SpanishPod ¿Qué pasa? - It's Not Goodbye

Esti y JP,

!Echare de menos de Uds!  Gracias por la programa divertida.

I especially enjoyed JP's talk about Seattle and Pacific Northwest, as I used to live in that area and I love it there.

!Buena suerte!

Natsuko

Welcome Santiago!  Very selfishly I am pretty happy about having an Argentinian import because I am travelling there next year, so can get recommendations on what to do and where to go...plus get used to the accent!

But as for the sad news that JP and Esti are leaving, I am really disappointed...having listened to you guys every day I agree with what others have said, that it will feel like I'm losing friends. But I wish you both the very best for your next adventures.

And for the whole Spanishpod team, I wanted to pass on some feedback about how fantastic this site has been for me.  In my day to day life I never come across any Spanish speakers, and we don't have any Spanish television or radio here, so I have been learning Spanish almost solely via spanishpod.com.  I have recently started a university course as well, which I study extramurally.  We have assignments through the course, which includes oral components, and last week was our oral exam.  My Spanish teacher (a native speaker) told me my Spanish accent was excellent, and asked me what I have been doing to practice, because he was really impressed. So that's thanks to you guys and your entertaining lessons, which make it so easy to listen and learn.  Also, I have my written exam on Thursday so have been brushing up on the grammar with La Clave - so much easier than the text book!

So thank you to Esti and JP, I will certainly miss you both when I'm listening to the lessons, because you and the whole team make learning fun.

The world turns, and its good to periodically move on to new experiences and people. I wish you all the best and  would like to thank you for being such a joy in my life over the past 16 months, ive even learned some spanish.  You guys are an unfeasably tough act to follow, a rare mix of genius and insanity. Dont ever underestimate what you have wrought here. the good thing is that the new team members  will almost certainly be listening to spanishpod today because you guys are  the A team

Hola Santiago, nice to have you aboard.
Lilli and Leo, i feel for you but am happy youll still be around.
Esti please dont ever change but mind your language infront of those kids :-)
Lord villanueva, ¡que la furerza te acompañe!

It's very sad that the team is losing valuable members.. I have enjoyed your lessons.

I have been following JP in Spanishpod, Frenchpod and some of yours in Chinese, and I long term dream was to excel in all these. Hence you are my role model and I will surely miss you.

Guys! I just listened to this podcast and damn I'm gonna miss you guys!

All the best for the future, Esti and JP ! I also hope you will somehow manage to continue teaching to a wider audience...

—No duele porque inyectan un anestésico antes de chupar la sangre — César Santos, sobre las sanguijuelas - en Ciudad de las Bestias de Allende

Nos pareceremos un poco pálido a causa de la pérdida de tan buena sangre.

Mejores deseos para sus nuevas misiones, mis amigos;
y un deseo más egoísta para Ken, Lili y Leo, que por fin tus encontraréis  refuerzos de calidad similar..

Bienvenidos a Santiago.

JP, whose going to be the grammar master and the historian once you leave?  And what will happen with la clave?  The both of you will be greatly missed.  ¿Maybe we'll see you guys in Vagas? 

Best wishes to Esti and JP!

I, too, am very sorry to hear that you are leaving, but change is good. I wish you both much continued success.

Welcome Santiago!

Let's count our blessings, Spanishpodistas!  We get to continue learning from the talented team of Lili and Leo (and of course, Marco), and now we get to welcome Santiago on board!

Esti and JP, all the best!  I'm sure you are both phenomenal classroom teachers.

Until we have a new grammar guru (and/or a more efficient site search engine), we'll have to depend on the collective memory of the community, people like kikuyu, donperigo, cobre, martinillo and hypersport, just to name a few, to help answer questions that have been addressed in previous threads or podcasts.  You guys are not only the memory of the site, you are the heart of the site and your contributions are now more important than ever. 

Lili and Leo anna8

Lili and Leo

I think that I can speak for all the SpanishPod users when I say that while we are all very sorry that JP and Esti are leaving, that doesn’t mean that we don’t think that you two are terrific also.  I am sure that with you two on the team, SpanishPod will continue to be the best podcast there is.

Anna8

Good point.

Esti & JP...

Good luck to you both! It's good to follow your heart. You will be missed!

mztish

Hola JP and Esti,
This is truly a bittersweet goodbye... You did more than teach me spanish, you inspired me!  We will miss you!
Mis mejores deseos..

