Musicals in Madrid? Check out Mas de 100 Mentiras!

If you want to get to know popular Spanish music or if you just want to enjoy your favourite singer, Mas de 100 Mentiras is the ideal musical for you. It takes its name from a track on Joaquin Sabina’s Esta boca es mía album and his other songs such as Pastillas para no sonar and Aves de paso provide the play’s music.

Writing a letter in Spanish

Once you have studied some Spanish with us at Inhispania and you begin to settle in Madrid, you may want to get a job to practice your Spanish; you might need to write to the bank; or you might just want to send a friendly letter to your new Spanish mates!

Tour Madrid in a Day

This is just one route I’ve tried and tested to fit as much as Madrid has to offer in one day. Unfortunately Madrid is the type of city where there is so much going on that you’re bound to miss something but try this:

Breakfast must be churros. You need all the energy you can get in Madrid, they’re delicious and you’re on holiday so calories don’t count. Churros are best compared to a waffle but deep fried and the hot chocolate is no ordinary melted chocolate; it’s like heaven in a bowl. I recommend Chocolat, c/ Santa Maria 30 (Metro Anton Martin) where the staff are personable, the food is delicious and the menu has photos so you know what to expect. Feel free to check out the famous chocolaterías such as San Gines but this little gem is cheaper (4.20 € for churros, chocolate and a café con leche).

What is the subjunctive and why is it so important?

21 years of speaking English and what can I say? I am a boss. I get it right every time. I suppose that’s what you get for being blessed with it as your mother tongue. I haven’t had to memorise our atrocious number of irregular verbs or struggle over pronouncing though (thoe), ought (awt), through (throo), tough (tuff), cough (coff) ...and, well, I could go on. I don’t pretend I’m not fortunate, given that everyone else seems to want to learn English and this “just knowing” is of no use to anyone when I have to explain the rules.

Alcala de Henares

Each week, we, the good folk of Inhispania, kindly organise a range of optional extra curricular activities for you, the students, to enjoy. These range from the more simple “Tapas en El Tigre” or a football match against the teachers to excursions to local places of interest such as Alcalá de Henares.

So here is a little background information to excite you ...

How to write a CV in Spanish!

A job or an internship is an excellent way to practice Spanish outside of your Spanish language course whilst gaining valuable work experience or just earning some extra money! To apply you will need a Spanish version of your CV (curriculum vitae) and a cover letter (carta de presentación) in Spanish. So here are our tips from Madrid on how to compose a successful application:

Spanish CVs are much easier to write than English or other CVs because they go into much less detail so don’t worry, it won’t be too difficult!

Monday Mornings in Madrid

I prefer to keep things fresh and exciting in my life because I’m cool, edgy, hip and happening like that. So each Monday, as I make my way to Inhispania’s sister school on Calle de las Infantas where we have extra classrooms and a top-notch student zone for our diligent students of Spanish, I take this opportunity to explore Madrid a little. The nearest metro stops to this school are Banco de España (line 2) and Gran Vía (lines 1 and 5) but as my nearest station is on line 3 (4 and 6, it’s a great station I won’t brag), I prefer to walk rather than lose time going out of my way and changing lines.

Toledo

Each week, we, the good folk of Inhispania, kindly organise a range of optional extra curricular activities for you, the students, to enjoy. These range from the more simple “Tapas en El Tigre” or a football match against the teachers to excursions to local places of interest such as Toledo.

So here is a little background information to excite you ...

Luis Miguel

Luis Miguel aka "El Sol de México" (The Sun of Mexico) or simply "El Sol" (The Sun) will be performing at the Palacio de Deportes on the 11^th and 12^th May 2012. His self-titled album celebrates his 30 years in music since his debut at 11 years old.

This Mexican native has won numerous Grammys, Latin Grammys, other awards and distinctions including this album achieving gold and platinum status in four countries, including the United States, within just three days of its release.

Personal “a” Guidelines

This tiny one letter word is important to remember because in English there is no difference in the structure of the following sentences:

I saw the book.
I saw John.

Whereas in Spanish this short preposition must precede the direct object if it is a specific person:

Vi el libro.
Vi a Juan.

This “a” is not translated into English, it normally means “to”.

Learn from Spanish cinema

Check out films like Historias del Kronen, Todo sobre mi madre and Abre los ojos:
What can you learn?
At Inhispania there is an extensive DVD collection including films such as these for you to peruse and enjoy. Learning Spanish isn’t just about grammar exercises; films are a perfect way to improve your listening skills and vocabulary. You can also learn about Spain’s culture and even discuss with the other students and our native Spanish teachers about interesting topics such as this example of the importance of the body in the films Historias del Kronen, Todo sobre mi madre and Abre los ojos.

How to get a NIE

The Spanish government requires you to have an official “Número de Identificación de Extranjeros”, more efficiently known as the NIE, if you want to conduct any sort of buying or selling in Spain. It is more important for real estate, cars, boats etc. but if you want to open a Spanish bank account, you will need one.