I know it seems strange—and maybe a bit of a cop-out—that I’m combining two days into one blog entry. But the fact is, the two days were remarkably similar.
Both days, I went to school, had a good first section (grammar) and a difficult second section (conversation). Both nights, Robin and I went to the festival just up the street from our apartment. Both nights, we ate at the festival and were underwhelmed by the food.
The biggest difference was that we saw live music the second night.
And yet, something happened over those two days that has sent me in a whole new direction, not just with Spanish, but with how I’m approaching this vacation.
OK, let me back up a bit.
Like I said, the grammar section went great. I was following along; I was taking part and I was understanding what was happening. It felt great. And then came the section on conversation.
Robin is doing very well. I think I mentioned that she has been ordering food, and conversing (albeit with some difficulty) with the different vendors we encounter. Me, I’ve been struggling to even do “Dick and Jane types of sentences.
At the end of the class the said it was important for me to study vocabulary. I realized she was right. I went back to the apartment and started working on it. I realized that the best way for me to learn the words was in sentence. That made for a very trusting night because I was struggling with getting the sentences written correctly (Chad was helping by checking my work). I got frustrated by both making mistakes on the sentences AND not learning the words. By the end of the night I finally had learned several words and that felt good.
Friday was more of the same, The same good first section learning grammar and doing well at it, and, sadly the same difficulty in making simple sentences. We had a very interesting conversation with the teacher (well, for the most part Robin did but I did contribute a few sentences with a lot of pain, and a lot of help) about our Synogogue in Boulder (Nevei Kodesh) and about Judaism (Judaísmo) in general. I enjoyed the conversation and was frustrated.
We went back to the apartment and Robin had a phone call. I got to think about about what I wanted out of the class. What I wanted was to be able to take care of myself while we are in Peru. I want to be able to carry out basic tasks (order food, ask for simple directions and tell someone a little about me if they ask. That feels doable. Now you have to understand I have convinced myself over the years that I can’t learn languages and I’ve attributed that to my belief that I’m not very smart. I know that’s nonsense and it is a pretty deeply held believe. And something has changed. I believe I am smart and capable. And I don’t’ think I’ll be able to talk Spanish as well as Robin, and I think I can reach my goal. So the question was how. And I decided the way forward was to ask for a separate teacher for the second session starting on Monday. That way Robin could continue to improve without my holding her back (my words, not hers) and I could get the help I need to move forward on being able to make sentences and talk. I told Robin about my idea and she was (not surprisingly) very supportive and we’ve arranged for that to start on Monday.
Robin and I also are going to start talking more Spanish with each other to force us to practice (after Friday when I feel ready to try). And… Max has agreed to be my “Pen Pal”. I plan to text him every day with a small conversation in Spanish and he will respond. I have a few other friends that speak Spanish and I may do the same with them.
I like my plan and feel it gives me a good chance of success. Best of all, I’m showing faith in myself that I can do something WAY out of my comfort zone. I’m feeling very proud of myself.
That night we back to the festival and, sadly, had another poor meal. We did, however get to see some live music which was fun. The day ended on several high notes. Tomorrow we get up early to go to a bird sanctuary. I’m really looking forward to that.
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