I have a new respect for international students. I spent 2 and a half hours in spanish class on monday night and I couldn’t wait to hear a word or two of English! I had to attend so carefully, and I still couldn’t understand much of what was going on. I don’t think my spanish classes in undergrad were as difficult as this conversation class. And I’m also… well, frankly, I’m not used to not being one of the smartest ones in the class. I felt dumb. I felt overwhelmed. Perhaps, for once, I felt like a normal person. Still, I’m really pumped about the class. It’s been 5 years since I took any spanish, and I am badly in need of a refresher.
I wish my spanish was stored in a part of my brain that I had access to. I know it’s in there. If the words and gramatical rules were re-presented to me, I’d remember them. But I just can’t get there now. I couldn’t remember how to say “beautiful.” I had to use a lame synonym. “Hermoso” came back to me about 12 hours too late. What it is.
I’m so glad you’re taking spanish! Sounds like fun. You’ll be awesome in the class. Get a copy of 500 Spanish verbs and just start flipping through vocab – it’ll come back quickly.
Comment by tanya — January 27, 2005 @ 9:17 am
Good for you. The best thing you can do in a conversation class is too focus less on the grammer and rules and more on just trying to internalize what others are saying. It’s hard. I know. But it’s completely worth it when it clicks. (Incidently, “clicking” is not a one-time deal. It happens constantly, but you always slip a little bit. You just can’t give up on it.) When did you decide to do this?
Comment by Daniel Poth — January 28, 2005 @ 12:33 pm