I am going to look at the glass as half-full. Leo and Liliana, for the time being, remain. Liliana is simply the best purveyor of instructional Spanish available on the Web in our time. Leo, for a variety of miscellaneous reasons too tedious in themselves to list, also rulz. So there's that.

And the "body of work" remains. I hope that the final podcasts take on a suite-like structure, that they be a proper coda to the end of the Fab 4, like side 2 of Abbey Road was in 1969.

And I want solo albums. Definitely. 

¿Que?

This is a spring, it is always overflowing.

This is not a matter of full? (unless you are thinking of full of spirit)

Lili writes a lot of the material as does Leo They do a great job.

They need a new guy to be really smart but willing to play dumb / take our position as students and show us the joy of discovery, while making the grammar an interesting back story.

Heh, heh

no small feet to fill those shoes.

and a good Spanish actress and linguist (and php programer por favor je je)

Come what may, I've spent a fantastic year +1/2 getting to kow all of you, and learning so much from you...Spanishpodistas y el equipe de Spanishpod, ambos.  I feel I've gained so much and my life is so much better for it, so thanks to all!!

I look forward to continuing the path with you Lil, Leo and now Santiago, as well as any new team members, guests and the users, old and new.

I can't express my thanks enough to you Esti & JP, but I guess you probably know ;) Wish you both the very best!

JP, Que lastima hombre.  That sucks man!!  For me anyway.  You are leaving big shoes to fill.  It was so great while it lasted.  Good Luck to you and Esti.

Good to all of you! We will all miss you but life has to go on to all of us! Let us pray that whatever new endeavor each one of us undertakes, May the blessing of the good Lord accompany us always....

Good luck to you guys!

Oh my gosh, now I'm in the loop.  I've got to tell you, you are all like magic in the studio.  I really enjoy listening to the podcasts.  A very dynamic crew indeed.  You all have great style and definitely do well in front of the mic or camera.  JP and Esti I will definitely miss you both.  Thank you for sharing your talents with your SpanishPod listeners.  Good luck with your new adventures in life!

He estado escuchando Spanishpod por solamente dos meses pero me parece como si Esti y JP son amigos.

JP - si desea visitar a Vancouver ¿un habitacion a cambio de un leccion de espanol?

Thank you JP and Esti for your wonderful podcasts.  I learned a lot and enjoyed every minute listening to your good humor, wit, and the nuances you gave to each show.  All the best on your new adventures! 

Welcome, Santiago! 

Whatttttttttttttttttttttttt? ¡No te vayas! JP, Esti…….. truly I understand the need for change. Please know…………. you guys have become a great part of each user’s daily life. We will truly miss you and Carmen. I truly wish each of you the best and want to extend my deepest thanks to each for the help, the entertainment and all y’alls goofiness, you gave me many many smiles.

¡Muchas Gracias! y bienvenido Santiago!

Jeff

NOooooOoOOOooOOOoOOOOooo!

Hahaha! :) Good luck wtih the future! Muchas gracias for all the great podcasts!!!!! :)

I'm kinda sad that I didn't meet Esti when we visited though.. :(

I echo the sentiments of everyone else. For about a year now I've listened to you all every day and I will miss you both a lot. You've accompanied me everywhere I've gone in the past year from NY to Argentina, to friends' and family's houses and to work. I feel like a friend just told me he/she was moving. You've both leave big shoes to fill.

JP, I cannot imagine anyone with as much knowledge and humility as you have coming onto the show.

Esti, I cannot imagine anyone with as much personality and flare as you have coming onto the show.

Best of luck to both of you and I would love it if either of you could broadcast again.

Bienvenidos a Santiago y estoy muy contenta que tenemos mis queridos Lili y Leo.

It is so sad to hear Esti and JP are leaving. No more sandwich thief stories :( But thank you to you all. I enjoy listening to the podcast very much.

Hi everyone,

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the kind words you have posted.  I'm still around for the next couple of weeks, and I'll tell you this; Studio Fiesta is abuzz. 

Lili is cracking the whip about getting podcasts recorded before Esti and I leave; Santiago is obsessing about eliminating the errors so as to not double his work; Leo is busy working on the next Cooking with Tabasco (it's going to be a good one!). 

I feel like a graduating senior; wanting a last hurrah with my good friends, but super excited about what the immediate future is going to bring for me. 

