Part of the reason I came here was to improve my Spanish. With the volunteer program, I signed up for a week of lessons. That week is still not complete but I am getting Spanish lessons in Cartagena.
Not What I Expected
I have now been here for 2 weeks + 2 days. I honestly thought I would have Spanish lessons each day after volunteering for the first week. Why did I think that? Because that was what was promised in my volunteer plan. Things don’t work the way they’re supposed to – I have definitely learned that.
First off, the person who was supposed to be teaching me Spanish (or helping me to improve my Spanish, I like to think :)) declined the job the day before my arrival. Too busy or something. Then Libary, the volunteer coordinator, had to find someone to replace her. Who did she find? Herself. Yes, this is not a big operation!
Spanish Lessons Are Slow
Between Libary’s other job and her own school classes and work, and my volunteering and trips out of town, we have only had time for 4 classes so far. 3 the first week, 1 last week, and 1 tonight. As you can imagine, my Spanish is not progressing at a very good speed. I am a little more advanced than when I arrived, but the one thing I have learned is how much more I need to learn!
Libary is a good teacher; she provides examples and interesting anecdotes to help me remember things. But damn, my memory is nowhere near as good as when I studied this in school. In one ear and out the other! I am trying to practice and study, but I am out of practice in studying.
I’ll keep plugging away at it. I know practice makes perfect. I think this is something I will want to pursue once I am back in Toronto if can find the time!
My Teacher
Here’s a photo of Libary – I’ve talked about her so much, you should see her too! She’s a great girl. I have a lot of admiration for a 23 year old who works so hard, loves languages, and went to New York State on her own for a semester on a scholarship. She started working with the volunteer organization, A Broader View, when she was only 19. She’s impressive, and on top of all her other jobs, she’s giving me Spanish lessons in Cartagena.
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The best thing to learn a language is being in a country where it is spoken, so I’m sure you’ll keep geting better at it without even noticing! First time I went to Canada I could barely spoke English but I realized as the days were going by that I was getting improvements as I had no choice but speaking in English all the time. Next time I go to Toronto I want to hear your Spanish š I don’t speak it but I can understand it very well as it is very similar to Portuguese (see? knowing Spanish you’ll be fine in Brazil, even more in Southern).