BACK TO SCHOOL! Clases de INGLÉS, FRANCÉS, PORTUGUÉS, Y SPANISH FOR EXPATS

¿Quién se prende a practicar? Inscribite ya!

¿Te acordás de tus primeros días de colegio?  Tenías muchas ganas de verlos a tus amigos. Planeaste qué te ibas a poner hasta tus zapatos y tu mochila nueva. Arrancaste re pilas en todas tus materias, y tenías muchas expectativas para el año.

Capaz que pasó mucho tiempo desde que tuviste tu primer día de clases, pero ¿por qué no aprovechás para seguir creciendo mentalmente, “experience language,” y reunirte con gente como vos, que quiere practicar y desarrollar un idioma?

En LV Studio ofrecemos una clase de inglès para vos. Fijáte el cronograma del 2012 de Palermo y verás la variedad de cursos como inglés básico, inglés comercial, hasta cursos de preparación del First (FCE), SAT y TOEFL. Las clases grupales del 2012 comenzarán en la segunda quincena de marzo (19). No te olvides de que siempre ofrecemos cursos individuales, y si no encontrás el curso grupal que buscás ¡nos avisás!

¿Por qué queremos que consideres AHORA cursos del 2012 en LV?

Siempre estás bienvenido en nuestro studio, pero ahora realmente vale la pena pasar a inscribirte. Si lo hacés durante el mes de febrero, te asegurás los precios del 2011, un ahorro de $1,000 a lo largo del año.

¿Qué podés esperar de nosotros?

• Cursos con profesores nativos
• Clases reducidas (siempre entre 3 a 6 alumnos, para máxima individualización y atención al estudiante)
• Servicios adicionales para desarrollar tu proceso de aprendizaje

Algunos servicios que ofrecemos:

Conversation Night

Podés caer cualquier noche viernes seas alumno o un amigo de la zona. Abonás $20 para una hora de conversación con estudiantes de niveles intermedios (en general) y charlan sobre temas que eligen tu profesor.

Eventos Sociales

Después siempre hacemos un evento social en donde podés practicar con estudiantes de inglés, portugués, y español en un ambiente tranquilo y diferente que el del aula.

Pronto tendremos confirmado el cronograma de clases para nuestra nueva sede de ABASTO. Stay tuned!!!

Looking for something to do this weekend?

Looking for something to do on this weekend? Celebrate carnival this long weekend by heading to Gualeguaychu! Located in the province of Entre Rios, and meaning ‘calm water river’ in Guarani, Gualeguaychu is the perfect gate-away for a weekend in the sun by the beach.

Arguably one of the best parties in Argentina, this weekend is not to be missed!  You can head there for Saturday night or for the whole weekend; from Retiro it’s only 3 hours away. While you are there you can lie on the beach, wander around, or eat at the many restaurants. You can also out the check out the parade (on Feb.18, 19, 20, 25 and March 3) or head to Solar del este camping where you can spend the night dancing on the beach.

The parade in Gualeguaychu is often compared to carnivals in Rio de Janeiro and Venice. Here are a few photos to get you excited!

If you can’t make it this weekend, and are looking for something to do in Buenos Aires, checkout free Milonga in La Boca or the Shakespeare festival, including Shakespeare in the park and Shakespeare by bike.  For the complete schedule click here.

And don’t worry, you still have two more weekends to check it out Gualeguaychu; the festivities last till March 3rd!

¡Feliz Día de los Enamorados! Valentine’s Day

Você vai ao Brasil? Aprenda a sambar e a falar português

  Cinco dicas para Sambar:

Nada de dançar para trás. A mulher tem que sambar para frente e para os lados.
Deixe o corpo relaxado e se solte.
Movimentar os quadris e os braços dá charme ao gingado.
Alongamento é fundamental antes e depois da folia.
Não acelere demais no ritmo.

Clique na página e aprenda:

Como surgiram os diferentes sotaques do Brasil?

As origens dos sotaques brasileiros estão na colonização do país feita por vários povos em diferentes momentos históricos. O português, como se sabe, imperou sobre os outros idiomas que chegaram por aqui, mas sofreu influências do holandês, do espanhol, do alemão, do italiano, entre outros.
É só reparar o sotaque e a região para lembrar os vários imigrantes que contribuíram para a história do país. No Sul, os alemães, italianos e outros povos vindos do leste europeu. No Rio Grande do Sul, acrescenta-se a estes a influência dos países de fronteira, de língua espanhola. São Paulo e sua grande comunidade italiana, misturada a pessoas vindas de várias partes do Brasil e do mundo; Pernambuco e os holandeses dos tempos de Mauricio de Nassau. Os exemplos são muitos e provam que os sotaques são parte da história da formação do país.
Por isso mesmo, não se pode dizer que haja um sotaque mais “correto” que outro. “Quem acha que fala um português sem sotaque, em geral não se dá conta de que também tem o seu próprio, já que ele caracteriza a variação linguística regional, comum a qualquer língua”.

