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The New York
Spanish Language Meetup

Learn SPANISH for a good cause !:

Read about SPANISH CLASSES

OR VISIT:

and mention us - you will help our charity program.

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Welcome to our FAQ!

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW AND WERE AFRAID TO ASK!?

TODO LO QUE NECESITAS SABER Y TENIAS MIEDO DE PREGUNTAR!

WHAT WE ARE AND HOW DOES IT WORK: The purpose of the group is to allow those who are learning Spanish, to improve their conversational skills and enrich their cultural backgroud while having a great time & making new friends. The vast majority of attendees are in their 20s, 30s and 40s, and there are several native speakers in every meeting. We proudly are a very active group of nice people who gather several times a month. Come and have fun with us!.

For conversation events, we get together and practice free and informal spanish conversation, usually in small groups. A conversational level is needed in order to make the best of our meetings. Anybody can rotate places freely. Each event has an organizer who will post the event online and host it when it takes place. If you come for first time to an event, please kindly find the organizer who is in charge/hosting that event and introduce yourself.

Please RSVP for all events you plan to attend, helping us organizers do our work. Please take a minute to read the event´s description before you RSVP, and take a look again the day of the event. Many times there are last minute changes or updates posted there. IF YOU DON´T RSVP, you will not receive any email updates on any changes the event might have, and, in some cases, you might not be allowed to participate. Sorry!

CAN I ARRIVE LATE?: Yes. Meetings usually last for about 2-2.5 hours, and you can come in and leave anytime you want. As a general idea, most people are gone about 2.5 hours after the event start time.

I AM A BEGINNER, CAN I ATTEND?:
Yes, you can attend ANY event you want, although if you are not at a conversational level yet, I suggest you don't attend any conversation events. Please take some of the classes we are offering now in partnership with Easyespanol.org. Please click HERE to learn more about Spanish classes.

Besides classes, we periodically make events especially designed for beginners, most are not entirely free but very affordable. You are also most welcome to attend these.

Now, for ALL regular conversation and cultural events NOT labeled "For beginners" in the event title, you will need a conversational level in Spanish in order to make the best of your time. This level is called "advanced beginner". If you don't feel you are able to keep a conversation or follow one, we suggest you take our CLASSES and then start attending conversation events when you are ready. These events are definitely not a replacement for your Spanish classes, they can help you with them or help you to refresh what you already knew and forgot. Please do not email organizers asking if you can attend or not because you are a beginner, sorry but there is no way we would know what your actual level of Spanish is and if you would fit in.

IMPORTANT: Conversation events are entirely in Spanish - NO ENGLISH please. If you are unable to carry on or understand a conversation in Spanish, we recommend you take our classes before attending. As people attend conversation events to practice Spanish, we ask you to please kindly respect this.

WHEN: There are now 5 regular meetings every month. Four are for conversation and one is a cultural event. Three of these 4 conversation events are in Manhattan, and the other one is in Brooklyn. Conversation events are on rotating days (Mondays through Wednesdays during the week, Saturday afternoons for the weekend conversation event). The weekend conversation event is scheduled for a Saturday afternoon (it can be any). We also have a fifth monthly event, and this is a cultural one (read below about them).

WE REGULARLY HAVE EVENTS ONLY FOR BEGINNERS! Stay tunned.

WHERE: We alternate between a place in Midtown Manhattan (on the 1st and 3rd week of the month, plust the weekend Manhattan conversation event). The Brooklyn monthly conversation event is being done in alternating neighborhoods in Brooklyn. During the summer months, we usually move a bit outdoors with picnics in Spanish in the parks for our conversation events, and we play Scrabble and Monopoly in Spanish.

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This map shows the countries that are traditonally considered as the core of the Hispanidad (because they have Spanish as official language and it is the main language of the country, or because they have been historically important in the creation of the Hispanophone).

READ a short article on the HISTORY, GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTIONS, VARIATIONS and SOUNDS of Spanish Language.

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WHAT IF AN EVENT I´D LIKE TO ATTEND GETS FULL AND I CAN´T RSVP? Some events need to have a limit of people that can attend, and please trust me that there is a good reason for that. All limits already count in the number of RSVPs that do not show up - we know that very well. Please kindly understand that I can not make exceptions and increase the limit to fit you in. When an event gets full we always repeat it later.

PLEASE DO NOT EMAIL THE ORGANIZER/S BECAUSE THE EVENT YOU WANT TO ATTEND IS FULL AND YOU WANT US TO SEE IF THERE IS A CHANCE TO FIT YOU IN.

Instead, please take your time to check whether there is a space that opened up the day before the event, or even the day of the event (it always happens that there are some cancellations) and then RSVP. I can´t RSVP for you or keep checking if there is an open space for you and let you know!. PLEASE DO NOT ASK FOR PERSONALIZED NOTIFICATIONS for open slots on any event/s we do, or for waiting lists.

If there is any important change in any event, we always send a mass email to tell everyone about it. We always update the event´s webpage with any change/s, so please check there the day of the event.

If a conversation event is full and you attend anyway without being listed as YES, please contact the organizer and pay $2. There is a mandatory fee for this amount for all Manhattan conversation events that are full and you will be allowed to stay provided space is available.

We usually repeat (a few months later) any Cultural events that get full and can be repeated.

WHAT ARE CULTURAL EVENTS?: Learning a new language is not just learning new grammar and vocabulary, it´s an entire new cultural experience. We provide you with get in touch with the culture from Spain and Latin America.

We have one event of this type every month. Past cultural events were: going together to watch a movie in spanish with english subtitles and meeting afterwards for a short conversation in spanish about the movie, making a guided museum visit in Spanish to appreciate art from Spain & Latin America (Metropolitan Museum, The Hispanic Society of America, Guggenheim Museum, etc), salsa, tango and flamenco classes and shows, going to the theater to see a play in Spanish, etc.

MEMBERSHIP FEES: Being a member of the group is free, but we need some funds to keep moving! There is a suggested/voluntary donation of just $2 quarterly (every 3 months). You are very welcome to contribute these funds (or more) and I really appreciate your support for the group. Funds will be destined primarily to pay the monthly Meetup Group fee charged to the organizer by Meetup.com and any expenses incurred in promoting the group and organizing events. You can give me your contribution in person during our gatherings.

HOW CAN I HELP THIS GROUP, WITHOUT DEDICATING TOO MUCH OF MY TIME? You can help a lot by doing very little: 1) PLEASE BE AS NICE AS YOU CAN and open/welcoming to other members (and to the host/organizer! ) during our gatherings, especially when it is somebody that is showing up for the first time, 2) place an RSVP as "Yes" to every event you plan to attend, 3) do NOT attend events that are full and you could not RSVP as "Yes", 4) donate $2 to the group every 3 months, 5) suggest ideas for events that you find interesting and provide constructive criticism to improve our group, 6) rate events after you attend them, being fair and constructive by remarking both what was positive and what you would improve. And last, but not least, please help us keep a friendly atmosphere. Above all, this is a large but wonderful group of friends!.

ABOUT OUR MESSAGE BOARD: Please do not post messages unrelated to the group, the group´s topic or the spanish language or latin american/hispanic culture.

QUESTIONS?: For any problems or questions regarding the use of this website or the group´s webpage, please kindly ask Meetup´s support/help desk (and not the group´s organizers). I will be glad to read your comments and suggestions.

Néstor