¡Hola! ¿Cómo Estás?

Spanish is such a helpful language to learn since so many people around the world speak it. I take Spanish at my school and this is my first year of taking it. I am very good at it and my grades show it. I currently have a 99.76% (rounded up to 100%) in Spanish and I love learning it. I thought that I could teach everyone some basic spanish in case you encounter yourself in a Spanish-speaking country such as Puerto Rico. Here are some of the basics:

Before even starting, you'll need to know how to pronounce Spanish. I recommend Googling how yourself or using this website to show you how (notify me if it does not work).

Now first off, you need to know your articles...

In English, we have "the," "a," and "an." To pluralize them, we say "the" and "some." For Spanish, every noun has to be conjugated into masculine nouns and femenine nouns. Examine this chart of definite articles:

I've organized it into masculine/feminine and singular/plural because in Spanish, nouns always have to agree in number and gender. Here are some examples:

- un cuaderno (a notebook)

- una regla (a ruler)

- unos deportes (some sports)

- unas frutas (some fruits)

Now, let's take a look at the indefinite articles (the):

This is organized in the same pattern. Here are some more examples:

- el libro (the book)

- la pizza (the pizza)

- los juegos (the games)

- las mesas (the tables)

Let's take a look at the definite articles again. Notice how when a word ends in "o" that the definite article is masculine? "Cuaderno" is masculine because it ends in "o." The same thing applies to feminine words; instead of "o," it is an "a." Look at "regla" for example. It ends with the letter "a" showing that it is feminine. Now if you were to pluralize these, you either add an "s" or "es." "cuaderno" to "cuadernos" and "un" would be changed to "unos." "unos cuadernos" is a complete phrase because it agrees in number (unos cuadernos) and gender (unos cuadernos). Get it?

However, not always will a noun end in "o" or "a." Take a look at "unos deportes." The singular form of this is "deporte." How are you supposed to know that it is masculine? You just have to know. There is no trick to knowing. When in doubt, just use the masculine form.

Now let's take a look at the indefinite articles. Everything that was stated before applies with the indefinite articles. "el" and "la" are singular. "los" and "las" are plural. "el" and "los" are masculine and "la" and "las" are feminine.

Second, we will learn what the personal pronouns are.

There is not much explaining needed for this if you look closely. The black indicates the Spanish word and the green indicates what it means in English. I have it organized in a certain order and you'll see why soon...

Next, we're going to learn how to conjugate verbs. When saying a verb in Spanish, it needs to be conjugated to direct who you are saying it about/to. For the verb, "cantar" which means "to sing," there are six conjugations for that verb. Let's take a look:

See how I have it organized in the same pattern as the personal pronouns? I showed you that "yo" means "I" in Spanish. It was located at the top left of my diagram. Now, if we look at the conjugations of "cantar," we see that "canto" matches the same spot. So, if you say, "Yo canto," you are saying "I sing." Look at "canta." Three words can go along with it. If you say "Ella canta," you are saying "she sings." With "canto," only one word matches it - "yo," which means "I." You could say just "canto" and people will know you are saying "I sing" because it has only one matching word. However, with "canta," there are three possibilities - "él, ella, or usted" (usted is the formal version of "you" and is usually used with someone like a professor, elder, someone older than you, etc.). For this conjugation, you MUST state if it is he, she, or you sings unless it is obvious who you are talking about (like if you were pointing at them and you say it). If you take a look at "nosotros" and "nosotras," they each have the "o" and the "a." Can you take a guess what that means? Well, if you said that they refer to different genders, then you are correct! If you have a group of females, say "nosotras." If you have a group of males OR a group of males AND females, say "nosotros." It works the same way with "vosotros" and "vosotras." Just remember never to use those unless you are in Spain because other Spanish speaking countries do not speak using "vosotros/as." To summarize what I just said, look below:

Most other verbs follow the same pattern:

nadar (to swim)

nado (I swim)

nadas (You swim)

nada (he/she/formal you swim)

nadamos (we swim)

nadáis (you all swim (in Spain only))

nadan (they/you all swim)

bailar (to dance)

bailo (I dance)

bailas (You dance)

baila (he/she/formal you dance)

bailamos (we dance)

bailáis (you all dance (in Spain only))

bailan (they/you all dance)

querer (to want)

quiero (I want)

quieres (You want)

quiere (he/she/formal you want)

queremos (we want)

queréis (you all want (in Spain only))

quieren (they/you all want)

necesitar (to need)

necesito (I need)

necesitas (You need)

necesita (he/she/you formal need/s)

necesitamos (we need)

necesitáis (you all need (in Spain only))

necesitan (they/you all need)

...Those are only a few of the million of verbs you can use.

