Learning Spanish can be fun

We had a special "clase interactiva" today which is a class where students can
play a game FOCUSED on grammar or vocabulary points (Instituto Chac-Mool excels in interactive methods for teaching Spanish). We made two teams, and today it was "Las mejores" versus "No importa". After drawing several items on the blackboard, classmates had to guess what each item was. "Las mejores" won 3 to 2. Learning at Instituto Chac-Mool Spanish School in Cuernavaca, Mexico can be fun!

Festival Gastronómico Food and Wine Morelos

November 9-15, 2009

Reprinted from: http://www.foodandwinemorelos.com

Este festival se replicará año con año como uno de los más importantes de
México,tal como se celebra en otras ciudades del mundo como en Aspen
(USA), Mendoza (Argentina), Singapore (Singapore), Tailandia (Bangkok)
entre otras, en donde esperamos durante toda una semana a distinguidos
invitados tanto del ramo gastronómico como de la sociedad mexicana
participando en diferentes experiencias culinarias a nivel profesional y de
degustación, acompañado de actividades culturales como recorridos en los
principales mercados de Morelos, visitas a zonas arqueológicas,
haciendas y otros sitios de interés.

Join us for Spanish immmersion classes at Instituto Chac-Mool in Cuernavaca while enjoying this very special festival.

Keeping in touch while studying Spanish in Cuernavaca, Mexico

When you are visiting Cuernavaca, Mexico, you might want to keep in touch with friends and family at home by using one of the city's many internet cafes. They supply the computers and the high speed internet connection for a low hourly rate. But be aware that the keyboards differ slightly, and the @ sign isn't easily visible on the keyboard. You'll need to press the Alt Gr key while pressing the Q key. You can see a keyboard view online here.

We hope to see you soon at Instituto Chac-Mool in Cuernavaca, Mexico! We have new classes that begin every Monday throughout the year and during the holidays we have classes all days except December 25 and January 1. Enjoy the holidays in sunny Mexico.

Would you like to study Spanish next summer but it's not in the budget? We are still taking scholarship applications on our website at www.chac-mool.com and there is time to get this short form submitted to us. All ages may apply, it is not necessary for you to currently be a student at any school or university.

We hope to see you soon at Instituto Chac-Mool in Cuernavaca, Mexico for Spanish immersion classes.

About Instituto Chac-Mool

Instituto Chac-Mool (ICM) in Cuernavaca offers a unique learning experience with Spanish language courses and homestays with Mexican families. ICM uses the Natural Approach, focusing on conversation and not tedious grammar drills that can leave the student lacking speaking and comprehension skills. ICM carefully selects only the most qualified native speakers to teach Spanish and their training includes Gardner's Theory of Seven Intelligences allowing the teacher to make informed decisions how to best present materials to each individual. Located in a mostly residential area of Cuernavaca convenient to the downtown historical district, ICM attracts students of all nationalities, Spanish levels, and ages. Student goals range from travel and everyday Spanish to terminology and dialog specific to professions such as medicine, business, and law. Plus college credit is available as ICM is fully accredited by the Mexican Ministry of Education. Focused programs include classes and workshops for the “young at heart”, for children and teens, and for teachers. Small group or individual lessons are offered year round for as short as one week. Tuition includes private tutoring sessions, conversation workshops, and the very popular Latin dance lessons and Mexican cooking classes. Optional cultural excursions are scheduled for the weekends. Instituto Chac-Mool believes language learning can be fun!

Spanish Word for the day

Acá ah-kah' (adverb) here

Examples

* ¡Ven acá! - Come here!
* Siéntate más acá. - Sit a little closer.

We hope to see you soon at Instituto Chac-Mool Spanish School in Cuernavaca, Mexico for immersion classes

September Schedule

Instituto Chac-Mool will be closed for vacation the week of September 7, 2009. This will give staff time to recharge after the busy summer of Spanish students.

Beginning September 14 and through the month of September we are offering private one-on-one instruction at the greatly discounted rate of $299usd per week of 25 hours of classes. We've never offered this before and if it is popular we hope to be able to offer these deep discounts again.

So we hope to see you soon at Instituto Chac-Mool Spanish School in Cuernavaca, Mexico!

A good time in Mexico City

From the San Francisco Examiner August 30, 2009:

"A Michael Jackson impersonator named Hector Jackson has led what is purportedly the largest gathering of people dancing Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in Mexico City yesterday, as part of a tribute celebration of what would have been Michael Jackson's 51sth birthday.

