Hi readers,
Teachers (in their adorable, dorky teacher way) like to say "Happy New Year!" when they see each other in September. I started hearing the phrase almost immediately when I went back to work 2 days ago. This "Happy New Year" business means two things:
Fact 1: I moved to Spain a year ago.
Fact 2: SCHOOL IS STARTING.
Literally: school is starting in 24 hours. What I really should be doing is rooting myself in the reality of Fact 2 and frantically preparing course materials, lab manuals, neatly organizing stacks of colored index cards, etc. Instead, I have been lingering around in the dreamy realities of Fact 1 and spending the last hours of summer drinking wine, taking walks and reflecting on the last 365 days.
The events of 2015 are forever joined in my mind by the thread of my relentless attempts to learn Spanish. In the past 12 months I have accumulated 4 Spanish translation apps, 3 language podcasts, 2 online video subscriptions and 1 Shakira album. I have approximately 397 hours engaged in classes, note-taking, conversation and Spanish television shows.
The nicest thing anyone has ever said regarding my efforts is that I am able to "make myself understood". They said it in English.
I spend a lot of time with a confused smile on my face, inviting conversation I don't understand then frantically nodding and watching carefully for hand gestures.
Honestly--its been fun. It's been HARD and frustrating, but also fun. I am slowly getting better at something new and that is an interesting process. I'm learning lots about myself. For example, I learned that I am kind of impatient. I like to learn new things. I talk a lot. I dislike large piles of papers. I find it very relaxing to listen to podcasts as I fall asleep.
Flannery O'Connor once said "...something is bound to happen; and you don't have to know what before you begin." Granted, she's a writer (who writes in English) and she was talking about how she invents the characters in her novels (again in English) but I think the idea is related.
Teachers (in their adorable, dorky teacher way) like to say "Happy New Year!" when they see each other in September. I started hearing the phrase almost immediately when I went back to work 2 days ago. This "Happy New Year" business means two things:
Fact 1: I moved to Spain a year ago.
Fact 2: SCHOOL IS STARTING.
Literally: school is starting in 24 hours. What I really should be doing is rooting myself in the reality of Fact 2 and frantically preparing course materials, lab manuals, neatly organizing stacks of colored index cards, etc. Instead, I have been lingering around in the dreamy realities of Fact 1 and spending the last hours of summer drinking wine, taking walks and reflecting on the last 365 days.
The events of 2015 are forever joined in my mind by the thread of my relentless attempts to learn Spanish. In the past 12 months I have accumulated 4 Spanish translation apps, 3 language podcasts, 2 online video subscriptions and 1 Shakira album. I have approximately 397 hours engaged in classes, note-taking, conversation and Spanish television shows.
The nicest thing anyone has ever said regarding my efforts is that I am able to "make myself understood". They said it in English.
I spend a lot of time with a confused smile on my face, inviting conversation I don't understand then frantically nodding and watching carefully for hand gestures.
Honestly--its been fun. It's been HARD and frustrating, but also fun. I am slowly getting better at something new and that is an interesting process. I'm learning lots about myself. For example, I learned that I am kind of impatient. I like to learn new things. I talk a lot. I dislike large piles of papers. I find it very relaxing to listen to podcasts as I fall asleep.
Flannery O'Connor once said "...something is bound to happen; and you don't have to know what before you begin." Granted, she's a writer (who writes in English) and she was talking about how she invents the characters in her novels (again in English) but I think the idea is related.
Maybe that is why I feel so relaxed about the start of a new year. I never could have imagined the things that happened last year. I never could have imagined that it would take 6 months to figure out how to order coffee I like, or that I would talk about milk in 7,000 different Spanish expressions or that my most successful language missions would take place walking next to a highway with a 54 year old Russian woman in Northern Spain.
I'm happy not to know what's going to happen this year. It's exciting.
Happy New Year! Off to focus on the whole 'job' thing for the day.
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