Monday, August 25, 2008

learning

The accent of the Spanish here is incredibly difficult for me. Maybe because I foolishly thought my language skills would pick up where I left them in Guatemala. Or maybe because Greg can’t speak a word, I feel pressure to be fluent for both of us. Or, really, the accent is like a lisped version of the Spanish I’ve heard before…Castellano, to be more accurate, is the language.

Amid my stumbling, I did manage to secure an apartment for us. What a rush! Conducting business in Spanish, signing a contract for one month, making sure both Greg & I understand the rules of the agreement. Shew! The gentleman who owns the apartment was, of course, very generous to me—spoke very slowly and used simple words. We are both really happy to be out of the hostel world. It’s a good thing, but we aren’t really clubbers and we’re more interested in finding a rhythm and a semblance of a life here than bouncing from one amazing place to the next.

So we’re starting here. We start Spanish classes on Monday. Greg is really looking forward to it, as am I. Somehow, I managed to forget my English-Spanish dictionary, so have a sparkly, new one
.

And I taught my first English class on Saturday.—I substituted for a woman who had to be in Buenos Aires for the day. FOUR HOURS! Shew. Thank God for textbooks!

2 comments:

Mailo said...

yay, you! i'm so proud! can't wait to hear more...and maybe arrange a rendezvous in some south american land!

Jennifer said...

Wow. I am excited to hear about the amazing experiences that await you!