Well, so far its been a nice break. Nothing overly exciting has happened, but it's been nice not to work. I really enjoy not having any responsibilities (if you all haven't figured that out yet). But now that its July, I've really got to start 'buckling down' as they said in the old days. I've been slowly learning Spanish since I've been here, but not in a studying kind of way. Just in the way that I've been picking things up through listening and inquiring. Now I really need to focus on being fluent by the end of the summer. I'm hoping to be pretty fluent by the time we go to Manzillo in August. So this is now my main focus.
I do have one assignment to finish to complete my TEFL certificate, too. I'm actually quite pissed off at my teacher and really nervous about it. He's already made me redo it 2x and if I don't pass it this third time, I fail the whole course. But I have till the end of this month to finish it. I'm actually surprised he hasn't contacted me because I haven't touched the course since before I left Canada. The first time I submitted it, it was perfect except for the fact that it was geared towards a higher level than what was asked for. The second time I submitted it, he ripped it to shreds. I guess I'll go through the course again in the next few weeks then try again. What else can I do?
And I mentioned the English school in the neighborhood here... I still have to email them. Are you all surprised how much of a procrastinator I am? I really have to get this language down. Watching TV helps. All the English shows have Spanish subtitles, so I always read along to learn new words. And occasionally we'll watch a Spanish show. There's a cooking show and a crafts and paint show that April likes to watch. We're actually watching it right now. I think he's one of the only people in Mexico that has an electric stove.
I have this friend, Susanna. She's April's sister-in-law. She speaks about as much English as I do Spanish, so I like getting together with her. We get the dictionary out and draw pictures and what not. It forces me to think and learn new words. Now the other problem is that they speak so freaking fast! I can look at a word and know what it means, I can get by reading little blurbs, but its so different from hearing it. I have to remember that "ll" is a "j" sound, and that the 'h' is silent and "j" sounds like "h". Being a visual person, this all gets a little confusing in my head. But it will come, I haven't really applied myself at all yet. That's what this month is for. I'm going to try and study Spanish for at least an hour every day.
Wish me luck...
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