… when you can have a picknick in the park at 8PM.
So, I’m still in full studying mode, for another 29 days. Nothing much happening, except that I’m happy the sun decided to come out again. And I bought The Language Hacking Guide. You can expect to read about that after my exams I guess.
Oh and I know I promised the results from the survey to be up in April, but as I said, I’ve been swarmed with schoolwork so it will just have to wait until my exams are done 
Sorry!
On another note: We’re still looking for a couch to crash on now, up until now, everybody rejected us! I guess we’ll just have to keep on looking, right?
Well that was all again, I’m afraid this blog will remain pretty empty for a few more weeks…
- We’ve booked our flights to Barcelona! We’ll be there between june 25 en june 30! Yay!
- Still looking for a couch to crash for the first three nights (but maybe we should do something about our empty couchsurfing profile first)
- Still looking for a hotel/hostel for the last two nights
- On the 1st of july, I start my summerjob at a campingsite in Palamos! Mixed feelings here…
- I’m into full studying mode now as my exams start in just 3 weeks, so the blog probably won’t be updated very regularly
I learned Spanish when I was in Mexico, but that is four years ago and it has gotten a little dusty. And in November I’m going to do an official exam. That means I’m going to need to brush it up, and I even have to get better, and more fluently than I was when I left Mexico.
I’m going to do this in two ways. First, I’m spending the summer in Spain, so I’ll be speaking all the time which should improve my fluency. And second, I’m going to try A LOT of input techniques. I’ve started searching around and found a lot of free sources that should help me, including podcasts, videos, blogs, tweeps, etc.
I decided I’m going to use Anki for studying words (or rather sentences), and I downloaded some lists from the website but I’ll also add my own sentences while I read books and blogs. I’ll be trying the mnenomics method to (even if I cant pronounce that word yet).
Next, I’ll use LingQ for reading (thanks to Benny for the tip) and I found podcasts of both intermediate and advanced level at different websites.
The only question remaining is, should I take the B2 exam, or the C2? I wanted to take C1 but they dont give that exam here in Belgium, and I’m afraid that, if I choose C2 I’ll be wasting 150€. Why are those exams so fucking expensive? On the other hand, I feel like even without studying I’m already B2, I should aim higher than that…
I can’t register for the exam until September 1, so I’ll probably defer the decision until then. And I can still do my best this summer to reach the highest level possible, right? Even if I don’t get any diploma I’ll still be way more fluent than I am now and that is the most important I guess.
Any other tips on other stuff that I should try are welcome of course!
PS: If you don’t know any Spanish yet and you would like to start then I recommend the free course at La Casa Rojas. They upload a new video every day this year. The level is a little too easy for me, but I have been browsing through some of the videos and I really like their method!
PPS: I tagged every source that I found useful in my Delicious account, so if you are interested in more links, thats where you should go!
Last week I told you about my favorite travel apps but I find that when I travel I also like to download some local apps that help me navigate and find cool places locally.
So this time, I´ll be sharing my favorite for Brussels and Belgium.
Brussels
- Sprice Brussels Guide - No need anymore for buying travelbooks, this will tell you all you need!
- STIB tells you when the next metro is arriving
- Comic Strips in Brussels – All over Brussels comics are painted on the walls, this app will you find them
- VilloHelper! helps you find the nearest bike rental station
- Foursquare speaks for itself (When in Gent, use Gowalla)
Belgium
- Belgian Waves – Listen to the Belgian radio while you´re here!
- Uit in Vlaanderen – Where to go in the night: the complete culture and free time agenda for Flanders (in Dutch)
I was just surfing around a bit when I saw yet another blogpost with the best travel apps for iPhone. There are thousands of them out there, and yet there isn´t any for Android. And since I´m the proud owner of a HTC Hero I´m kind of upset about that, so I decided to create one myself. Hopefully I can help someone else with it too!
So, without further ado, here are the travel apps I like best:
- ConvertXXL: convert dollars to euros or yen, fahrenheit to celcius and inches to centimeters.
- Wikitude World Browser: the new style of travel guides? This app both tells you where you are and where you should go, points of interest, where to eat, description of buildings, and architectural images of historical places.
- Google Translate: easy and quick translating between any possible languages you might need
- TripIt: Plan your trip online and access all the info via this app including maps, hotels, phone numbers, etc
- Travel Checklist: If you´re anything like me (= you constantly forget half of what you need and you overpack on the rest), then you´re going to love this one! Check off as you pack!
Do you have an Android-app I don´t know about yet? Please share in the comments below!