After realizing last fall that my Spanish has atrophied completely—I have removed “Spanish minor” from my resumé, no matter how technically accurate it may be—I’m listening to Pimsleur’s first three Spanish courses on iTunes to refresh my memory. Bryan and I had good luck learning basic German from them and like their approach to language teaching: few explicit rules, lots of repetitive but realistic conversation.

Maybe a little too realistic. In the first ten lessons I have been reminded how to order beer and insist that the other person pay. A favorite exchange:

“How much time do you have?”
“Eight minutes.”
“What do you want to drink?”
“Three beers.”
“Three beers in eight minutes?!”
“I like beer.”

I may have participated in this precise conversation in real life.