Thinking in Spanish
It's said that to truly master a language, you have to be able to think in it. It's not good enough to be able to translate your native language into another in your head, you've got to know what manzana is without stopping to thing "Oh yeah, that's an apple." It's the biggest stumbling block for the student.
While I'm not 100% there, after two semesters, I'm seeing signs.
A few weeks ago, a restless night's sleep. Every time I woke up, the dream I'd left behind was in Spanish. I was natacíon en la piscina con mis hijos, montar a caballo and yo hablabo solamente en español. While the lack of sleep was annoying, the fact that when I left the conscious behind, I could do that felt pretty good.
Little words here and there just roll off the tongue in the new language. Si. Salud, lo siento, descuple, no más and yo estudio. Now, I'm noticing that when I leave class, or a charlas (the extra credit sessions where we converse en español), I'm thinking in the language.
Last week, I stopped at the awesome taquería truck and spoke with the owner completely in Spanish. Not just ordering the food, but about the weather, my school and with another patron who told me how he scours the highways (a truck driver) for these little trucks, because they've got the best tacos. The whole conversation was in Spanish.
Today, I left the charlas and headed downstairs to see my academic advisor for a sign off on the third semester of Spanish. I had to stop myself from talking to her in another language. By no means would I be considered fluent.
But I'm on my way.
While I'm not 100% there, after two semesters, I'm seeing signs.
A few weeks ago, a restless night's sleep. Every time I woke up, the dream I'd left behind was in Spanish. I was natacíon en la piscina con mis hijos, montar a caballo and yo hablabo solamente en español. While the lack of sleep was annoying, the fact that when I left the conscious behind, I could do that felt pretty good.
Little words here and there just roll off the tongue in the new language. Si. Salud, lo siento, descuple, no más and yo estudio. Now, I'm noticing that when I leave class, or a charlas (the extra credit sessions where we converse en español), I'm thinking in the language.
Last week, I stopped at the awesome taquería truck and spoke with the owner completely in Spanish. Not just ordering the food, but about the weather, my school and with another patron who told me how he scours the highways (a truck driver) for these little trucks, because they've got the best tacos. The whole conversation was in Spanish.
Today, I left the charlas and headed downstairs to see my academic advisor for a sign off on the third semester of Spanish. I had to stop myself from talking to her in another language. By no means would I be considered fluent.
But I'm on my way.
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