Three weeks and counting...
(Warning-- more vacation and Spanish class musings. No, I can't think about anything else. Yes, I am useless at work)

I think it's kind of funny that we're taking Spanish class to get ready for this trip, when Spanish is the language I will need to know the least-- since mom is a native speaker and all. But hey, I should've done this about 20 years ago anyway...

Monday we started our 2nd semester of Spanish class. Most of the students were in our class last semester, although we have a new teacher. She's an adorable petite woman from Peru who speaks very little English, so nearly the whole class will be conducted en espanol. Naturally, there were a few people who were jolted by this change of pace and threatened not to come back, including our beloved SNG, but I think she's fantastico. I told her I'd have to miss 3 classes for vacation and didn't want to get too far behind, and she offered to write up assignments I could take with me, and to schedule a make-up day with me after the trip is over. She really seems to be willing to go beyond the call of duty to help students.

I just re-read that and realized what a geek I sound like. If you're reading this, then you know me, and you know I love love love classes. I love the classroom discussions, I love the feeling of learning something new, and while I don't love tests, I love the thrill of making a perfect score on a test. But it's like a sugar high-- it never lasts for long and leaves you wanting more. The rumor is that our new teacher gives tests...

I have to admit that one of the things I most look forward to on this (or any other international) trip is getting to communicate in another language. I don't speak a lick of German, but I have a CD that promises to teach me fluent German in 7 one-hour sessions. Heck, if I can get one of these for Mandarin, Japanese, Russion, Italian and Portuguese, I can be like the Pope by the end of the year! Woohoo! And I thought Spanish would require 5 semesters! Ha.

I very much doubt that my CD will actually deliver on its promise, but I am hopeful that I'll pick up enough of the patterns and grammar to be able to read signs, menus, etc. reasonably well. Or, at least to get from the train station to the airport to the rent car to the hotel on the 1st day we're there. After that, we'll be among German-English speaking friends. *whew!*

If you've made it this far without navigating to some other page, here is your biker-yoga pose for today.