Learning the language
It seems I have always tried to learn Spanish. I took a class in high school, another in
college, community courses, audio tapes, and just about every means known to
modern man to crack the code of learning a language over the years. Each attempt brought new promise and each
attempt brought failure. I really
thought my brain was not wired to learn a new language or I’m just too damn old
already. What I didn’t know was that it
wasn’t the method that failed me, but the lack of time dedicated to practice. Four or five months per attempt at learning
just wasn’t going to cut it.
Once we decided we would be relocating to Mexico City at
some point in our lives, I decided to commit all of the time available from
that point until the actual move to long, slow burn learning. A friend recommended Duo Lingo. I hadn’t tried app learning yet and it appealed
to me. I loaded the free app and
committed to 10 minutes a day, in the morning, during coffee. I took Sundays off. Given the easy schedule I set for myself I
stuck with it. In a little over a year I
had finished all of the free lessons. I
had a basic vocabulary and was able to begin to put together basic sentences. During our trips to Mexico in that year, I
started to see progress during each trip.
I knew I was on the right path and ready to take the next steps.
This week I started researching language schools in the City. I found one on Insurgentes, Frida Spanish
Language School. Classes begin every
Monday and it’s a 20 minute walk from our current digs. Signing up was easy. I just sent an email and they responded the
same day, enrolled me for next Monday and provided the online placement test. I have also been reading some other blogs
with recommendations on language learning.
Someone suggested reading children’s books. I think it’s a brilliant idea. I bought my first book from a street vendor
for $120 pesos. I’m still working on
translation, but it’s kind of fun to feel like I am acutally reading in
Spanish. Well, my class starts Monday. Four hours a day M-F. I love the Mexican’s respect for
mornings. Class starts at 10:00 am. That’s my kind of school.
The phone conundrum
There has been so much discussion around the phone situation
that it’s an exhausting topic. I won’t
bore you with typing out all of the questions surrounding the phones, but it seemed
to be an endless circle of unanswered questions without an objective solution. We called Verizon before we left the states
to ensure our phones would work. Check.
When we arrived we tested our phones to ensure we made local and international
calls. Check. The first day we received a notice from
Verizon that each day we used the international service would be a $5 charge
per phone. Oh check no.
The following day I awoke to be presented with THIS! Special thanks to Andy for
clearing things up for me. But I guess
it made perfectly good sense to him, and for that I am very appreciative. All I know for sure is that by the end of the
day my iPhone had been retired and I am now using the “unpaid phone”, Andy has
an android phone and a Mexican phone number.
Not sure where all of this is going, but we are still in process. I am
quite sure it will all work out in the end.
Someway. Somehow. Only Andy
knows.
The calendar, a parting thought
We arrived in Mexico City on a Saturday. It was a Saturday celebrating Dia De Los
Muertos. There were parades and all
manner of celebrations that day. A 20
minute ride from the airport turned to 2 hours.
But we were here and we were happy to be in the traffic. Still, I have since uploaded the calendar of
Mexican holidays so we will not be caught off guard again. I won't forget, Mexicans take their holidays seriously. And tonight we are attending our first
event. A Dia De Los Muertos celebration with InterNations in the Zocalo. After a
long first work week, we are looking forward to our night out, meeting new
friends, and talking with the locals.
One of the many Dia De Los Muertos displays in our area. Beautiful!
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