I have spent 4 nights dancing my legs off. 1-8am, Wednesday to Saturday. My body hurts and my feet refuse to accept shoes. These extended evenings dancing the night away were with a bright bunch of Espanols who can barely speak a word in English. Thank God we were dancing. They took me from one restaurant to another, club to club, town to town, with tremendous patience and a perpetual smile (I was probably being laughed at most the time, but all in good humour I hope!). Constructing a line correctly in Spanish still requires me to think for a few seconds after every word; never I have I been such a silent listener. Spanish people joke a lot, and even though I may understand them sometimes, I have no idea how to respond appropriately. In a nutshell, in Spanish I am a retard with no sense of humour.
Of course with this schedule, my Spanish study has gone down the drain – back to the point where I don’t understand my homework. BUT, I have been exposed to the “real” stuff; listening to hours of Spanish conversation is very stressful and churns your brain far more than homework. Well, that’s my excuse anyway 🙂
Bored of saying “lo siento, no entiendo, puedes repitir?” (sorry, I don’t understand, please can you repeat), I have started saying “despues dos meses mas, hablo espanol” (ok smarties who speak Spanish, I haven’t learnt future tense yet – so I know this sentence is wrong). So my stakes are high, if I can’t speak in the next 2 months, I’ll probably be buying my flight ticket home.
salsa-the sustainer.
Didi, dont worry you are going to be fine,and as it always happens, suddenly the language will click, and u’ll be ‘rocking’.
theres not one day that i dont feel proud of you. You inspire and i get inspired.
Keep blogging, and good post.
We miss you!
Hola Abha!
Nam here…just writing to say… you are right that listening to hours of spanish conv is probably harder on your brain than homework.. however focus on conjugation and vocabulary and the best part is that while you do that, you are already getting your ear accustomed to the sounds of Spanish. This is very important, and being a silent listener is not a bad thing, I used to be one… suddenly it clicks, like it will for you if you keep at it!!!
I hear you have written to Mireia in barcelona, lets see if you two meet up! Good luck and will see you in Spain later this year…
Besos
are you ok?
Nam:*SIGH* Espero. Pero suerte que encontro Españoles que es muy paciente conmigo.Desde ahora hablamos in Español, bien? Escrite luego!
Shakti: Yes, I´m fine thanks. Valencia is in complete shock though. That line is one of the most frequented, I could have been on it.
Heyy
Good to hear your okay. Heard the news on the radio while driving to work and the first word that came to mind was ‘Abha’…
Where are you? No news for a while.. how was the salsa congress… any other juice?
thank the higher powers that be. just when i heard the news, for once i wished that you hadn’t left.