Today was our first day at language immersion school.
I don’t know when you last tried learning a new language, but I’m finding it very hard.
We’ll be attending classes for two weeks. Here’s the routine: a lesson from 9:00 to 11:00 (ish), a half-hour break, and then another two hours of Spanish conversation.
There are plenty of students at the school, but Robin and I are in a class all by ourselves. (Yes, you can say it. “You always knew that about us.”)
Today’s lesson focused on grammar, and I discovered something I hadn’t realized before: I suck at pronouns.
In English, I use them intuitively—and, I think, pretty damn well. But ask me to explain what I’m doing, and I’m lost. That makes figuring out how to use pronouns in another language considerably harder.
Robin, meanwhile, is doing quite well. Her knowledge of French and a little Italian definitely gives her an advantage. She’s ready to dive in and start constructing sentences.
Me? Not so much.
But here’s the interesting thing: I’m not discouraged. Frustrated yes, discouraged no.
I started taking piano lessons this summer, and it’s been a wonderful experience. I’m stretching my brain in ways I haven’t before, and I’m discovering that learning something new takes patience. I’m confident my brain cells will adapt to Spanish the same way they’ve adapted to learning to play the piano. Slowly but surely. (I know, I know. “Don’t call me Shirley”.)
We also received our first homework assignments. Mine was to write two sets of five sentences: five general sentences and five descriptive ones.
Here’s what I came up with.
General sentences
1. Nosotros fue por almuezo
2. Yo no puedo comer comeda picante.
3. ¿Que esta por almuezo?
4. ¿Donde esta la Cosina?
5. Yo gusto pollo.
Descriptive sentences
1. My hijo odias cerdo.
2. Mi hermanna es diez añes que yo.
3. Max es treinta y tres añes.
4. Mi carro es un Chevrolet Volt verde.
5. Jay es mi Viejo amigo
OK, perhaps the grammar isn’t quite right. But I’m making myself understood—or at least making a respectable attempt!
Who knows what tomorrow will bring?
I know it won’t be easy. But every day of struggling through Spanish brings us a little closer to being able to communicate with the people we’ll meet over the next three months.
And that’s worth the effort.
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