JP and Esti, los pobres que se remontarán al frente de batalla.

What is your experience with the schools over there in Shanghai?  A friend who went over and taught in an advanced placement academy in central China in the early 90s,  went back to do another stint.  He said that discipline was failing and he would not go back again.  He commented that previously the placement tests had been applied, but that since the school had become pestigious. The wealthy and party members were buying seats for their kids under the table, and the quality had dropped like a stone. The golden children, act like arrogant royalty who know they can't be touched.  My friend who was once headmaster at the American School in Taipai said that tactfully refusing bribes was one of the hardest parts of his job.

aahhhhhh prestigious - prestigioso

JP y Esti,

Los voy a extrañar!! Gracias por toda la ayuda.

Buenas suerte : )

It's not going to be the same without you, JP. You make me laugh out loud on the metro!

I beg that the replacements be European. Sometimes it feels like I'm listening to TheAmericas.pod and when I try out some of the words I hear here in Madrid, everyone looks blankly at me.

Please, Esti, do your bit for Spanish Spanish! And good luck with your teaching. I'm sure you'll be great.

--------

If you want to find out what living in Spain is really like, check out: http://talesfromlaterraza.blogspot.com/

como todos, voy a echar de menos a JP y a Esti.  Quién va a hacer el papel de ladrón de sanwiches??  Y quién va a discutir el vocabulario con Lili y Leo??   Pero como dice el refrán:  Nothing is permanent but change.  Hay un dicho en español que expresa este sentimiento?  Buena suerte, amigos, y muchísimas gracias por todo que han hecho para los usuarios de SpanishPod.

Aww man that sucks.

Nooo!

I'm so sorry to hear that both Esti and JP are leaving.

You've both been great teachers.

JP -- if you end up back in Seattle, I will drive up and stalk you!   ;-) 

(ok - just kidding)

Dohhhhhh!!!!   I'm always about 1-2 weeks behind on my SpanishPod podcasts and I just now found out about this turn of events!  Very excited for the departing Spanish-Podees (Pod-ers?!), so.....

Mucha suerta a JP y Esti, vamos a extranar a Uds, sin duda...   It will also be a good test to see just how teacher/personality-driven SpanishPod is/was.  Thankfully we still have the incredible caped-and-masked Nacho Libre wrestling team of Lili and Leo tag-teaming in the SpanishPod wrestling ring, to keep a handle on things.

A Santiago -- che boludo, como andas?  Bienvenido y que quilombo por aca, no?  Jaaaa!!!  Es broma y nada mas...... sin embargo, me voy a gustar escuchar el acento argentino en los programas.  Chau!

aye, i can't believe you are leaving! i am very glad for you both are are pursueing what you wish,  but as selfish as this sounds i wish you could stay! maybe you could drop by spanishpod every now and then? It has been wonderful hearing your voices every week, while i have been struggling to learn my native language lol!  Thank you so much! visit Michigan, i know of a school in kalamazoo that greatly needs your knowledge lol! You have been like family to me lol Once again, thank you sooo much! awww i will miss you both so much! I i wish you Salud,Dinero, y Amore! Sincerely, with much love, Bonita_nieve

bonita_nieve, thanks so much!  As the son of immigrants myself, heritage learners have always had a special place in my heart. 

Esti and I are leaving, but SpanishPod will go on, by the way :)  We're currently interviewing potential candidates.

Please can JP stay with Spanishpod.com and Praxislanguage as a "Special Consultatant"?

1) Praxislanguage should keep JP on as a "Special Consultant".  JP could fly over 3 or 4 times a year and record special programs with Liliana and the team.

2) JP is an irreplaceable teacher of grammar and Spanish linguistics, who has been promising to come up with an innovative way to teach grammar.

JP is an irreplaceable teacher of grammar, who is a real scholar of the linguistics of Spanish (and French, Italian, etc.) and he is able to teach this most difficult and important dimension of Spanish in a humorous, enaging way that you do not realize he is doing it.  I believe it is impossible to find anyone else, who can join Liliana and Leo to do this.

3) Please offer JP a huge raise or double salary to stay on one more year!

JP is the integral leader of Spanishpod.com and Frenchpod.com, and he has unfinished business at Praxislanguage (see above), so he should be give a very large raise or a double salary to stay on one more year!

4) JP and the Spanishpod.team could be the ones to crack the mystery of the rules of pronouncing "v" and "b". 

