I finished my Spanish classes this last Friday at the language institute in O Grove (I got a certificate and everything!). So today Jonathan and I went into Pontevedra, a larger city only 20 miles away, to FINALLY finish all of my immigration stuff, which was a success!! I am officially an immigrant! When we were in Pontevedra a few weeks ago eating at a Turkish restaurant we met this Bangladeshi man who told us that there were free Spanish classes for immigrants through the Red Cross in Pontevedra. So after leaving the police station we headed over the Red Cross to look into it. We met Beta, a lovely social worker, who was so sweet and helpful. There are free Spanish classes for immigrants through the Red Cross two mornings a week and two evenings a week (woo hoo!). She also spoke to us about some more documentation we need to obtain in order to receive health care here and suggested I start Spanish classes Wednesday night so that she can introduce me to everyone (we <3 Beta!). From what I understand the classes are open ended groups where they work on more conversational skills, as opposed to more complicated grammar drills. The classes I was in before were more academic in the study of the language, so I can understand more complicated conjugations and phrases when written, but where I struggle the most is when people are speaking and being able to quickly form phrases and reply. Often when Jonathan and I have dinner or visit with family here, I have trouble participating in group conversations. When I have something I want to say I need to stop and think about how to say it before I begin to speak. If I stop mid phrase repeatedly or stumble, it is harder for people to understand me, on top of my accent. So it is best for me to think about the phrase before beginning to speak. But what often happens is that by the time I finish thinking about how to say something, the moment has passed and the conversation has moved on. Jonathan has joked that I need a little bell to ring when I want the conversation to stop, so that I can take a minute, think, and then interject in the conversation. So I think these classes will be really helpful for me. When people speak I often have to ask them to speak more slowly (all of the family here pretty much doe this automatically for me - they're too good to me). I've also been watching a sultry day time movie every day to work on my verbal comprehension (two I watched last week included affairs with the babysitter and one had David Hasselhoff in it). I have difficulty following more complicated movies in Spanish - I need the plot lines clearly laid out for me. I think it would also be really helpful for Jonathan and I to speak Spanish at home together too, but it just well, sucks. It's super frustrating for both of us. I'm hoping in another month we can begin our little at home immersion or at least start doing it during specific hours each day. But never the less, my Spanish is improving and I'm feeling more comfortable with it. I'm able to get around town and participate in basic conversations with clerks. I have more difficulty speaking in longer phrases, telling stories, or explaining more complicated things. So hopefully these classes in Pontevedra will help me improve my verbal skills. I really enjoyed my classes in O Grove and I'm rather good at grammar stuff, so If I want to sign up for some additional classes there later in the spring or summer, I could do that. I could continue to pay for classes there now, but the school has closed for the winter and I would have to pay for individual classes, which are more expensive (I was also spending about $40/week in bus fare too). So we'll see how things go for now. I am also planning on purchasing some easier narrative books to work on reading comprehension and vocabulary. The BBC website also has a great section for learning foreign languages with some interactive activities to do too.
I have found that I have difficulty being productive without a schedule or routine set up for me When I was going to O Grove for my Spanish classes I was out of the house for 5 hours and found it easier to use my free time after class productively. With my new class schedule I will have more free time and to make sure I remain productive, as opposed to spending long periods of time watching videos on You Tube and Facebook, I intend on forming a little schedule for myself. I intend to exercise, cook lunch, study for MSW licensure exam, study Spanish stuff, read, etc. This should hopefully be easier to adhere to now that beach season is coming to a close.
Other things of note:
I have decided to grow my hair back out. This may end up in my going for 3 months without a haircut, only to just cut it all off because I can't take the awkward lengths anymore, but we'll see.
We have booked out hotel and bus tickets for our little 4 day excursion to Lisbon next month. We have tickets to see Arcade Fire there, so we are going to stay for a couple of days to check out the city. Should be fun - it's our first trip outside of our neighboring towns here thus far.
Jonathan has finished all of his film school applications! Whoo hoo! He has applied to 2 schools in New York (Columbia and NYU) and 4 schools in LA (UCLA, USC, AFI, and Cal Arts). Here's hoping he gets into several of them and we get to make some decisions about where to move. But we're really excited to hear back (should be March or April) and there's something calming about knowing that they're all sent in and it's out of our hands. He has now started working on several writing projects, one of them being a screenplay about the life of John Brown. He also intends on working on a documentary of his family's immigration story, but has not yet started interviewing anyone.
But that's all we've really been up to. I am excited to begin our second little chapter here in Spain, me being done with my classes in O Grove and Jonathan having completed his applications. We are very happy and are absolutely certain at this point, that we will look back at our time together in Spain as an incredibly enriching time in our lives together.
No comments:
Post a Comment