Describe Your Least Favorite Ex to a Lawyer

Half of 2024 has passed! How are you doing? Me, I feel great but am still behind on my annual goals!

Thanks to those of you who joined the You Have Homework community this past month. ¡Bienvenid@s!

This month’s newsletter includes:

🔓 A cultural reference from Mexico

⏰ Does it matter when you do your language learning practice?

🔎 Learn some advanced nuances of Spanish

🗃️ A free download

🔓Ugh, that guy…

If you’ve been with me for a while, then you know I’ve picked up a lot of interesting Spanish from the podcast La magia del caos. In a recent episode (Ep 93 with Dra. Marimar Guerra at ~39:30), a name caught my attention: Juan Camaney. Who is this guy and what does he have to do with being young and irresponsible with spending too much time in the sun, despite the future damage to your skin?

A quick google search lead to this article from Mexico Desconocido:

De ahí que Juan Camaney tuviera tanto éxito encarnando el prototipo del macho mexicano de colonia popular: improvisado, aventado, mujeriego y alburero, que siempre salía bien librado, a pesar de sus defectos. De hecho, en la actualidad, nuestros abuelos aún dicen que fulano de tal se siente “Muy Juan Camaney” para referirse a alguien que se cree la gran cosa.

I’ll let you translate that on your own, but the gist is Juan Camaney was a character popular in the 1980s and 1990s, created by the comedian Luis de Alba. BTW, you can practice using the verb phrases salir bien librado and creerse la gran cosa in chapters 3 and 4, respectively, in The Verb Drill Workbook.

All About My Book, The Spanish Verb Drill Workbook

Download a free sample!

You Have HomeworkChloe

Another two notes: first, remember those descriptors for the PDF download linked below. And second, do you know who “Fulano de tal” is?

⏰ Exercise time

It’s pretty interesting to observe how my practice times affect my ability to communicate. For whatever reason, it’s more difficult for me to speak fluidly when I study Spanish before I go out. I have a feeling my brain/anxiety just needs time to sort out new communication methods.

So now I’m adjusting my schedule to let my brain make those connections while I sleep. I try to review the things I already know during daylight hours, and do more mental heavy lifting after the sun goes down. And on many nights I’ve had to remind myself that I really can spare a minute before I go to bed to do the smallest amount of Spanish practice.

I’m all about helping people discover their own methods of learning – have you experimented with practicing at different times of day?

🔎 This or that from the RAE

Recently in my Spanish-language news feed I saw a publication posting daily grammar tips that were originally created by the Real Academia Española under the theme of Dudas rápidas. If you have Instagram or Twitter, why not see the original posts as they come out? 

The battle of he frito / he freído on Instagram drew some interesting comments, including some people reminding the Academy that he fritado exists in the language. 

I think something we, as language learners, need to remind ourselves about is that saying the “wrong” regional term is not wrong at all. Sometimes I feel kind of stupid for saying a word, then seeing the other person’s face gets confused until they find the synonym in their native vocabulary.

But I realized it’s no big deal and hasn’t stopped me from trying to spice up my lexicon…

🗃️ Get out your coloring pencils

Or use Procreate/Infinite Painter/etc.

I created a fun download to practice expanding your adjective list, as well as practice using ser vs estar (and sentirse).

I think it’s useful for me to link colors with new ideas, because memorization doesn’t work for me. If I think “orange is associated with happy,” I can see in my mind words I’ve grouped together, like dichoso, alegre, afortunado, and any other new “happy” word I’ve learned.

💡🙃⛈️

By the way, my Spanish Rs still stink. While strolling through the Parque Forestal in Santiago, I asked my friends if ¡caray! could be an equivalent to my favorite English interjection, “goodness!” They scrunched up their noses and said it didn’t sound like a real word when I said it. 

Caramba…

I’ve officially launched a paid tier of my newsletter/website – $3/month or $30/year. The premium members will get three more emails each month, including the occasional homework download. Consider signing up if my work has helped you get better at learning Spanish and you want to support the growth of this brand.

¡Hasta luego!

Chloe

Founder, You Have Homework