Two more people joined the class, bringing the total up to four (another left over the weekend and may or may not be back the next weekend). They are perfectly pleasant, even interesting – one a soldier who was posted to Afghanistan, and the other an Instagrammer in the flesh. But yes, too many people. […]
Changing the balance
A new person joined the class today. She was supposed to sit in for half an hour, but ended staying for the full three hours. It was interesting how her presence changed the dynamic of the classroom. I quite like my other classmate, let us call her the Breaker of Chains, but also definitely resented […]
Waking, sleeping
After a couple of slightly down days, when my Spanish didn’t feel like it was going particularly well, and at work the piano seemed to rise higher overhead, and it was difficult to concentrate, today was a little better. For one, I spoke to the Gentleman Friend briefly, which cheered me up. Last night I […]
Older woman
It is strange to be in the position of being the older woman in a group of younger people. All the others here are college students, and of course stay together and don’t have much to say to, or interest in, someone who is clearly not one of them. So we sit at the breakfast […]
Higher level beginner
This is where my teacher placed me today, as nearly imtermediate level but not quite there. OK, I suppose, given that I didn’t really speak a word of the language until three weeks and a couple of days ago. I think I would have been more advanced had I not been working, and been better […]
Bad day at school
It was a bad day at my Spanish lesson and I returned home feeling quite downcast. All the words just seemed to have slipped from my mind and much of the grammar as well, though I think the latter was the unusual experience of trying to speak before my thought was completed. Not my usual […]
On the fritz
I’ve been on the fritz for a couple of days, throwing mini strops, mostly silently, like a well-bottled beverage. One little eruption actually took place on Metafilter, where there has been a longrunning pair of threads on the site’s white middleclass American orientation and the moderators having only one solution: applying copious amounts of goodwill. […]
Long day
Yesterday I had a second class with the new teacher and while she is very sweet and also very good, spoke to the owner of the school that I’d prefer to return to the old teacher. At the time she said yes certainly, though we will see what happens. I was then up late at […]
Slight disappointments
A couple of disappointments when I went in to Spanish today. For one, I had completely forgotten everything learned the previous week. More importantly (as I think it will come back to me), my teacher had been changed. The new one is very nice and capable, but somehow I didn’t quite click with her, and […]
Hamster wheel
A slightly overwhelming week. My classes are for three hours in the mornings, then it takes me about two hours to be finished with clearing the brain and having lunch, then work, work, work, which is falling behind. I will catch up this weekend but will have to consider how best to manage it all. […]