plugging along

Well, tonight seems a good night to blog. My husband is working late, my son misbehaved and was sent to bed without any stories, and I've finished all my homework. Of course, I could read a book in Spanish....but I am having a serious block with reading right now. More on that in a minute.

Spanish class continues to be fun and interesting. I just love my Venezuelan teacher, who is incredibly charismatic and energetic. He always has time for our questions and really believes in our potential. Apparently our teachers are changed every 4 weeks so that we don't get used to one accent or teaching style, so I'm just trying to appreciate what I have now. Two students were moved out of our class this week. It has been nice to have more speaking time, but I miss my A-100 classmate D.

I love the grammar review we are doing- I think that I have a pretty good grasp of grammar, but have learned that I have more than a few areas to work on. And while I don't love doing presentations, I know they are good for me. But reading is another story. Give me a nice news article to read and I'm happy. But the more complex readings make me want to run away. They are usually about some intangible, ephemeral thing that I cannot grasp, and it drives me crazy! Give me a good article about public health!

Once upon a time, I used to read Isabel Allende for fun. Now, the idea intimidates me. I got a nice easy book, or so I thought, (De como las muchachas Garcia perdieron el acento), but I can't get past the first page. Since I need to score a 3 in reading as well as writing, I'm going to have to get over this block, but right now, it's very strong. 

On Tuesday we started our weekly Central America and Spanish-speaking Caribbean Area Studies class. There is a big group of students going to the DR- maybe 10 of us, so that will be fun. I wish the director of this course had a little bit of my Spanish teacher's energy, but I am looking forward to learning the history. Unfortunately, it is hard to make myself read a history book on my own, so this requirement will help.

My husband is trying to fit in some time each night for his Spanish distance learning course. It's not easy- he's working long hours again and it's usually the last thing he does at night. So naturally, he's not making a ton of progress and has been a bit frustrated. I remind him that learning a language takes time - like learning an instrument, you have to keep practicing what you've learned. This morning I was drilling him on the basics during breakfast - como se llama, de donde es, donde vive, etc. It was helpful to him and also had my kids riveted. When I turned to M and asked what his name was, he answered in perfect Spanish and grinned when we cheered for him. He used to speak pretty well for a 4 year old, so I hope it will come back quickly.

I was browsing Amazon for good Spanish DVDs or CDs that really teach kids Spanish with a minimum of English- there are so many to choose from and I really don't want to waste my $$. If you know of a quality, entertaining resource that is heavy on Spanish, please let me know! I have Fun Spanish for kids by Beth Manners, but I really find that it has too much English and what it teaches is not that useful.

What else? Life is still busy, but quieter. Tomorrow is Flag Day for my friends in the 159th! Good luck, everyone! And I'm the Welcome Committee co-chair for the 160th, so we're busy making plans.

Looking forward to seeing my aunties this weekend.