No one has ever solved this problem and, as Leo, said in one of the lessons, native Spanish speakers "mix them up and make errors in spelling".  However, I am convinced that there is a hidden grammar to this, which JP and the Spanishpod team could discover and teach to us and publish on it.  William Labov from Columbia University in New York City is a pioneer in social linguistics, who recorded interviews with African American inner city gang leaders.  He then discovered they had a grammar of their own "Non-Standard English".  None of the learning Spanish books help you on the "v" and "b" pronounciation as much as the lesson on this from Spanishpod.com "Large b and Small b", etc.  However, I am sure if you make lists of common repeated pronunication patterns of these two consonants, you can write the grammar of this great mystery of spoken Spanish.

5) Therefore to JP and Praxislanguage:

Please try to figure out a creative way for JP to have a huge raise to stay on for at least one more year or come back a few times as a "Special Consultant" and provide special podcasts.

Please keep JP here in some capacity...Continued:

The JP and Liliana with Leo and Esti and others lesson podcasts are really unique.  There are now 400.  I think you should convince JP and Praxislanguage for JP to stay on at least one more year to reach 500 or 600.  Then Praxislanguage should sell the Newbie lessons only in bookstores around the world.  This will entice millions of people learning Spanish to buy them and want to be subscribers of all the Spanishpod.com podcasts.

I just found out yesterday, through Italianpod, that you guys are leaving. 

I cannot thank both of you, JP and Esti, for all the help you have given to all of us.  When I visited Madrid last year the people I know were impressed by the improvement in my Spanish and I told them about your podcast.  Best wishes in all you do in the future.

Leo and Lili, thank you so much for all you do.  I know with you guys there that we can continue to have quality and fun instruction.

Welcome Santiago.  You have come to work for a fantastic team.

eldavid: I hear ya, especially the whole v bersus b thing. Haha.

I don't think that JP can be persuaded to stay. He sounds very eager to move on.

I'm pretty sure, though, that Praxis Language will find a suitable replacement, if that's their intention. After all, they did find JP in the first place. And from what I've been reading, the hosts of the other Praxis Podcasts are(were) equally as popular.

Having said that. I'm not considering a long-term subscription until I've heard the replacement and seen how the whole Project X / schedule reduction mess is going to be sorted out.

Keep JP at Praxislanguage Movement:

Callum81:  I understand about your reluctance to take out a long subscription to Spanishpod.com with the news of JP's sudden and premature departure.  I was just about to pay for a Premium Subscription, when I heard this JP departure news with no one trying to convince him to stay on at least one more year. 

I think JP could be convinced to stay on, because he promised to come out with a creative way to teach grammar, and I really believe native Spanish speakers are not just sloppy pronouncers of "b" and "v" and bad spellers of words with those consonants, but that there is actually a hidden grammar of this common problem of people learning Spanish.  Leo said we often sound like "Gringos", when we students of Spanish pronounce every syllable, rather than running words together in the proper way JP imaginatively explained to us (in the Spanish elision lesson).  Some of my Spanish friends told me I am suddenly speaking Spanish much more correctly, really just after this lesson on elision from JP and Leo (with Leo's brilliantly funny joke at the end!). 

JP and Esti, I cannot believe you are both leaving. Even though I do not come here frequently to socialize, I never miss a lesson. You will both be missed greatly...but when I miss you too much, I will go back to all of my previous lessons to enjoy them (you) once more.

Estoy inconsolable! Adios amigos, y gracias por todos! Saludos!

Bienvenido Santiago! Mi amiga Daniela es argentina tambíen.

@eldavid, claro que nadie puede hablar en nombre de JP excepto JP (y igual para Estí – aunque no la has mecionado, ¡no debemos olvidarla! :) ) Pero además te diré que es importante recordar que principalmente cuando se deje un trabajo, es porque se esté listo de dejarlo. Por más que nos entristeza, el cambio es un parte necesario de la carrera y la vida.

@eldavid, clearly no one can speak for JP except JP (and likewise for Esti – though you didn’t mention her, we shouldn’t forget her! :) ) However, I’ll point out that it’s important to remember that usually when someone leaves a job it’s because they’re ready to leave. However sad it may be, change is a necessary part of one’s career and one’s life.

