While reviewing a list of Spanish reflexive verbs this morning, my teenage son was curious to learn more about one verb: deshacerse. This verb means “undo” and “get rid of.” We flipped open the “501 Spanish Verbs” to review the conjugation and look at some examples. We were both surprised by the final example: el deshechizo: breaking off a magic spell “Why would they have a word for something that doesn’t even exist?

We recently took an extended trip to México’s Yucatán Peninsula. Here are some of the things that surprised and delighted us.

1. Abundance of Churches The cities we visited were vestiges of Spanish colonization. Each had a main cathedral with a plaza. But there were lots of Catholic churches in each city. We had an Airbnb directly across from the San Roman Cathedral in Campeche. With their doors open during the worship services, we could easily hear the prayers and singing.

Baselang is an outstanding way to learn Spanish from live language tutors. I highly recommend their program. The program is unlike any other. For one flat monthly rate ($150 at the time of this writing) you receive one month of unlimited Spanish lessons. Actually, they give you the first week for only $1 so you actually get five weeks of lessons for only $151. Previous to using Baselang, I had used italki, another language tutor program.

As we’ve continued learning Spanish, we are finding more resources that support our learning. Here are a few of our favorites. If you are a beginner, start here . If you’d like information about language tutor programs, start here . Example Sentences One important activity for intermediate learners is understanding how to write well. This site has great examples of how to use the words. Reading As we become more proficient in Spanish, we are ready for books.

“I know zero Spanish.” Where can I begin? This was me just a few years ago. I had no skills, no familiarity, no ability. I’d like to share these resources with you, since some of what worked for me might also work for you! Pimsleur These language lessons are the perfect place to start as a beginner. From the first day, you begin speaking the new language. The activities are highly interactive and use spaced memorization to help review the concepts.