You might remember that after last year’s trip to Costa Rica, I came back determined to learn Spanish. We are going there again in April, and I want to report on my progress. Yes, I’ve made some.
I feel pretty overwhelmed when I think about how much I still have to learn. I discovered SpanishPod101.com a few months ago, and they are the best online resource I have found yet for Spanish lessons. I am almost 30 lessons into the Newbie series. Plus I’ve gone through the Phonetics lessons and some of the Verb Conjugation lessons.
What does that mean? My vocabulary is building little by little. I know more about verbs. When I listen to Spanish music, I can pick out some words & phrases now. I know that the phrase “soy candela” does NOT mean I am a candle.
I think more about how I express myself in English, and whether or not I know how to say the equivalent in Spanish. Most of the time, the answer is no.
I have a friend at work from Venezuela. I asked her the other day about how long it took her to feel fluent in English after she moved here. She said it was a year or two. **sigh** I will NOT give up.