A minute of silence in mid sentence is what you call a VERY awkward moment. And when it happens in every sentence, you can just imagine the patience my listener needs to have.
My yellow Spanish grammar book is dog eared and coffee stained, and my verb book and pocket dictionary are grungy from daily use. And thanks to some amazing teachers at The Spanish Language Institute, I've covered 2/3 of the Spanish grammar book.
So what have I learned after 6 months of classes and immersion in Costa Rican culture?
I can read a Spanish Sunday School Lesson like a primary school student. And because I can order confidently in a restaurant, give directions to a taxi driver (no addresses here!), exchange simple greetings, introduce myself to others, talk on the phone, and communicate what I need in different circumstances (though usually not correctly), I am just beyond the survival stage. This means, simply, that I don't break out in a cold sweat every time I walk out the front door.
Interestingly, many people are tempted to lose interest and plateau here. I'm tempted, too, but in a different way.
Beautifully, precisely spoken Spanish is a carrot dangling in front of me that seems so close on some days. I wake up each day with energy and inspiration to sculpt with more precision this crudely shaped lump of Spanish in my brain. Each time I walk into class I think, "Yes, I will speak fluently one day. (But not today)."
It's aggravatingly possible in the distant future, and yet embarrassingly impossible right now. And that's exactly why it's so tempting.
Where's my verb book? I need to memorize those past tense conjugations.
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