Author's Bio and Articles

Joanna Houseman

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Thanks to family connections and work opportunities, Joanna has a lifelong affiliation with Spain and has been learning the Spanish language since the age of 12. Following university, Joanna spent a year living and working in Barcelona where her level of spoken Spanish was elevated to new levels (and she also dabbled in a little Catalan). Upon returning to the UK, she spent another year working for a Madrid based company whilst living in London, liaising every day with the factory in Spain. Joanna and her family then decided to up roots and move to Andalucía where they lived and worked for 12 years, fully integrated into Spanish village life and supporting the ex-pat community with their language challenges. Now living in Wales, Joanna has kept her connections to her village in Spain and returns as often as possible.


Spanish Word of the Day: Abuela (grandma)

When we look at the structure of the family in Spanish and Latin American culture, there isn’t a figure more important than grandma. Abuela probably derives from the Latin vulgar term aviolus with the same meaning, or avus. Latin American pronunciation  European Spanish pronunciation Abuela is a feminine noun, so it takes the following definite and indefinite articles: No hay nadie …

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