Finally, it is time to create sentences.

Necesito un lápiz. - I need a pencil.

Él quiere la pizza - He wants the pizza.

Ellas necesitan unas frutas - They (feminine) need some fruits.

See how it works?!!?

Hopefully, you figured out by looking at my diagrams on how to speak a little bit of Spanish. Here is a little extra in case you just want to know more:

Hola - Hello

Me gusta - I like (I am pleased with)

¿Cómo estás? - How are you?

Estoy bien - I feel (am) good

¿De dónde eres? - Where are you from?

Soy de _____ - I am from _____

Hasta luego - See you later

My question for this week is...

Do you get it? Would you like me to make more Spanish teaching posts?

Song Made With Four Chords

I recalled a comedy rock band from Australia over the past week. This comedy rock band goes by the name of "Axis of Awesome" and they are an amazing group. They are mainly known for their song, "Four Chord Song" that you can find at the end of this post. Axis of Awesome has three members who are Jordan Raskopoulos, Lee Naimo, and Benny Davis. They are favorited by me for their talent and creativeness.

The Four Chord Song explains to everyone that many pop songs today and in the past only use four chords making it "dead simple to write a pop hit." By manipulating song tempos and tweaking keys of songs, you can play the four chords and form a song. Some songs you can play are as follows:

"Poker Face" - Lady Gaga
"Don't Stop Believin'" - Journey
"Forever Young" - Alphaville
"You're Beautiful" - James Blunt
"I'm Yours" - Jason Mraz
"Happy Ending" - Mika
"Amazing" - Alex Lloyd
"Wherever You Will Go" - The Calling
"Can You Feel the Love Tonight" - Elton John
"Let It Be" - The Beatles
"Under The Bridge" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
"Kids" - MGMT
"Superman" - Five For Fighting

...and many more...


Some of you may be wondering... what four chords do they play? Well, it depends what key you play it in. The easiest key to play it in is C. The four chords are C, G, Am. and F (or, at least that's what I think). In their official 2011 music video, they use D, A, Bm, and G (please correct me if I am wrong). Be aware that their song does have a bit of some language not suitable for some of youth.

Here is their AMAZING video of them playing their song:

Go visit their website!

http://www.axisofawesome.net/

My question for this week is...

Are there any songs that YOU can think of that fit with just four chords?



REMINDER!!!!!!!

THIS CONTEST ENDS AT THE END OF MARCH!!! SO, ENTER BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!!!!!

Valentine's Day is Just a Scam Put Out by the Greeting Card Companies

The previous week hosted the day of love - Valentine's Day. For some, maybe it wasn't love, but loneliness.

I hate how people act like they're happy to be single, when really they are desperate. Either you are buying some chocolates and roses for your sweetheart or you are sitting in bed bawling your eyes out. I could see, being single is happy and blissful - no one to watch out for always, etc.

For me, I'm single on Valentine's Day (thank God!). I just don't think that anyone in middle school should date. I guarantee that 99.99% of all relationships in middle school will not last forever. Personally I think people should start dating in high school or college. Kids my age may think they are all love experts and know what they're doing, but I completely disagree.

While remaining a single soul on Valentine's Day, I wrote the word, "S.A.D." on my hand. "S.A.D." stands for Single Awareness Day. I had so many others do the same, that practically half the school was 'sad.' I just find it funny how someone thought up an acronym for the word, 'sad.' Let's just say, my Valentine's Day was very funny and not very romantic.

My question for this week will be...

How was your Valentine's Day?

REMINDER!!! THIS CONTEST ENDS AT THE END OF MARCH!!!!!!!

Entertainment VS. Lives?

Pro-star athletes are making millions of dollars a year while firefighters and teachers are getting less than one percent of that a year. Is this fair? If not, who's to blame? The athletes themselves? The broadcasters? Society in general?

On Monday of this past week, my English class, including the teacher, was talking about the Superbowl which was the night before. I was glad that my favorite team, the New York Giants won. GO GIANTS! Anyway, my teacher had showed the class what these athletes are getting paid. We were appalled with what we saw.

http://images.free-extras.com/pics/f/football_player-961.jpg

We discovered teachers, firefighters, and police officers make less than one percent of the average athlete. Each one makes around $30,000-50,000. This is ridiculous. I can't believe that America looks forward to entertainment rather than education. Education is much more valuable that entertainment. Surgeons save lives every day, yet they are being paid around $200,000 a year, which is a lot, but not as much as an athlete. How can entertainment be more important than education?!!?

