¡Feliz Sábado todos! School is back full swing and this week I was so busy that the week flew by. We've had a lot to do and it's not going to slow down any time soon. Last weekend we went into Valencia to celebrate Ryan's and Jaci's birthdays and got LemonGrass, a delicious but very affordable thai restaurant we love. On Sunday Justin ran a half-marathon here in Sagunto and I worked on homework and reading my Spanish books all day. On Thursday, for "Aula cultural" ("cultural classroom" which really just means chapel) several students got up to tell about their Christmas breaks and what they did. Some shared about going back to the states, some went to Thailand, and Justin got to tell about our trip in Europe. He did such a good job, and spoke so well in Spanish without even having to read his notes! Among the points he made was his favorite, "torres nunca decepcionar" (towers never disappoint) and everyone enjoyed that.
I am enjoying my new group but finding challenges in it every day, from sentence diagraming to learning how to discuss difficult topics like euthanasia in Spanish. Somehow, though, for every confidence-blow I get, something comes along to counteract it.
It's hard to describe what it's like to be in school for four months when your classes are only in Spanish. Somehow everything gets done, you know what you're supposed to do (más o menos) and you accomplish it, but for me there's always a slight feeling of helplessness I get when I can't communicate exactly what I want to say, when I want to say it. I'm at the point now where if I listen closely, I can understand quite a lot, nearly all, that my teachers say. This is wonderful, but it's hard when they are asking for response out of us and it takes so much longer to form thoughts and sentences. Sometimes these little instances add up to make me feel like I'm having a terrible day, Spanish-wise, but it sometimes takes the littlest things to bring me out of this feeling.
This week I had my first personal monitor meeting with my new monitor, Elliet. She's very nice and we talked for an hour (well, mostly I talked and she listened) about everything. I even went so far as to explain Pinterest in Spanish, which she brought up on her iPad and decided to create an account! After that I felt a lot better about my progress. Sometimes it's getting one answer right in Grammar, talking to the ladies serving food in the caf, or deciding that in 30 years you probably won't even remember what level you got on the DELE exam. Sometimes it's dropping the homework for half an hour and picking oranges with Ryan and Shannon, or singing hymns after worship with Justin and Jon. One thing that always makes me feel better is looking out at the Mediterranean and remembering where I am and why I came here. Justin's saying, "towers never disappoint" is true, and I'd like to add that for me, sunrises in Spain never disappoint. It's very rare that we have a morning here when the sky isn't hot pink or orange and I love it! Spain doesn't disappoint, it's wonderful here and I'm so glad I have this opportunity.
I am enjoying my new group but finding challenges in it every day, from sentence diagraming to learning how to discuss difficult topics like euthanasia in Spanish. Somehow, though, for every confidence-blow I get, something comes along to counteract it.
It's hard to describe what it's like to be in school for four months when your classes are only in Spanish. Somehow everything gets done, you know what you're supposed to do (más o menos) and you accomplish it, but for me there's always a slight feeling of helplessness I get when I can't communicate exactly what I want to say, when I want to say it. I'm at the point now where if I listen closely, I can understand quite a lot, nearly all, that my teachers say. This is wonderful, but it's hard when they are asking for response out of us and it takes so much longer to form thoughts and sentences. Sometimes these little instances add up to make me feel like I'm having a terrible day, Spanish-wise, but it sometimes takes the littlest things to bring me out of this feeling.
This week I had my first personal monitor meeting with my new monitor, Elliet. She's very nice and we talked for an hour (well, mostly I talked and she listened) about everything. I even went so far as to explain Pinterest in Spanish, which she brought up on her iPad and decided to create an account! After that I felt a lot better about my progress. Sometimes it's getting one answer right in Grammar, talking to the ladies serving food in the caf, or deciding that in 30 years you probably won't even remember what level you got on the DELE exam. Sometimes it's dropping the homework for half an hour and picking oranges with Ryan and Shannon, or singing hymns after worship with Justin and Jon. One thing that always makes me feel better is looking out at the Mediterranean and remembering where I am and why I came here. Justin's saying, "towers never disappoint" is true, and I'd like to add that for me, sunrises in Spain never disappoint. It's very rare that we have a morning here when the sky isn't hot pink or orange and I love it! Spain doesn't disappoint, it's wonderful here and I'm so glad I have this opportunity.