According to AP reports, organizer Javier Hildago told the crowd, "We did it!" The current record for a group "Thriller" was performed in May by 242 students of the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The Guinness Book of World Records will determine if the Mexico City performance breaks that record with reportedly 12,937 people who were led by Hector Jackson wearing a red and gold sequined jacket."


Instituto Chac-Mool invites you to study the Spanish language in Cuernavaca, not far from Mexico City.

From Wikipedia: Famous Cuernavaca, Mexico residents

* Hernán Cortés (1485-1547)
* Don Manuel de la Borda (?-1778), a silver tycoon from Taxco, Guerrero, built a home in Cuernavaca. This home (Borda Garden) was later used by Maximilian, and is today a botanical garden, cultural center, and home of the Juarez Museum.
* Emperor Maximilian (1832-1867), Jardin Borda Cultural Center is located in his former residence in this city. He also built "La Casa de Olindo" in Acapantzingo for his mistress (La India Bonita). La Casa del Olindo houses a botanical garden and the Traditional Museum of Herbal Medicine.
* Dwight Morrow (1873-1931), American banker and U.S. ambassador to Mexico under FDR, lived in Cuernavaca. Father-in-law of Charles Lindberg. He commissioned the Diego Rivera paintings found in Cuauhnahuac Museum. His former home is now the India Bonita restaurant.
* Diego Rivera (1886-1957), Mexican muralist, lived in Acapantzingo, Cuernavaca.
* David Alfaro Siqueiros (1896-1974), Mexican muralist, lived in Jardines de Cuernavaca, Cuernavaca. His home and workshop are now a museum. Another of his murals is found in the Cuernavaca Children's Museum.
* Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991), Mexican painter, lived in Acapantzingo, Cuernavaca.
* Barbara Hutton (1912-1979), Granddaughter of Frank Woolworth built a luxurious Japanese-style palace on a 30 acre (120,000 m²) estate in Jiutepec, in the outskirts of Cuernavaca in 1959.
* Robert Brady (1928-1986) Iowa native who founded museum that bears his name in downtown Cuernavaca.[1]
* Maurice Ascalon (1913-2003), the Israeli sculptor and industrial designer, spent the last years of his life in Cuernavaca, where he resided with his son, the artist Adir Ascalon.
* Erich Fromm lived in Cuernavaca around 1950.
* Chicago mobster Sam Giancana spent seven years (1967-74) in exile on a lavish estate until the Mexican government (under pressure from the US Justice Department) had him deported to the United States.
* Helen Hayes, noted American actress of stage and film, owned a home in Cuernavaca for many years.
* Tamara de Lempicka (May 16, 1898 – March 18, 1980), noted Art Deco painter, spent the last two years of her life in Cuernavaca.
* Jazz figures Charles Mingus (1922-1979) and Gil Evans (1912-1988) both died in Cuernavaca after suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease and peritonitis, respectively.
* Raymond W. Downs American Novelist made Cuernavaca his home for many years until his departure to the jungles of Ecuador in 1992 to write the novel, "WIND ACROSS THE AMAZON".

Unfortunately they were all unable to study Spanish at Instituto Chac-Mool as we were not teaching students until mid-1990's!

We hope to see you soon at Instituto Chac-Mool Spanish School in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Before you come for your Spanish classes you might enjoy looking at this website of Mexican slang http://www.mexicoguru.com/mexican-slang-english.php.

Scholarships at Instituto Chac-Mool Spanish School

Tell others about tuition scholarships for learning Spanish in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Please print our scholarships flyer and post on your office, school, community bulletin boards. The more student registrations we have for summer 2010, the more scholarships will be awarded. You can find the flyer at
http://www.chac-mool.com/scholarships.pdf. All ages may apply.

Also, have you joined Instituto Chac-Mool on Facebook yet? We are at www.facebook.com/instituto.chacmool

Another great website!

Here is another website that we find helpful in our kid´s program, but actually has cool information for students of all ages! It was created by the government of Mexico, and there is a Spanish version and an English version. Mexico para Niños

Something to do this Sunday

1 pm on Sunday, July 26th the Papalote Museum for Kids is featuring the Orquesta Juvenil Colibri from Huitzilac. The orchestra itself is made up of kids from ages 8 to 18.

