so you can understand what he is going on about!

Who needs language labs anymore?

What a discovery I have made. The Internet is truly amazing. But, that's not news to you! Here's what is, though.

Go to babbel.com. There you can register and take tutorials. I am doing one now on greetings - the very thing we have been practicing in class. It uses click audio with neat color photos to help you get the idea.

When I was in university, none of this was imaginable. You've got no excuse now!

As I have said, this class will provide you with practice and resources to learn Spanish. You are already doing it, too...I mean learning Spanish. By spending your study time on the class blog and websites like this, you will not just improve your Spanish for class, but also for your life!

Hasta jueves!

Meet mrsberryspanish

As your teacher, one of the things that I will do in this class is provide you with resources to help you learn and understand Spanish. I am a resource, and other people you know who speak Spanish are a resource as well.

Thanks to the web, we can even have multiple teachers! Here is one I would like you to check out. Go to her youtube site at mrsberryspanish and start watching her stuff.

These short videos will help you learn body parts, animals, prepositions, and verbs...all very helpful. She looks like a nice teacher, doesn't she?

TPR and Language Acquisition

This 5-minute video describes the type of Spanish class we will have this semester.

If you would like to do some research, you can look up Dr. James Asher. He was the one who developed the Total Physical Response Method.

My favorite parts are...

1. Comprehensible Input
2. Stress-Free Environment
3. Right to be Silent

Hasta manana!

Lecture # 1 - Learning Languages

Hola! Welcome to a new semester of Spanish! I hope you are excited about....not taking a Spanish class.....but learning Spanish! I believe anyone can do it!

I am Señor Rivera, and I am happy to be your teacher. I speak 6 languages. I have been learning languages since I was a child. I have been teaching them for 15 years. This is my 10th year at Atlantic Union College. I am still a student with a lot to learn.

This class will be an experiment for you. You will receive a lot of information. Some of it you will understand; a lot of it you will not understand. How does that make you feel? Frustrated, perhaps? Well, don't fret about it. That is the way big people learn language - by being continually patient through the frustration, anger, confusion, and embarrassment! What spiritual training!

Yes, language learning can generate a lot of emotions. It is only normal. Think about when God confused the languages at the Tower of Babel. Some carpenter was asking for a hammer, and after repeating himself three times he got a set of dice instead. His assistant saw him shaking his hand and thought, "dice!"

Can you remember when you were a child, before you could speak...? Hard to remember, right? People would talk to you, and you would watch and listen. You never spoke. You only listened. You continued observing while your beautiful God-given brain began to make sense of what you saw and heard. All the while, you were preparing to imitate!

One day, it popped out..., "mama!", or "momma", or ..... whatever! And you've never looked back...

Learning a language is kind of like becoming a baby again! It is nothing like learning math, history, or any other subject. It is like trying to catch water, you know? You always miss some. But that's fine. You just need to know what to expect and roll with it.

You will develop a tolerance for ambiguity. It won't bother you not to understand every little thing or even most everything. In time, if you put in an honest effort, you will get the hang of it. It is something like riding a bike, hitting a tennis ball, or learning the guitar. It takes some time and patience, but the payoff is incredible! BUT...you have to put your heart into it. Otherwise, it will escape you. If you put your heart in it with patience, you will conquer it, poco a poco!

Understanding another language will open doors in your life that you cannot imagine. For me, it even got me a wife! You will hear that story one day, if you are good!

I love languages because I love people. Speaking someone's language is a unique way to reach them. Ask me about an article for you to read on this! Learning more about another person's culture and background gives you indispensable tools to work with. Read 1 Corinthians 9: 19-22 on this.

Hasta luego...