I have been taking 4 hours of spanish lesson each day, one on one with Cesar, mi maestro. It is *tough* learning a language from scratch. The first few days I didnt know enough basic words or grammar to say much (although I got by fine with english). It's weird not even being able to say "can I have" "what is that", "that is good" "where is" etc. I am realizing how much French I actually know, ie, vocab and how to make sentences with approximately correct grammar. It's just that I just never got to put my French knowledge into practice. When I open my mouth I keep defaultingto French phrases. My brain seems to equate "speak foreign language" to "speak french." Without thinking I respond with "oui", "c'est bon" "et" "ici" "il y a", etc.
I plan to take another week of class and in the meantime I am:
(1) working on papers for my Sustainability class. Between that and studying Spanish, my day is quite packed, as is my brain.
(2) looking for volunteer opportunities for August
I am enjoying the social scene here - ex-pats and travelers always make for an interesting bunch. Being a school atmosphere, you also get some more serious types. I've made good friends with a girl from my homestay, Eng. Homestay is not great so we are moving to a new house next week.
I had a great first 4 days with Eric (NY friend), his brother Evan and his girlfriend Betsy. We partied it up on Guatemala City and Antigua and were lucky enough to be able to hang out with his extended family who are locals. They know the areas AND speak Spanish! :)
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| From Guatemala |
Learning a new language has to be tough. Do you think you'll have the basics down enough after the week to get around comfortably?
ReplyDeleteWhat type of volunteer opportunities have you been finding?
How does Guatemala compare to Southeast Asia? Costa Rica?
Sorry for all the questions, just curious how it all compares.
Be safe.