5 Steps to Becoming More Porteño

Attention foreigners living in Buenos Aires! If you want to stop hearing ¨¿De dónde sos?¨ and start forging relationships with Porteños (or blend in!) –follow these 5 simple steps. Moving beyond language tips, these rules focus on basic yet subtle nuances of la Argentinidad, and will put you on the fast track to being a bit more Argento.

1. ¡Hablar con las manos!

Speak with your hands.

This is an art that will take some time to master, but if you are attuned to the way Porteños gesticulate, and mimic their infinite gestures, you will make some people laugh and be easily understood.

Are you upset about something? Want to get someone’s attention and express your frustration? Get close to your aggressor’s face and bring your fingertips together, lift those fingertips in front of your face and bounce them 2-3 times.

Complete this gesture while saying nothing to convey an ¨are you kidding me?¨ sentiment

You will likely accompany this gesture with the verbal ¨¿Pero qué te pasa?¨ or ¨¿De qué hablás?¨ What’s going on with you?/What are you talking about? It’s a very bold, aggressive move, so use with caution.

2. Chamuyar mucho, chat a lot!

Go where the Argentines go, sit in the park and have a mate, or slow down and linger over your coffee or food awhile. When in the company of Argentines, it is good to agree with them 75% and disagree 25%. Agreeing builds a mutual connection and trust, while disagreeing shows that you have the ability to “discutir” or argue. They love it! Don’t be a pushover, and grow some thick skin –the Porteños will undoubtedly argue right back.

3. Adapt to the schedules, and embrace your inner night owl

You may have heard it before, but everything gets started later here, and your schedule will likely be turned on its head once you arrive. Do you like eggs for breakfast? I didn’t think so, you love media lunas (croissants). Want to grab dinner at 7? Of course not, you prefer a 10 o’clock date.

4. Two simple words, use them often:

      Dale: Yes, for sure, definitely, sure thing, yeah!

Ejemplo: ¨¿Querés venir a tomar el té?¨ ¨¡Dale!¨

      Bueno: Okay, yeah, well, all right

Ejemplo: ¿Te sirvo más? Bueno (say it out loud now, bueeee-no, intonation fluctuates down on the “bue-” and up on the “-no”)

Disclaimer: These are simply affirmations that replace the typical “sí” used by the most basic Spanish speaker. Although they are somewhat interchangeable, as a rule of thumb use dale when you want to show more interest, and bueno any other time!

5. Love Argentina, without fail

Maybe you find it frustrating that you cannot get enough monedas (coins) together for the bus fare, and on your way out the door you stepped in dog poo, but keep on loving Argentina so it can love you back. Argentines are proud of their country, so if they ask you if you like Buenos Aires, the answer is clearly yes.

Inflation in Argentina

Even if you have only been living in Argentina for a couple of weeks, you will have noticed the effects of inflation (which is now reported at annual rate of 9.5% by the government). The fee tacked onto your ATM withdrawals has increased from $16.40 pesos to $17.25 pesos, the taxi fares have increased by about 26%, and restaurant menus throughout the city have prices scratched out and rewritten with adjustments for inflation.

But if these things have some how eluded you, then the lines and petitions outside of the subte this week must have certainly caught your attention. Wondering whats going on (besides the 127% price increase, of course!)?

This Friday, the Kirchner Administration turned over control of the subte network to the capital city government, while simultaneously halving the subsidies to $360 million pesos (or $83 million USD). These combined actions are what lead to the ticket increase from $1.10 pesos to $2.50 pesos.

Portenos waited in lines almost 60 persons deep on Thursday in an attempt to purchase bulk subte tickets before the price change went into effect. Unfortunately, it was not worth the wait as tickets were limited to two per person.

Outraged by the sudden change, the public has taken to protesting the price increases with signature petitions at major subte stops (such as 9 de Julio and Catedral). So if someone approaches you with a clip-board and pen in hand, you know what they are asking for!

Post any photos or thoughts that you have on the subte crisis in Buenos Aires!

DIY Empanada Party!!

Empanadas are everywhere in Argentina. In fact, you would be very hard pressed to find a street corner that doesn’t have a small hole-in-the-wall pizza/empanada shop. There are an endless number of flavors and regional cooking variations, so there is literally a perfect empanada for every occasion and time of day!!

We recently did a post on our favorite empanadas in Buenos Aires (click here to view), and it seemed to get a lot of attention from our followers. As a result, we have decided to sponsor an event (with the help of Bs As food-blogger, TheGrubDaily, and expat foodie forum, KitchenParty.org), teaching you how to make your own empanadas.

The event will take place on January 20th, 2012 at 8:30 pm near the Alto Palermo Shopping Center. To RSVP or receive more details on the event, please click on the link below:

http://www.kitchenparty.org/en/kitchenparty.php?p=MTA5

Hope to see you all at our 7pm conversation night before the dinner party!! If not, we still want you to join us for empanadas!

