TO BE OR NOT TO BE FLUENT - PART I

Monday… the first day of the week, the first day in Antigua, the first day on my own, the first day of Spanish classes. Monday, the 14^th of October 2013.

I knew approximately where the school was situated in the city. A short walk from where I stay.. 3 blocks, 4 at the most. And I knew the number of the house.

Since only some of the streets have street names to help you get around the city, I certainly took the wrong turn and ended up standing in front of the house #43, but in the wrong street. So I entered into what they call tiendita here, which is essentially something like a small kiosk that offers snacks and other unhealthy stuff, and asked in which street I was. The young guy sitting there seemed to understand me and told me that I was in 7^th street North, not the 6^th .

Fueled with energy, motivation and a first successful conversation with a local guy, I proceeded to find my school, called Proyecto Lingüistico Francisco Marroquín (PLFM).

I was greeted by the technical director of the school – who is responsible for the content of the teachers’ classes – and led to the main presentation room, where I received my welcome presentation and was given a welcome package.

Ten minutes later, I was introduced to my teacher Ana Mercedes – short: Merci or Mercy – and with no delay, I started my first day of classes.

Fijense que I had signed up for 7 hours per day, 5 days per week, 1on1 type classes.

We start at 8am (on time), short break at 10am, continue until 12pm. After lunch, we start at 2pm, short break at 3.30pm and end the day at 5pm. Just the teacher and me. Homework and revision to be done during free time. This is serious business…!!

Well, my school is really nicely located in the city, attached to one of the main attractions of Antigua: the Iglesia y Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Merced, a really nice old church and convent complex that’s at least partially still very well maintained. The school itself consists of the main building with a few offices, a library and room with computers and in the backyard, there’s a coffee corner and a garden with the cubicle-like class rooms that you can see in the pictures below.

In every class room there’s a table and two chairs, a white board and a little lamp, just in case the sun goes away temporarily.

Looking around, there are lots of plants and flowers, butterflies flying around and a gardener, who’s constantly digging holes and watering plants. It’s almost picturesque… and certainly a good place to study.

As you can imagine, with the right attitude, it’s really possible to get stuff done in this setting.

Luckily I was allocated a great teacher, who not only quickly picked up on my Spanish level and speed requirements, but also knew an answer to (almost) any and all questions I had.

We got along really well and had a great time… we got quite a bit of grammar theory done, but also just talked a lot, did loooads of exercises (writing, reading and listening comprehension, use of grammar, etc.), read an entire (though short) book and even played Scrabble in Spanish. I feel like I made a lot of progress this week, clarified a whole lot of questions and I actually had quite many of those famous ‘ahhhhh‘ moments.

I think it made all the difference that she was not trying to be overly strict or serious, but was structured and demanding and also knew how to keep my attention. I do have a tendency to be distracted easily… ;-)

Other than studying Spanish I didn’t do much… 3 meals a day (Elsa’s cooking skills are highly recommendable: “muyyyy rico”), a bit of reading and homework, and that’s it. I think I slept a good 8 hours a day in average.

A surprise visit de mi Nancita on Wednesday evening made this week a special one… :)

‘So, how’s your Spanish?’ – you ask?

I’m very pleased with how I can keep a conversation by now. My vocabulary has grown substantially and I definitely feel more comfortable just talking with people.

I am even more pleased at how motivated I am to get rid of my mistakes and master the different tenses without having to think about it anymore. There’s surely a good bit of work left to do, but I can’t wait to start working on my Guatemaltecan (chapín) accent..