The world we live in continues to shrink. Jet planes, the Internet and world trade have brought all of us into closer contact with each other. Our cars burn gasoline from MidEast oil. A large part of our food is imported from other countries.

NorthAmericans are accustomed to speaking only English, but since the 5th largest concentration of native Spanish-speakers in the world is now in the U.S., Spanish is the second most-used language there.

It has become popular for English-speakers to learn conversational Spanish. The reasons are many and varied. Some want to be able to communicate with their Spanish-speaking neighbors. Some want to vacation at Cancun. Some want to travel in Europe and South of the U.S. border.

The best way to learn Spanish is to download an interactive-audio Spanish learning program.

That puts you in absolute control of your time, place and speed of learning.

Using a learn Spanish DVD you can teach yourself Spanish in just a few days, if you push yourself. Taking a more leisurely approach you can still learn conversational Spanish in a few weeks.

If you speak English it’s easy to learn Spanish. There are many similarities between the two languages, many common words like actor (ACT-or in English, ac-Tor in Spanish) and many others.

It’s easy to teach yourself Spanish.

To converse with Spanish-speaking people you need to learn conversational spanish, the language used in informal everyday interactions. The best way to learn Spanish is just like you learned English. You start with a few words, learn to use these in sentences and gradually add vocabulary and learn how to communicate

So get yourself a ‘learn Spanish DVD’ and get started! It’s easy and fun! And it will open up a whole new world of culture, job opportunities and understanding to you…

Contributed by J.P. Koontz

Getting married in a far away destination, such as Hawaii, is appealing to many couples. If you’re thinking of a Hawaii wedding, then you’ll have to be sure to plan everything out well. Planning any wedding is hard work, but a destination wedding where you cannot physically oversee everything is even harder. Therefore it’s a good idea to have someone in Hawaii to help you out such as a Hawaii wedding planner.

There is a lot that needs to be juggled when you get married in Hawaii. You’ll need to trust other people with the flowers and cake as well as decor and setting up the venue. You can, of course, have video conferences and use photos over the internet which is very helpful and will make you feel more at ease.

Then, you want to think about plane tickets and getting the wedding party there all on time and together. You should get the tickets reserved well before time to avoid any errors, delays or full flights. You’ll want to keep everyone together and have some transportation ready at the airport so no one gets lost or arrives late.

You have no time to relax or do anything but make sure that the wedding dresses and those for the bridesmaids are delivered on time to the right place. If you have page boys or flower girls then their clothes also have to be selected and their delivery assured. You could save a lot of that by purchasing an ‘off the peg’ dress, but why do that if you want your dress designed as you want it? In any case, it might not fit you when arrive to collect it.

If you mail your wedding dress to Hawaii, or the bridesmaids dress or any other of the formal wedding clothes, make sure that they are inspected on arrival and then pressed or steamed. Try to seal them when they are packed, and make sure that the package or box is clearly labeled with the contents and use a ‘Fragile’ label.

You can save yourself a lot of worry if you use the hotel that will be the venue for your reception to help out with some of the arrangements. Many Hawaii hotels offer a wedding planner to help you, and their staff is experienced in handling Hawaiian weddings. Why not approach the hotel for advice? They can provide you with names and contact information of hairdressers, beauticians, local caterers and more.

One of the most important people attending your wedding, apart from the officiant marrying you, is the photographer. Make sure your photographer is arranged well in advance or you will be relying on friends and relatives for your wedding photographs. Also, a local photographer will know the best places for your photo sessions.

Visit GreatHawaiiWeddings.com for a great Hawaii wedding package deal, a Kauai wedding package deal and special offers on a Big Island wedding.