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En Argentina, las empanadas están en todas partes. De hecho, no hay una esquina de la calle su una pequeña tienda de pizzas y empanadas.    Hay muchas sabores y métodos de preparación, por lo que es una empanada perfecta para cada ocasión y momento del día!!

Recientemente, se hizo un post en nuestro empanadas favoritas en Buenos Aires (clic acá para leer), y recibió una gran cantidad de atención por parte de nuestros seguidores. Como resultado, hemos decidido patrocinar un evento (con la ayuda de Bs As food-blogger, TheGrubDaily, y forum de expatriados, KitchenParty.org), que muestran cómo hacer su propio empanadas!!

El evento se llevará a 20 de Enero, 2012 a las 20:30 hrs cerca de Alto Palermo Shopping Center. Para reservar su lugar, clic en la link abajo:

http://www.kitchenparty.org/en/kitchenparty.php?p=MTA5

 

Beerlingual Trivia Nights!

Trivia + Beer + Spanglish = Beerlingual

Are you looking for a great way to meet new people and practice language outside of the classroom?

Then sign up for a Beerlingual Trivia night, hosted weekly in the heart of Palermo at Sugar Bar (a favorite among local expats!). A designated quizmaster will ask various questions, linking American and Argentine culture, and groups will compete to respond in a mix of Spanglish. You’ll have fun, learn a little but about Buenos Aires, and the win cool prizes such as bar tabs, event passes, and delicious treats!

Don’t speak Spanish?

Don’t worry! Some questions will be in all English and the purpose is to meet people and have fun. Let your group members help you!!

The check-in opens at 7 pm and continues until 7:30 pm. Be there early and bring exact change (30 pesos) to avoid the line! Please, just remember to RSVP before the event by sending an e-mail to info@beerlingual.com.

The events are normally held on Tuesday nights, but there will be one tonight, January 5th, at Sugar Bar @ 7 pm. We will be there and anyone that is interested in attending can meet us there!

Hope to see you tonight!

New Classes!!

Did you know that UNESCO has officially declared Portuguese as the fastest growing European language behind English and Spanish, estimating that it has the highest potential growth as an international language in South America and Southern Africa?

We couldn’t ignore this startling statistic, so we have decided to add Portuguese to our list of course offerings at LV Studio! Portuguese classes and translations are now available with our native Brazilian teachers, coordinated by our head of department, Jose Texeira.

To ring in the new year, LV Studio is offering a variety of intensive English, Spanish, and Portuguese classes beginning mid-January of 2012. We have had a great deal of interest so far and we are starting to form group classes with enrolled students. We don’t want any of you to miss out, so please contact us if you are interested in taking classes!!

Below is a link to our new website with course descriptions, dates, and prices (be sure to check out our promotions!!):  http://www.lvstudioweb.com

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¿Sabías que la UNESCO declaró que el portugués es el idioma europeo que más está creciendo en el mundo, luego del inglés y el español? Se estima que el potencial de crecimiento es más alto en Sudamérica y el sur de África.

Es imposible ignorar esta estadística tan sorprendente, por eso decidimos agregar el portugués a nuestra lista de cursos grupales en LV Studio! Ofrecemos cursos de portugués y traducciones a nuestros profesores nativos brasileños, con la coordinación del Departamento por José Teixeira.

Para dar la bienvenida al nuevo año, LV Studio está ofreciendo una variedad de cursos intensivos de inglés portugués y español, desde mediados de enero 2012. Hemos despertado el interés de varios y ya comenzamos a formar grupos. No queremos que te lo pierdas, así que comunicate con nosotros si te interesa tomar clases!

Abajo está el link a nuestro nuevo sitio web, con la descrpción de los cursos, fechas y precios (fijate en nuestras promociones!!):  http://www.lvstudioweb.com

Transport to EZE Airport From the Center of BA

Getting to and from the EZE airport without paying an arm and a leg can be quite a challenge these days. Taxi is the most common transport method taken by travelers, but the cab fares in Buenos Aires seem to be increasing steadily on weekly basis (and my paycheck certainly isn’t keeping up!). In fact, my newest budget tactic is staying out until morning when I do go out at night, so that I can take the subte back home rather than pay for a cab (subte opens at 5 am by the way!).

However, today I find myself facing the airport dilemma–asking locals for the cheapest remis companies, Googling alternative routes of transportation, and seriously contemplating the idea of hitch hiking. But good news….

There IS a cheaper alternative to taxis!!!

If you need to get to the EZE airport, take a bus to the Manuel Tienda Leon Station in Retiro. From here, a bus shuttle leaves every 30 minutes for the airport. You can make a reservation online (click here) or show up 30 minutes in advance to book your spot. The average cost is approximately $60 AR pesos for the shuttle, which is a steal compared to the $160+ cab fare it would cost (and of course this is the native Porteno cost, not factoring in the tourist tax that many cab drivers will hit you with!!).

Happy travels and safe flights for New Years everyone!!