That's good enough for me! Happy Wednesday everyone! So far this has been my favorite day of the week. ¿Por qué? you may find yourself asking. Well here's why:
Last night was very busy; I felt like I had a ton of homework but it seemed doable. One tarea (task... a.k.a. HOMEWORK) I had to complete was a 4-5 minute presentation for my conversation class. We could present about our own life or the life of someone else, like a famous person. I, like most others, decided the easiest route was to talk about myself. I made a short Keynote with photos of my family and I, and prepared my talk. Which means I wrote it out word for word. Anyway, with that done, I had to finish some workbook exercises and begin memorizing the first of my 117 word vocab list. I went to bed tired and wishing las chicas in the dorm were quieter.
This morning, groups A, B, and C headed out for a day in Valencia while we, groups D, E, and F, stayed behind and had class as normal (don't worry, tomorrow WE get to go!). Composición was first, and as always Chelo was peppy and cheerful as she finished talking about the Spanish Alphabet and moved on to review the difference between ser and estar. I got some good studying in my hour break and then finished my school day with Gramática, comida, y Conversación. I was relieved that I got to do my presentation today and that I could get it over with! I think it went pretty well.
The highlight of my day was still to come, however. At three I had my meeting with Belén, my monitor (mentor) for the year. She's also the monitor of Group D with a Theology student named Petar. Both of them are so nice and understanding when we slaughter our Spanish. Last night we had our group meeting and played Spanish Pictionary, which was quite fun. Anyway, today we had a personal meeting for one whole our where I could practice my Spanish. The time flew by so fast! She asked if I would like to practice learning the past tense, and I said yes, so she asked me all about what I liked to do when I was a kid, what I did this summer, and what Kansas is like. When she asked if we had mountains, I sadly told her that no, we have no mountains and no beaches. She seemed a little surprised at that, so I drew her a map and showed that we are as far away from the ocean as you can get! Then we continued talking. At the end, I could hardly believe I had just conversed in Spanish for a whole hour. Granted, I had lots of sentences that included "como se dice...?" (how do you say...?) but Belén was patient and helpful and I'm feeling much better about my skills!
All pumped up on Spanish, I decided to head back to my room to start watching Toy Story 3 (en español por supeusto) which I had left loading on youtube. I hadn't been in my room two minutes when one of my deans came knocking to deliver a package! It was for Justin and I, from our abuela (grandma) and I was SO excited. He came over to the dorm so we could open it together and to our joy the box was full of what our family refers to as "grandma cookies." They are the most delicious drops of heaven you have ever eaten. It was so excited to get a care package all the way from the US and the most amazing grandmother ever!
As we enjoyed our treats, Justin talked to me about an article he's writing for his school's paper back in the US. I love writing, and I love reading other people's articles and giving input if they want it. Talking about his plans for his article made me miss writing papers so much! I know it's strange since papers are usually the primary dread of college students, but as an English major, it's what I do.
Looking back on the past two and a half weeks, I can't believe how different everything seems than when I first arrived. The stuffy little dorm room that greeted me my first night at 2 AM has already become home. The teachers who spoke so quickly on that first day of class are now friends. The autoconfianza I lacked just one week ago is slowly starting to grow. Can I do it? I think yes. Or as one of my favorite authors says, "And will you succeed?/Yes! You will indeed!/(98 and 3/4 precent guaranteed)." -Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You'll go.
Last night was very busy; I felt like I had a ton of homework but it seemed doable. One tarea (task... a.k.a. HOMEWORK) I had to complete was a 4-5 minute presentation for my conversation class. We could present about our own life or the life of someone else, like a famous person. I, like most others, decided the easiest route was to talk about myself. I made a short Keynote with photos of my family and I, and prepared my talk. Which means I wrote it out word for word. Anyway, with that done, I had to finish some workbook exercises and begin memorizing the first of my 117 word vocab list. I went to bed tired and wishing las chicas in the dorm were quieter.
This morning, groups A, B, and C headed out for a day in Valencia while we, groups D, E, and F, stayed behind and had class as normal (don't worry, tomorrow WE get to go!). Composición was first, and as always Chelo was peppy and cheerful as she finished talking about the Spanish Alphabet and moved on to review the difference between ser and estar. I got some good studying in my hour break and then finished my school day with Gramática, comida, y Conversación. I was relieved that I got to do my presentation today and that I could get it over with! I think it went pretty well.
The highlight of my day was still to come, however. At three I had my meeting with Belén, my monitor (mentor) for the year. She's also the monitor of Group D with a Theology student named Petar. Both of them are so nice and understanding when we slaughter our Spanish. Last night we had our group meeting and played Spanish Pictionary, which was quite fun. Anyway, today we had a personal meeting for one whole our where I could practice my Spanish. The time flew by so fast! She asked if I would like to practice learning the past tense, and I said yes, so she asked me all about what I liked to do when I was a kid, what I did this summer, and what Kansas is like. When she asked if we had mountains, I sadly told her that no, we have no mountains and no beaches. She seemed a little surprised at that, so I drew her a map and showed that we are as far away from the ocean as you can get! Then we continued talking. At the end, I could hardly believe I had just conversed in Spanish for a whole hour. Granted, I had lots of sentences that included "como se dice...?" (how do you say...?) but Belén was patient and helpful and I'm feeling much better about my skills!
All pumped up on Spanish, I decided to head back to my room to start watching Toy Story 3 (en español por supeusto) which I had left loading on youtube. I hadn't been in my room two minutes when one of my deans came knocking to deliver a package! It was for Justin and I, from our abuela (grandma) and I was SO excited. He came over to the dorm so we could open it together and to our joy the box was full of what our family refers to as "grandma cookies." They are the most delicious drops of heaven you have ever eaten. It was so excited to get a care package all the way from the US and the most amazing grandmother ever!
As we enjoyed our treats, Justin talked to me about an article he's writing for his school's paper back in the US. I love writing, and I love reading other people's articles and giving input if they want it. Talking about his plans for his article made me miss writing papers so much! I know it's strange since papers are usually the primary dread of college students, but as an English major, it's what I do.
Looking back on the past two and a half weeks, I can't believe how different everything seems than when I first arrived. The stuffy little dorm room that greeted me my first night at 2 AM has already become home. The teachers who spoke so quickly on that first day of class are now friends. The autoconfianza I lacked just one week ago is slowly starting to grow. Can I do it? I think yes. Or as one of my favorite authors says, "And will you succeed?/Yes! You will indeed!/(98 and 3/4 precent guaranteed)." -Dr. Seuss, Oh the Places You'll go.