Join us on Facebook

Join us on our new Facebook page

www.facebook.com/instituto.chacmool

We would love to see our Cuernavaca Mexico friends, and make new friends on Facebook!

Fun for kids

Many parents want to know how their kids can practice and have fun with Spanish after they leave Chac-Mool. Here is a page with fun interactive stories and activities! Biblioteca Virtual

1 out of 4 students

Today we welcomed even more return students (among others)! I just did the percentage, and figured out that more than 1 of ever 4 students is a return student! In my class alone, which is a Jr. level class, the percentage of return students is 71%!!!!! We love all of our students, but it is a special honor when students decide to come back to study, because that means that they enjoyed their experience the first time around! I myself was a return student, studying on 4 different occasions.

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY

POSPONER (pos-poh-NEHR) : to put behind, to postpone

Example
Se pospusieron de manera indefinida las negociaciones. The negotiations were postponed to a date uncertain.

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY

QUIETO (keyYEH-toh): calm, still

Idioms:
¡Estáte quieto! Stand still! / Don't move!

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY

Igual (ee-gwal’) alike, similar, equal

Examples:

Llevan la camisa igual - They are wearing the same shirt
Todos reciben partes iguales - They all get equal shares

Idioms:

Me da igual - It doesn’t matter to me

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY

Creer (creh-EHR) - to believe (Use creer when your are speaking of your opinion)


Ya lo creo Of course
¿Crees en Dios? Do you believe in God?
Creo que no I don't think so

Creer is a common irregular Spanish verb

yo creo
tú crees
nosotros creemos
vosotros creéis
él, ella, Ud. cree
ellos, ellas, Uds. creen

Cuernavaca's Interactive Children's Museum

For our young Spanish students at Instituto Chac-Mool in Cuernavaca, Mexico during July:

Papalote Museum July Calendar can be seen here

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY

Usar (oo-sarr’) to use; to wear

Examples:

* ¿Qué tipo de jabón usas? - What type of soap do you use?
* Este vestido está sin usar. - This dress has never been worn.

We hope to see you soon for Spanish immersion at Instituto Chac-Mool in Cuernavaca, Mexico

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY

NACER (nah-ser’) to be born; to sprout, to begin to grow; to hatch

Examples:

¿Dónde nació su hija? - Where was your daughter born?
Nací para tocar el piano. - I was born to play the piano.

Idioms:

Nacer de pie. - To be born under a lucky star.

We hope to see you this summer to learn more Spanish at Instituto Chac-Mool in Cuernavaca, Mexico. We still have class space available for July and August weeks, as well as great host families!

SPANISH WORD FOR THE DAY

Nada (nah’-dah) nothing/anything

Examples:

• Es mejor que nada. - It’s better than nothing.
• No quiero nada. - I don’t want anything.

Idioms:

• ¡No sirves para nada! - You are useless!
• De nada. - You’re welcome.

Looking forward to a great summer!

It has been a fun summer so far at Instituto Chac-Mool and we are looking forward to the new students coming in future weeks. We have many return students this summer, including parents and their children that are returning to improve their Spanish while having a great vacation in Cuernavaca. We will try to update our blog as time permits this summer. If you have something to contribute here, just let us know!

Helpful Website

I just happened upon another very useful website called www.studyspanish.com. Their explanations of grammar are very concise and helpful! I know many students like to prepare before they come study, or practice after they leave, and this would be a great way to go over grammatical points from home!

Manic Monday

Today was a crazy busy day at school, but I´m sure everyone would agree that while hectic, it feels great to be busy again! We are very grateful for the oppurtunity to be busy, as not all schools and businesses have been so lucky.

We welcomed a very eclectic group of new students today, including 4 return students as I believe I mentioned in a previous post. That´s a total of 6 return students this week who are joining our first-time students!

Among the students who began class today is an australian couple who is taking this year to travel the world! We are honored to be part of their travels, and look forward to getting to know them better. They keep a blog, which the husband writes, to record the trip. Check out Gran Viaje 2009

P.S. Pumas won against Pachuca in the Mexican soccer final! Hooray!!!

Simulacro

This week the people from proteccion civil came. Part of their job is to make sure we know how to handle such emergencies as fires, earthquakes, and bomb threats. They stop by unexpectedly every few months to conduct drills.

