Conversa News - August, 2009
New Micro-Lessons
Here in August, we've added a new feature
to our website... Spanish micro-lessons. These are two or three-minute videos on a variety of grammatical topics. They are designed to give your Spanish a quick battery charge.
Each week, there will be a Beginner, an Intermediate and an Advanced level micro-lesson. The Beginner lessons will be presented in English, while the Intermediate and Advanced lessons will be presented in Spanish. You'll also find the previous week's micro-lessons, in case you want to do a bit of review.
We hope that you'll enjoy this new feature, that you'll benefit from it and that you'll favor us with your comments. Muchas gracias!
Energy Saving Improvement
Greener looks better - and we're not only talking about our campus... Our maintenance crew in Santa Ana just finished installing five new skylights in the kitchen area of the comedor. They provide ample natural light for our kitchen staff to work, where before, fluorescent lighting was required for them to complete their tasks.
Aquí vienen las zompopas!
The Atta cephalotes (leaf-cutter ants), or as we call them here, zompopas, are very common throughout Costa Rica. So it shouldn't come as a surprise that we have them here on campus as well. Because we've received so many questions from students as to what they are, what they eat, do they bite, etc.., we decided to dedicate a small info-stand to them. As we speak, the Conversa staff is putting together an info stand that will provide you with all the information you ever wanted to know about the famous Atta ceph...zompopa. In case you're wondering, it's harmless.Conversa's Glider Finds a New Home
We're happy to announce that the ol' swing that once overlooked the swimming pool (back in a corner that most students never got to visit), has been relocated! We've moved it to the area next to the agencia de viajes across from the administrative offices. Students can now watch the birds feed from the comfort of this wonderful glider. Que lo disfruten!
Treinta y Cuatro Años Después
Tim Howard was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Costa Rica from 1973 to 1975 and studied Spanish under Conversa Director Dave Kaufman's tutelage. Tim is now the Deputy Director of the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice. Here in August, it is our pleasure to welcome him back. We will do our best to help you take the rust off your Spanish, Timoteo.How Did You Find Conversa?
A few months back, Susan Kirst was doing some gardening at her home in Newton Center, Massachusetts. She'd been shopping around on the Internet for a school to study Spanish, so when she spotted her next-door neighbor, Harry Rosser, a Spanish prof at Boston College, she thought she'd pick his brain.She asked Harry about a place she'd seen on the Internet called Conversa. An old family friend of the Kaufmans, Harry immediately sealed the deal, and Susan is here with us in August. Hey, Harry, your Red Sawks may have Jonathan Papelbon as their closer, but you're our man next door in Newton Center!
Hasta luego, Don German
All of us here at Conversa were saddened by the death of German Guerrero on Saturday, August 8. Don German worked as Conversa's groundskeeper for many years and is remembered by all who knew him as an all-around great guy who was always willing to help students practice their Spanish. Just prior to his retirement from Conversa in 1990, he built us a great little basketball/paddleball court (Cancha Don German). Don German was ninety-nine.
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