The Spanish Language
As week three comes to a close, I prepare for my last week of Spanish class before my final exam. My Spanish has improved considerably and I am able to converse in basic and intermediate Spanish conversations; compared to the beginning of this trip, where I could barely catch and respond to what others were saying to me at all. I consider myself one of the stronger speakers in our group of 32 students but I try to always be around one other friend who is completely fluent and who possess more vocabulary so they can get me out of awkward situations. Mostly I only have trouble with restaurant waiters, because I struggle with monetary amounts, and the seemingly endless number of words for different food and ingredients.
My conversations usually go well, but occasionally I encounter awkward situations where I do not know how to translate my English and my conversation partner cannot figure out what I am trying to say. In these instances it is best to be very animated with hand motions and facial expressions, and use whatever is in the environment to your advantage. In one restaurant, a Chinese-Peruvian “Chifa” restaurant, our waiter did not calculate our total on a computer. Instead, he did some arithmetic on a napkin right in front of our table when my friends and I could not understand the Spanish. It takes patience and understanding to resolve these instances, and the majority of the Peruvians I encountered had plenty of both. My Spanish teachers, especially, were incredibly talented, patient, and effective.
At El Sol Spanish school, the teachers come from a variety of backgrounds. I have had a former actor, a social worker, a volunteer working and staying in Peru temporarily, and a teacher with over 8 years of experience at El Sol alone. They change every week and it is interesting to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of each. I have never had so many teachers in such a short period of time, but I enjoy getting to know each one and switching teachers after each week. For example, the former actor, Juan Carlos, had impressive control over his voice. It was very easy to pay attention to his voice, and learn the pitch and proper pronunciation of Spanish words, but sometimes his voice was so captivating that I would be drawn into the fluctuating range of vocal projections that Juan Carlos created, and get distracted from the Spanish grammar. Another teacher, Andres, was thorough, organized, and methodical, but a lot of my classmates complained that he was slow. I enjoyed his slower pace and extensive reviews. I got a 90 the week Andres was my teacher. His teaching style benefitted me more than any other Spanish teacher so far. That week I learned the phrase, “te extrano”, which means, “I miss you”, and I say it to Andres when I see him now, and he always laughs before giving me some Spanish tips.
Overall, I am confident in my Spanish classes and satisfied with my grade and the fairness and difficulty of the classes. In public, my Spanish has improved massively since I first got to Peru and the daily practice is to thank. Upon my return to the US, I am looking forward to speaking with my father and grandparents mainly in Spanish from here on out, because my grandparents don’t speak English and I know my father would appreciate someone else to converse in Spanish with. I have achieved the level of fluency in the language that I set for myself, and I am glad that I will have the opportunity to continue using Spanish in the US, so I retain the skills I have gained. Hopefully I can do better with Spanish speaking waiters by the end of week 5!