We take courses about once a month to prepare ourselves for the drills and for real emergencies. Most of us have been in the courses for more than a year, but it is still a little bit nerve racking when proteccion civil comes!

The drill this week was for a bomb threat. If it were a real threat called in by phone, we would have to pay special attention to the caller´s voice and take mental note about background noise and things like that. All of this is reported to proteccion civil when they come to the scene. They use the details as clues to figure out who the caller may be.

Then we sound a special alarm and the teachers know to evacuate their classes. In case of a bomb threat, we are not allowed to re-enter the school once we exit, so on my way out of the office I take the first aid kit and a fire extinguisher. Miguel takes the backboard.

Once everyone is evacuated we designated special places for our triaje unit and center of operations. During the drill, proteccion civil evaluates us on all of these points!

After it was over they gave us a report letting us know how we did. We passed!!!! They did mark us on one point. We didn´t put the signs out to designate the different areas. Oops!!!!! The drills are a great learning experience and each one helps us better prepare to protect our students and ourselves if ever there were a real emergency!

Return Students

Hola a todos! Things are getting busier every day here and in town as we all get ready for the summer season. This week we have two return students studying with us, and next week we will be welcoming four more return students! One of the most rewarding things about working in Chac-Mool is the opportunity to grow as a team and work each week to offer a better experience to our students. Return students are especially fun for us because they can give us special insight into the things that we have changed successfully and the things that we can still work on! Thank you for being a part of our community!

¡Ayuda!

Interested in practicing your Spanish? I find this website very helpful for those tricky things that are really hard to remember...I just read the forum on ir vs. venir y llevar vs. traer. In English it is very common to interchange the words bring and take, and go and come, but in Spanish it is very uncommon to misuse the words. This can be frustrating and sometimes confusing for English speakers. The word reference forum has so many explanations, that one is bound to make things clear for you! Check it out!

More good news!

Our Teacher´s Day lunch was great and the weekend was filled with some really great rainstorms! We have more students this week, and I can tell already that they are going to be a fun group! Over the weekend Sherry sent me this link, and it is really great news...lifted travel alert . I´m sure many people will be just as happy as we were to read that!

Dia del Maestro!

In Mexico on May 15th we celebrate Dia del Maestro. Traditionally, students give small gifts to their teachers, and schools hold special celebratory events and festivals. Many schools even give teachers the day off!

Speaking with a friend who teaches at a local private school, I learned that her school (and I imagine others) is postponing the celebration because the swine flu has interrupted their schedule. Since they had to postpone the Mother´s Day celebration, they thought it only fair to postpone the teachers´ celebration as well.

Regina, one of our favorite students(!!!!!) is a teacher in Portland, Oregon. She told us yesterday that in her district they celebrate the teachers with several days of festivities! Among the activities are teacher sporting events. It sounds like a lot of fun!

In Chac-Mool our students are very appreciative of our teachers, and never hesitate to give us wonderful feedback! Julio and Deana are also very gracious with the teachers and staff that help Chac-Mool learn and grow. Today Julio will show his appreciation by taking us out to lunch after school! Can´t wait!

Getting back to normal...

This week has been extremely refreshing for us here at Chac-Mool. It is the first week we have operated on a full schedule after the government order to close all educational institutions. The influenza scare was a big bump in the road for us, but luckily our team has been strong enough to survive and move forward.

In a way, the difficulties that we have seen because of the flu have been a blessing in disguise. They have given us an opportunity to slow down, reevaluate and implement plans that we have had for several months now---all with the objective of offering the ultimate language and culture experience! After spending a couple of days at home, we were also able to come back to school with a more critical eye and do some "spring cleaning."

We are very thankful that the influenza did not affect any of our students, our staff, their families directly. Several students have asked us about the earthquake near Acapulco a couple weeks ago as well. Although it was a serious earthquake, it was not felt here in Cuernavaca.

Great news!

We just received an envelope in the mail from Ricky Durbin with a very generous donation for the orphanage! Thank you so much Ricky! This week has been a bit difficult for everyone in Mexico so Ricky´s donation will go a very long way!

Instituto Chac-Mool on YouTube

We've started on YouTube with a few photo montages, check them out at http://www.youtube.com/ChacMoolMexico

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Clase de Artesanías

The art class offered on Thursdays is a great way to practice Spanish and learn about typical Mexican art! The teacher , or one of his brothers, gives a really cool explanation about their family´s history creating art and the impact it has had on their lives. At just around 40 pesos for paints and supplies, it is a great way to spend the afternoon with your fellow classmates.

