Visual Link Spanish(TM) Newsletter - Volume 6 Issue 21

Current # of Subscribers: 173,162

This issue:
1. Testimonial
2. Weekly Spanish Lesson - “Numbers”
3. Words of the Week
4. Ask Dave Section - “Se pasive - more advanced verb module type”
5. Culture Lesson - “The Cold-Fish and Other Important Handshakes”
6. Responses to Past Newsletters

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Visual Link Spanish(TM) Testimonial –
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Hi Dave,

I am half-way through the Level 1 Spanish Course and have nothing but
praise for it. I have wanted to learn Spanish for Thirty Years. I am
finally doing it with your program. . . . [Three Months Later, Jim
wrote back.] My wife and I just spent 10 days in Cancun [Mexico]. I
had just completed about 80% of your Spanish Level 1 course. My wife
couldn’t believe how well I did with communicating with everyone from
bell boys to sales people to folks at the airport. I want to
personally thank you again for such a great course…

Jim Schulz

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Weekly Spanish Lesson—Numbers
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For the weekly lesson this week, click below to learn numbers from
1-62. You’ll hear María from Mexico model each number.

To check it out, click here:
http://www.spanishprograms.com/learn/numbers.htm

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Words of the Week
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Taken from our complete CD-ROM course —–

Monday / How are things? / ¿Qué tal?
Tuesday / How are things going? / ¿Cómo le va?
Wednesday / How are you? / ¿Cómo está (usted)?
Thursday / Fine / Bien
Friday / Fine, thanks / Bien, gracias
Saturday / More or less / Más o menos
Sunday / Bad / Mal

Click Here to login and access your free membership and lessons.
http://www.spanishprograms.com/login.phtml

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The Official “Ask Dave” Section —–
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Question

Hi Dave

This is the second Spanish course I have purchased for friends over
the past month

I have sent this email to you to find out where I get information on
the use of the passive voice and imperfect subjunctive tense.

Can you help or pass this to someone who can.

Thank you in advance,

Iain gray

Lesson/Explanation

Hola Iain,

Probably the best resource I can recommend to learn about “imperfecto
de subjuntivo” is a book called “501 Spanish Verbs” published by
“Barron’s”. If you don’t already have it, it is a great resource for
around $15.

Here are just a few examples of the “se pasiva”. To form it, you
simply conjugate the verb for “Ud.”, and put a “se” before it.

Shoes are sold here / Se venden zapatos aquí
Where is it made? / ¿Dónde se hace?
How is it done?/How do you do it? / ¿Cómo se hace?
How is it eaten?/How do you eat it? / ¿Cómo se come?
How is it learned?/How do you learn it? / ¿Cómo se aprende?

Hopefully this lesson helps answer your question.

Hasta luego,

Dave

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Culture —– The Cold-Fish and Other Important Handshakes
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As I have mentioned in previous newsletters, when Latin Americans
greet each other, they almost always shake hands, hug or kiss each
other. It’s important to know about this cultural difference so you
aren’t thrown off by your first few greetings when visiting Latin
America.

As I have mentioned, when women who are friends or relatives greet
each other, they usually give each other a kiss on the cheek. Men
greeting women, in a casual non-business setting, will also give each
other a kiss on the cheek. When men greet men in a similar setting,
they will often give each other a handshake and/or a hug. The key is
to be aware of the different greetings and follow the lead of the
Latin person you are greeting. Latin people that have lived in the
U.S. for a while usually have adopted U.S. customs when greeting
Americans.

Now the important question of the day is, what happens when you are
in a more formal setting, where you would normally shake hands, but
the woman you are going to greet is carrying things in her arms? What
should you do? This happens frequently and because of it, an
interesting cultural norm has been created.

First see if you can guess the correct answer for this situation:

a. Avoid eye contact because it could be embarrassing if she couldn’t
shake your hand.

b. Offer to shake her hand anyway. Handshakes are so important that
she will probably put everything down to shake your hand.

c. Shake her forearm.

d. Just wave to her and wink (but only in a politically correct way).

And…the correct answer is - (I’ll keep you in suspense for a
minute; please scroll down for the answer.)

The correct answer is “d. Shake her forearm”. Forearm handshakes were
so common in Latin America that it seemed like I shook a woman’s
forearm almost daily. The first time it happened to me, the lady put
out her forearm and I had no idea what she was doing. It was a little
embarrassing for both of us. Later on, I realized that you actually
shake her forearm when that happens.

Now to the art of forearm shaking: Gently grab the forearm a few
inches down from the elbow with a few fingers and your thumb. Very
gently move your hand up and down a few times. CAUTION: Don’t give a
“strong” forearm shake or make jerking movements up and down as you
could cause the person to drop everything they are carrying!

Changing the subject just a little, the first time you shake a Latin
woman’s hand, and she isn’t holding anything in her arms, be prepared
for a surprise. Unlike Latin America, when I shake men’s and women’s
hands in the U.S., they usually use a very strong grip. Some U.S.
women even have stronger grips than some U.S. men. However, this is
not so in Latin America. Men usually use a strong grip, but women
generally leave their hand still and sort of limp. When you shake
their hands, they don’t grip at all. It reminds me of shaking a “cold
fish”. The first time I shook one of their hands, I tried to get a
better grip, then realized that she was making no effort to grip my
hand.

At first, I thought this cultural difference was maybe just a
phenomenon in the country I was living in. Then I went to live in
another Latin American country and the same thing happened. Recently,
I met a neighbor here in the U.S. who is originally from Guatemala,
just south of Mexico, when I shook her hand it was the same as every
other “cold-fish” handshake I had experienced in Latin America. If
anyone knows the reason behind this cultural phenomenon, please let
us know why they shake hands in this intriguing way.

If you are not prepared for this type of handshake, it can be very
shocking the first time you experience it. It can make you wonder if
you have offended the person whose hand you are shaking or if
everything is okay. But if you realize it’s simply part of the
culture, you’ll be prepared for it.

It is my understanding that Latin businesswomen don’t do this
handshake as much as the average housewife. If you, our newsletter
subscribers, have any insights on this as well as how handshakes are
done around the world, please write us. We would love to hear your
feedback.

Moral of the Story: This is a cultural difference that can really
catch you off guard if you’re not ready for it. Be prepared for it
and you’ll do great. Be sure to practice the “forearm handshake” on a
friend.

Sneak peek at next week: “The Tacaño Hand Gesture”

¡Hasta luego! (”Until later”)

David S. Clark — President / Director
Visual Link Spanish(TM)
Fun, Interactive Spanish Courses
http://www.spanishprograms.com
dave_c@spanishprograms.com

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Responses to Past Newsletters
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Hello,

Hi Dave My husband is from Venezuela, he has given me a few pet names
for you to pass on to everyone, if you like.

Mami

Cariño

mi vida

mi cielo

gordita

bebe

There are more, of course it depends on the country.

Nancy

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