Rosca de Reyes

Today in Chac-Mool we ate "Rosca de Reyes". This Rosca de Reyes is a bread that all Mexican people eat on January 6th in order to celebrate Jesus' birthday. When Jesus was
born, the 3 Reyes Magos went to see him and gave him several gifts; nowadays these 3 Reyes Magos (actually the parents!) give toys to well behaved children.

This day the Rosca de Reyes is eaten with friends, in schools and family houses etc; so today at Chac Mool we ate this rosca. This bread has inside little babies of plastic that represent Jesus as a baby. If you cut your slice and you have this "mueñeco de rosca" inside, then on February 2nd you have to bring "tamales y atole" (a typical food and drink in Mexico) to celebrate.

Happy New Year

Instituto Chac-Mool would like to wish all a very happy and healthy 2010. We hope to see you soon in Cuernavaca.

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!