I found that taking the art class really changed the way that I looked at the art sold on the streets in Mexico. Speaking with the artist is also a great way to practice your Spanish. Not to mention that late afternoons in Chac-Mool are absolutely magical! I will never get tired of seeing the way the sun hits the church at around 7:15!

Orphanage and Lifelink group

Last Wednesday we took our trip to the orphanage. It was great! Many of the kids weren´t there because they were spending the holiday with their families. I was so happy to hear that.

Four of the students who joined us are part of a group called Lifelink International. It is an organization with a really cool 8 week missionary preparation program. Their students are always really fun and interesting, and it was a blast to have them with us. Daniel, one of the members had coincidentally volunteered before at the same orphanage!

We helped clean the boys´dormitory and then ate lunch and played. Each of the classes prepared a different activity for the kids to play. Before game time, the kids gave Pablo a reading lesson! Then we had balloon popping contests, a lemon on a spoon relay race, and we also played Redrover. Daniel brought candy for everyone and he even shared with the teachers. Gracias Daniel!

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Student Contributions

I´ve been trying to get the word out about the blog. I don´t have everyone´s email address, so it can be a little hard, but its so exciting when a student sends us photos to post. Thank you so much Ricky. One of these pictures is of us watching the Mexico-USA soccer game. Now you have before during and after pictures!! The other is of some of the very feisty students who came up with the bet idea. I´m still cold from jumping in the pool! If anyone else has pictures or stories they´d like to share, please email me at publicrelations@chac-mool.com. Gracias!

Orfanato

We are in the process of planning our monthly trip to the orphanage, and coincidentally, Martin sent us pictures of one of our recent visits yesterday. Gracias Martin!

This month´s trip is a little bit different than those that we´ve taken in the past months. Instead of cooking and eating with the children and staff, we called to see what we could to do help clean or do maintenance while we are there. They asked that we clean the dorms and the outdoor areas, so right now we are ordering the supplies.

Tomorrow we are going to give a Charla with pictures and an explanation of what we will be doing and the objective of our trip. The charla usually helps people to be prepared emotionally for something that has the potential of being too intense if you don´t know what to expect.

Many of the children are not truly orphans but their parents are not in a position to take care of them full time. The nice thing is that some children´s parents can go to see them on the weekends. In either case, we go with the objective of preparing lunch, cleaning up, or helping with homework. Most importantly, we also set aside a time to play organized games and get to know each other. It is always a very special day for the staff and students of Chac-Mool, and we hope it is just as special for the children.

You can get to know the children through the following website Al Abrigo de Dios.

Semana Santa

We hope everyone has had a beautiful holiday. Cuernavaca was packed with tourists this long weekend! During this time the city is not just a destination for American and Canadian tourists, but a very large number of tourists from Mexico City and other neighboring areas. I heard on the radio on Saturday that no one should even consider getting on the highway back to Mexico City between 3 and 7 PM yesterday because of all the traffic.

I spent the weekend in the center with my parents. They were really impressed (I was too) with how clean the streets were kept. Cuernavaca has also recently finished a pretty big renovation of the streets and sidewalks in the center. It is now easier to walk around (even in high heels) and way better lit at night. The renovation even included repainting of some of the giant walls of private and public houses and buildings downtown. It looks great!

Enchiladas de Mole

Curious about Mexican cuisine? Today is our clase de cocina (my favorite activity!). Students will learn to make Enchiladas de Mole, another favorite of mine. Here is a link to a good recipe for those of you who won´t be able to join us. http://recipes.rimag.com/recipe.asp?id=1605
And I´ll let you in on a little secret-- many of us cheat and buy mole sauce at the market or supermarket! You can buy it as spicy or sweet as you want, and add extra ingredients according to your preference.

Buen Provecho!

Bienvenidos!

Hola amigos!
We have decided to start a blog to make it easier for you to keep in touch with the friends you´ve made at Instituto Chac-Mool. If you have pictures of your time here with us in Cuernavaca, please send! We love to reminisce and I would like to share some pictures with everyone through the blog as well. Here are some pictures that our dear friend Martin sent us. Those of you who remember the Mexico-USA soccer game are sure to get a laugh!

Before and After!