Además, aunque no lo hemos visto en público, me seguro que JP, Esti, y Praxis habían hablado mucho sobre todas las opcionas antes de suyas decisiónes – y por más que me gustaría retenerles por especialistas, lo siento pero creo sería tan cara. :(

And though we haven’t seen it in public, I’m JP, Esti, and Praxis had discussed all the options before their decisions – and for all that I’d like to keep them on as consultants, I think it’d be too expensive.  :(

Por otra mano, JP, Esti, espero mucho que todavía podéis enseñarnos por la red, de cualquier forma. ;)  (Vengad vengad, no sería difícil tener un pequeño estudio de grabar... ;) )

On the other hand, JP, Esti, I hope y’all’ll still be able to teach us online, in whatever fashion. ;) (C’mon, c’mon, it shouldn’t be hard to have a small recording studio... ;) )

eldavid,i felt the same way when first hearing the news of jp leaving.i wrote over a year ago that hands down jp is by far the best teacher on the internet!he has an incredible knack for teaching,his humor, voice,his quick witt and most importantly how he breaks things down so that you understand not only the concept but the why,wich alot of teachers dont do.
    there is no substitute for jp,he will be sorely missed .but with that said,i think he built such a strong foundation for us that the we can continue on our path to fluency with the help of lilliana and leo who are great teachers in their own right...

We have to adjust to JP leaving?

Every so often I go to sleep listening to Spanishpod.com lessons, which gets Spanish going into my unconscious (I'm one of those psychologists, you know).  So a couple of days ago, I had the Spanishpod.com lesson going as I fell asleep and JP appeared in my dream and said, "David, you don't have to be so concerned about your question of pronouncing "v" and "b" consonants in Spanish.  Just think of the 'irregular verbs" in Spanish, French, and irregular pronunciations of English words, such as "through". 

Later, the thought occurred to me that I only progressed from Newbie to Elementary lessons, and only studied a total of 50 or 60 of the current Team's lessons.  So I can go back and study the 340 or so lessons of the existing Team, even though we will no longer have JP and Esti. 

Señor Flynn, I thought I did mention Esti, and she is really great, funny, dramatic, and creative, and I have some very good friends who are also from Spain.  So I really value the Team having a Castilian native speaker!).

Steveooo, very well put statement about the "strong foundation" JP, Liliana, Leo, Esti, and others have already created for us. 

Thanks to JP and Esti for your wonderful teaching work for Spanishpod!  And don't think I am leaving out Liliana, Leo, and some interns and visitors.

Hey guys

Thanks so much for expressing your concern. I am so sad JP is leaving, believe me, he is a dear friend and colleague.I agree with you guys that he is the best teacher. So keeping this in mind, I will do everything in my power to get the best replacement. No worries, I am very picky, we already went through several candidates that were OK, but we want GREAT.

Thanks for all the support! I appreciate all your kind words. This days have been very hard for me, writing and recording my last dialogues with Esti and JP is no fun, but I am confident they will remian friends of SpanishPod, we can prank call them! jajajaja.

Thanks again for voicing all the concern and support for me and Leo.

Ohmygod!  I've been away for several weeks, and I returned to find this awful news!  There's not much I can add to what others have already said.  I too have enjoyed and benefitted enormously from JP and Esti; it's hard to imagine SpanishPod without you.  Coming on the heels of the reorganization, these changes seem especially worrisome.

Well, needless to say, I wish you both the best.  ¡Buenísima suerte! 

Y buenísima suerte también a Lili y a Leo.

JP and Esti,

Things will not be the same without the two of you.  You both have helped me personally so much.  Because of you all (and the rest of Spanishpod) I can communicate with my in-laws. 

I wish you both the best. 

I think that everything that can be said, has already been said by other Spanishpod users about JP and Esti leaving, but I feel compeleted to add my two cents worth. 

I love you guys and am going to miss you so much.  You have truly taken learning a new language to another level.  You have made it so enjoyable and your listeners feel such a personal connection with you.  That is why it is so hard to see you go.  We are losing friends, not just teachers. 

I wish you both the best in your next career path. Thanks again Esti and JP for your contributions to Spanishpod and for helping to make it the best Spanish learning website out there.

I look forward to continuing my learning with Leo, Liliana, Santiago, Marco and the New Spanishpod team members.  Good luck with the hiring Liliana.  I can't wait to see what new chemistry develops between you, Leo and the new person, because that is what truly makes your podcasts interesting... the relationships between you all.

Before getting too pathetic I'll rather link to a song. All the best JP and Esti! :)