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·       Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person?
Talked to Nayeli, and I chose her, because she is a cool girl, and likes chess (I found that one out later.

·       What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

It seems that she loves to play chess, and have been learning English for some time on her own, and a bit in special classes. She is actually quite an interesting person.

·       How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal?

Since my personal goal is to find out more about how people learn different languages, I believe learning about her way of “learning” is quite interesting and helpful!

·       What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations?

I actually hadn’t used translator all that much, and like I said, I have learned about her way of learning English.

·       What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again)

My grammar unquestionably.

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person?
  I spoke with Emilio from Spain again. He seemed fun to speak with the first time, we have a lot similar/common interests.

• What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

  He doesn't listen to music a lot, but he does have a variety of likes and dislikes. He likes, rap, soundtracks from movies, heavy metal, rock and etc. But he doesn't like reggaeton at all, one of his big dislikes.  

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal?

  He taught me some some tense changes in spanish. It was very helpful, and being able to speak to him casually boosts self esteem. 

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations?

  Assisting or helping me out with changes in tense forms, and expanding in my vocabulary.

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again)

  I still need to work on conjugations and how they would fit correctly in the form of a sentence. 

¿Te gusta musica?

¿Que es musica favorita?

¿Que es popular musica en Mexico?

¿Que es favorita concerta?

¿Música es muy importante en tu vida?

What are you looking forward to about this conversation?

For this blog, I focused on talking about what music and movies Estafan likes.  We had a lot in common when it came to music.  His favorite movie was Toy Story 3 because it reminds him of his childhood.  When it came to music, we both like a group called OCD.  It was coincidental because I used to go to school with them members of OCD so that was pretty cool, and we both enjoy their music.  His favorite some was Black Forest Gummy Worms, but mine was Wake Up.  We both really like Hold It Down though, so there were a lot of things we had in common when we talked this time, which was pretty cool.

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person?
  I spoke with Emilio from Spain, he was 20 years old which made it easier to talk to him since he wasn't to much older. 

• What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

  I learned that he wanted to learn spanish because he feels like it is necessary for him. He told me how everything in the world is english based, such as games, movies, etc. He told me that everyone studies english over in spain which i found to be interesting.  

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal?

  Well it helped me to realize how big english is around the world as opposed to other languages. 

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations?

  I was able to improve on my vocabulary. 

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again)

  I need to work a little on my conjugations and make sure I am getting them in the right tenses. 

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person?
  I spoke with Kurt. He corrected me on alot of stuff. I chose him because he wasn't that old and he spoke spanish and was learning english. 

• What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

  I learned alot about him. If you read the convo you can find little stuff like his favorite color and what not. 

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal?

  This interaction helped me by helping me correct my little mistakes like "la" and "el". I now am more careful with my masculine and feminine verbs and words. 

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations?

  I didn't use a translator for alot of it. Some of what he was saying was confusing. I got annoyed when he corrected me on every little thing, but it was for good. 

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again)

  I need to talk more about myself and stop asking the other person questions. 

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person?

  I spoke with man from Mexico named Vidal. He actually messaged me first and I decided to continue the conversation.

• What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

  I learned that he like sci-fi, mystery, romance, and just about every other kind of movies except for cartoons.We also talked about areas where I thought I needed work in Spanish. He gave me examples of times when certain tenses are used in everyday conversation. I also learned that he nearly perfected his English accent by listening to music.
  
  

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal?

  My goal was to find examples of when the subjunctive and imperfect tenses are used in everyday conversation. This conversation was some what helpful in meeting that goal. Vidal had some difficulty thinking of specific examples, but was able to give me a few that helped me get the general idea.
  

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations?

  I did well with being able to reply in Spanish and not pausing to ask what he meant or use the dictionary for every word I did not know. I was able to use context clues to get the general idea of what he was saying and respond. 
  

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again)

  I still need to work on not using WordRefrence as much. I also need to solidify my understanding of ser v. estar. There was a  point in the conversation where I was confusing the two verbs.
  
  "Soy en colegio..."

We all know soap operas to be incredibly cheesy and funny to watch. But what most people don't know is that Argentina made soap operas popular, one could say they created the genre. America tends to focus on family problems or business problems, mainly because American soap operas are censored, so curse words are not allowed and sex scenes are prohibited. 

Soap operas in Spanish-speaking countries  refer to SO's as Telenovelas. One main difference between Telenovelas and SO's is that they come to an end and new stories are created, almost like a series (as apposed to chapters). Also, there are not as many constraints, so scenes can be more explicit and/or dramatic. Plots tend to go along the lines of teen drama and twisted romance (such as Chiquititas or Belíssima. Though places like Brazil, who create more realistic and historical dramas, Chile and Colombia focus on comedy, everything usually depends on the countys' culture. 

In America, SO's have become less and less popular, but with that, Telenovela has become increasingly popular, especially in Mexico. Most shows revolve around romance and the conflicts between two sides, so there's always a villain. One of the most popular is Los Ricos Tambien Lloran, which actually become popular is other counties, like Russia. Mexican SO's have made a comeback since the 70's, mainly because they can also reflect reality, but in a more entertaining way.