One story we heard from our class was that one pro athlete was unable to play for a season and nearly went broke. He complained about not being able to pay the insurance on his EIGHT cars. That's right - EIGHT CARS. Boo hoo! Some Americans can't even afford a single car! Although it is everyone's fault that we are all greedy, this is unbelievable that this guy who makes millions a year is complaining about a low salary.

The PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA... IS GETTING PAID $400,000 A YEAR... MUCH LESS THAN AN ATHLETE! The president you may say does have a lot of perks - free food, service, entertainment, etc., but our country is all dependent on HIM! He has all of the country's problems to deal with which could change the world! And what is he getting paid for this? A whopping $400,000! What a disgrace! Eli Manning, a quarterback for the New York Giants, gets paid nearly $8.5 million a year!

Let's try and focus and figure out who is to blame. Is it the athletes? After all, they are the main topic of this post. Or how about the fans? We are the ones who pay to see their games. Whatever we are willing to pay is what the stars get. Possibly it is the broadcasters of these games, giving us as a society something entertanining to watch. s you can tell, salaries for athletes are exorbitant and should be reduced.

My question for this week is...

Who's fault do you think it is for the overly-exorbitant salaries for pro-athletes?

REMINDER!!! THIS CONTEST ENDS AT THE END OF MARCH!!!!!!!

Talents

Everyone has one. It's one other thing that makes a person unique. Some people may have many, some may have few to one. Talents could be singing, dancing, skate-boarding, instrument-playing, and hot dog chugging.

One of my talents is saxophone playing... Specifically alto sax. I'm not much of a sports jock, and I love to play instruments. I am a part of my school's jazz band as an Alto I, which is the highest position for our saxophones.

This week, I recorded myself playing the "Ending Theme" to the classic video game, Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64. It's a very melodic piece that I love. Many people may think of video game music to be very much like trance or techno music, but Super Mario 64 had an exquisite selection of wonderful music matching with the perfect level in the game. This game is from 1996 and it is a very great game with magnificent gameplay and nostalgic themes. I would prefer to play this game versus Call of Duty or anything from the xBox ANY day.

Here is the video of myself playing the "Ending Theme."

Here is the original song uploaded by YouTube user Atello93 (please notify me if the video does not play).

I know this song very well because I have played the game it came from many times. When I first got the sheet music, I started sight reading right away and I could play it perfectly after a couple of tries. It did not take long for me to accomplish playing this song. It is truly one of my favorite pieces of music to listen to.

I changed the key of the original with a program called Audacity to match the key of my alto saxophone. Sheet music was downloaded and printed from here if anyone would like to get sheet music.

So my question for this week is...

What is your talent that was gifted to you?

REMINDER!

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER THE CONTEST FROM CHALLENGE TIME #2! CONTEST ENDS IN MARCH!!!!!!!

Amazing Opportunities Within Schools

I had the most awesome feeling over last week. At my school, a new opportunity passed in the school board allowing students to bring their electronic devices with wi-fi capabilities to classes in school for educational use. I asked my English teacher if I could use my iPod Touch to take notes and she said, "Go right ahead!" I felt pompous that I was the only kid in the class with an electronic device taking NOTES! I think that it is an amazing opportunity for kids today to be able to take notes using their devices. It still gets the job done, but it gives kid the chance to be able to use their devices to their advantage. Not only can kids take notes, but also connect to the school's new wi-fi for Internet access. This works on all devices with wi-fi capabilities including iPod, iPad, Kindle, Laptop, etc

http://www.prlog.org/11159928-cheap-apple-ipod-touch-64-gb-for-sales.jpg

There are a couple of downsides to all of this though, one especially being that kids may play games instead of take notes. The thing is, if kids are connected to the wi-fi, they are giving the permission to the school to allow them to track what you do, so if they see you goofing off, they can track it back to your device. To me, it is much easier for me to type notes than it is to write them out since it saves paper and saves my hand from hurting. Even though this is a strict policy, it is also very beneficial to the students.

So the question of the week is...

What are your thoughts on this opportunity?

Judaism

Many people have been commenting on my last post about the contest, "are you Jewish?" Let me tell you. Yes, I am. Just because I am however, doensn't mean you should judge me or anyone that follows my religion. You also mustn't think that I am VERY religious just because I am Jewish. I thought since that most others are not Jewish that it would be interesting for you to learn a little about it and a little about me and my Jewish life.

