Hello friends and family....Gaucha Guapa here! I realized that I have not mentioned much of what I do each day, besides taking yoga and Pilates classes! I do maintain about 3 classes a week, sometimes a few more if I have the opportunity to try a new class or a new studio. I am still enjoying being in the kitchen, and cook for us most nights. (We have discovered that dairy and meat doesn't have quite the shelf life as our US counterparts, so "ir de compras" (grocery shopping) is a regular task.) However, my daily activity that is most consistent is my Spanish class. A few weeks after we arrived I started taking Spanish classes with a private tutor 3 times a week for two hours. We actually have the class in a old theatre building about 20 minutes away by foot from the house. Recently, I switched to five times a week for two hours so it could be more of an immersion program. I can really tell a difference in my speaking abilities when I am attending class every day. I can also tell notice a difference on the days when El Torero and are speaking in Spanish and the other days when we are too lazy! For instance...
I have to admit that this week I have taken the easy route and initiated much more English in the house than Spanish. In addition, my class was canceled on Wednesday and Thursday. Yesterday (Thursday afternoon) I went to tea with a friend here. After neglecting my Spanish for a few days I was all tongue tied and struggling to conjugate my verbs. Luckily, she is very patient!
Moral of the story... if ya don't use it...ya loose it!
So my Spanish lessons continue for about another month. After that I will take more time to read the paper in Spanish, and continue always trying to talk to as many people as possible. Many Uruguayans tell me that I speak "bastante bien" (good enough/that I speak pretty well) so this is encouraging! I am still striving towards my goal... to be practically fluent by the time I come home.
Let's all cross our fingers!
I miss you all very much and hope to hear from you soon!
-GG
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5 Comments:
Spanish was always a tough subject for me too. I was always trying to translate the words in my head rather than thinking in Spanish. I have a thought though. Why not go everywhere and only speak English. I'm sure people would go crazy getting the rust of their English skills that they learned while in school. They would say, "Finally, I can use my English!" Instead of conforming to the norm you can have a whole town going crazy trying to learn English. Everywhere you go people will be yelling, "Hello GG!", rather than some "ethnic" remark. Think about it. You could change a whole block. Then soon, a couple of them, then by the time you're ready to leave Montevideo will be an English First town. =)
I need to practice my Espanol...let's speak in Spanish when you get back!
~Alana
Hi,
I am looking for a good English tutor in about a year. Any suggestions? I would prefer not to have to go to the Berlitz institute in Montevideo if I can find a good Spanish tutor instead.
Your moral explains where my mind went...
Your advice is absolutely on target. I can tell, because I am not nearly at that point yet. My Spanish is still about the equivalent of Robinson Crusoe's man Friday on Sunday afternoon of their first week...
Minamelos, again you have successfully started a slew of comments. GG and ET thank you. =)
Alana, feel free to write me in Spanish (si tengas ganas) when we email. That should be good practice!
Pharmon, I have to admit I don't quite follow...but if you do need a good SPANISH tutor I can recommend one. As for my English, it is getting worse as my Spanish improves. =)
Southron - before my time? GG needs more background on that analogy.
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