Che! Dame los cinco - #3

Che! Cómo andas?

Welcome to the third issue of the “Che! Dame los cinco” newsletter.

For the new folks joining us, I send these 5 things for you every Monday morning:

1. a new word

2. a piece about Argentinian culture

3. a new expression

4. a piece of content I recommend

5. an exercise for improving your Spanish

📖 Palabra - bárbaro

Stupendous or extraordinary. I like to think this is used when otherwise you might say “amazing” or “incredible.”

una cena bárbara
un muchacho bárbaro

🧉 Cultura - fernet

One of the most popular alcoholic drinks in Argentina is fernet. People usually mix it with Coke and ice. I think it tastes like jägermeister. Kinda minty, takes some adjusting to get used to.

Fun fact: Argentina is the only other place it’s made outside of Italy! If you’re in the US, you can buy it at places like Total Wine. Here’s a recipe if you fancy making one.

🗨️ Expresión - ¿viste?

This is very common to hear in conversation. It roughly translates to sabes or in English, “you know?” Next time you’re listening to someone speak from Argentina, pay close attention and see how they use this.

🔗 Contenido - Nicolas de Tracy

Oh my gosh, this guy is freaking hilarious! He’s a standup comedian in Argentina. I love his videos for two reasons. First, it seems like most of his bits are based off the audience. He’ll call on someone, ask a question, and then get the crowd laughing based on something they share. It makes every show he does unique.

Second, his videos are a mix of his standup plus a vlog. So you’ll watch a part of his show then it’ll show part of his travels to whatever city he was performing at that week. It makes it really interesting. Oh and added bonus, lots of his shows have subtitles so it’s friendly for non-natives like us.

💪🏼 Ejercicio - vlogging

A month ago I started vlogging as way to practice speaking more. I kept it very simple: every day during the work-week, turn on my camera and talk about something for at least 2mins. Over 28 videos later, I’m starting to see noticeable improvement in my speaking. This is a comment from one of my videos! So as you can imagine, I’m a big believer in this method! Even if you don’t feel comfortable making these videos public, they’ll serve as artifacts for you to visually see and hear your progress. I mean heck, look how terrible my Spanish was 10 years ago! (and at the time, I thought it was good!).

Thanks for reading! Espero que disfrutes la semana 😄

Abrazo desde tu amigo,
- Joe