When you think of Judaism, you may think, Israel, Hebrew, or even "ponytails." All of that is true about Judaism (while others could debate about the "ponytails" part). Israel is the mecca of Judaism where most Jews in the world live. Hebrew is their native language, and most prayers are written in Hebrew. When I said ponytails, I was referring to Orthodox Jews who strictly follow the rules of Adonai our God. I've been a Jew ever since I was born, and I still don't know why Orthodox Jews have curly-cued sideburns. The reason I do not know is because I am actually a Reform Jew.

In Hebrew, you read right to left, which some may find extremely difficult. Either I find this easy, or it was inherited from my ancestors. For people that can speak fluent Hebrew, they do not need vowels when they write or read. For others like me, I need vowels to read as they help me pronounce the word. I'm not fluent in Hebrew, so don't think that I can speak a full two languages... For our services at my Temple/Synagogue, we use vowels always when reciting prayers or reading a section of Hebrew. The only case where we do not read with vowels is if someone knows the material really well or if we are reading from the Torah. Overall, Hebrew comes easy to me.

I am at the age where I am studying for my Bar Mitzvah which is coming up on March 24th (the day after my birthday!) and I am really excited. A Bar Mitzvah, or Son of the Commandment, is a Jewish ceremony welcoming children as young adults in to the Jewish community. The age that kids receive a Bar/Bat Mitzvah (B'nei Mitzvah for both genders) is usually on their 13th birthday. For me, there is a lot of responsibility when becoming a Bar Mitzvah. The main goal of a Bar Mitzvah is not just to receive gifts and party - it is to be able to lead a congregation in worship and be welcomed in to the Jewish community as an adult. I have to learn four Aliyot (plural of Aliyah) which is a paragraph from the Torah (or as Christians may call the Old Testament) written in Hebrew. I also need to know how to read them without vowels and look for little cues that help you remember the word. I also need to be able to conduct a whole worship service with lines of Hebrew, English readings, etc. all in front of a congregation of over 100 people that I may or may not know. I have a terrible issue with stage freight, and I hope by the time that my Bar Mitzvah comes, I will be ready.

Now, when you are arguing with someone, never argue about religion or politics. I'm just sharing more information. Most people in the world are of Christian descent or are a sect of Christianity. According to my History teacher, a little more than 0.02% of the world's population is Jewish. Our class had a lesson on religion and practices, and she showed us this pie chart:

http://paulmarcelrene.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/rel_pie.gif

She showed us the chart and explained a bit of each of them. When she went to Judaism, she explained it as "a dieing religion" and "not as popular as it used to be." Coming from the only Jew in the class, that really offended me. It is NOT a dieing religion and it is GROWING! Let's take a look at what factor caused Judaism to decrease...

Wars. The holocaust was the worst war the Jews have faced. I do not want to argue all about the holocaust, but for people that are new to the subject, it was a drastic war that had killed over 6,000,000 Jews. If those Jews survived, Judaism would be as popular as any other religion. I do not want to summarize the holocaust for everyone, so if you would like to know more, Google it or do something in that nature.

The main difference between Judaism and Christianity is obviously that Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is the messiah or the expected deliverer of Judaism. Christians are the ones who believe that Jesus is God's son, but also God himself, which I do not yet completely understand and hope to understand soon. To me, Judaism seems like the most neutral and practical religion. If you think about it, everyone has the opportunity to believe what they want. Whomever believes in a God, which most people should, then wouldn't Judaism be well suited for that? It's simple; we have a God, we have holy books, and we have holidays. Possibly, there was never a messiah, or never any God (I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS AT ALL I AM JUST SAYING TO PROVE A POINT)! What I'm trying to say is, if there was no religion at all, no anything, but you still needed something to believe in, Judaism would be the way to go since there isn't much complexity of rituals or whatsoever. I hope I got the point through here, but I am thinking 49% of people are going to respond to this as, "MY RELIGION IS BETTER THAN YOURS AND HERE'S WHY YADAYADAYADA..." and another 49% of people are going to say "I didn't quite understand that..." and the last 2% are going to think, "I got that, and that was interesting." Frankly, I don't even know what I was saying, and it is really hard to explain for me and would be much easier to explain verbally or just keep it in my head and don't share it at all. This was quite a long blog post and I am really happy that I got some fascinating information for you. My question for this week is...

What is your religion (if you have one) and what do you think makes it so special to you?