I meant to mention this in our Miami post, but forgot.
In Miami, it seemed that 80% of people spoke Spanish. I knew that Miami had a lot of Spanish-speakers; however, knowing there are a lot of Spanish-speakers in Miami and actually being surrounded by them are two different things. Of course, I loved it, because I love the language and was able to practice :)
Example:
While sitting at breakfast in the Miami hotel on Sunday morning, I overheard a gentleman (non-Spanish-speaker) sit down and converse with a waiter. It went as follows:
Gentleman: What do you have for lunch?
Waiter: [written as it was pronounced with a strong Spanish accent] We have a lunch boofeh, lasagna, and the vehetal es es-parra-goose.
Gentleman: As-parra-goose?
Waiter: Si, es-parra-goose.
Gentleman: As-parra-goose?
Waiter: Si, es-parra-goose.
Gentlemen: Oh! Sprouts?
Waiter: No, es-parra-goose.
Lindsay: [interjecting] Asparagus.
Gentlemen: Oh, asparagus. Thank you!
Waiter: Si, es-parra-goose.
Lindsay: [to herself] I love Español.
1/19/10
Aprendemos Español
Aprendemos Español. = We learn Spanish.
Today was our first day of language school. Over our 4-hour lesson, my professora and I (Lindsay) covered almost every topic under the sun. It was a relief to be able to discuss a variety of topics in Español...or at least understand 80-90% of what my professora was saying. The Spanish here is crisp and clear and I simply enjoy listening to folks share history, opinions, stories, etc. Through these lessons, what I hope to improve most is my ability to respond with similar fluidity. Currently, I stud stud studder when called to speak. To build vocabulary, I am reading novels and short stories. Today, I began reading Eva Luna by Isabel Allende.
Mark is on an upward learning curve too. Already, we are communicating with one another in Español! He is working on verb conjugations and building his Spanish vocabulary.
Our teachers are sisters and both have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for teaching. We are looking forward to tomorrow!
Today was our first day of language school. Over our 4-hour lesson, my professora and I (Lindsay) covered almost every topic under the sun. It was a relief to be able to discuss a variety of topics in Español...or at least understand 80-90% of what my professora was saying. The Spanish here is crisp and clear and I simply enjoy listening to folks share history, opinions, stories, etc. Through these lessons, what I hope to improve most is my ability to respond with similar fluidity. Currently, I stud stud studder when called to speak. To build vocabulary, I am reading novels and short stories. Today, I began reading Eva Luna by Isabel Allende.
Mark is on an upward learning curve too. Already, we are communicating with one another in Español! He is working on verb conjugations and building his Spanish vocabulary.
Our teachers are sisters and both have a lot of energy and enthusiasm for teaching. We are looking forward to tomorrow!
1/18/10
Boots on the ground
We're in Cuenca, after a roundabout tour of airports in the US and Ecuador that was longer than we expected...
The town of Cuenca is beautiful, and we're already very comfortable here. For example -- we've already found an ice cream shop that we like, that's on the walking route between the language school and the house where we're staying. Excellent.
The family we're staying with is a large one, and they live in a nice house about a 20 min walk from the language school. We're going to be comfortable here!
The town of Cuenca is beautiful, and we're already very comfortable here. For example -- we've already found an ice cream shop that we like, that's on the walking route between the language school and the house where we're staying. Excellent.
The family we're staying with is a large one, and they live in a nice house about a 20 min walk from the language school. We're going to be comfortable here!
1/16/10
Miami
Our flights were a little bumpy heading out of Dallas, both in the air and on the ground: we were delayed and missed our connection to Quito. After an hour of working with helpful airline personnel, we have been rebooked on a flight one day later. Not a bad first snafu. We now will get some great sleep and be fresh as we begin to think, speak, listen, and dream in Spanish.
¡Buenas noches!
¡Buenas noches!
1/15/10
Itinerary Jan-May 2010
Here's our itinerary as we know it now. With a trip this size, we expect to plan a little, do a little, plan a little, do a little.
First Third:
Jan 16 to the fourth week of March:
Cuenca, Ecuador, studying Spanish and travelling. We'll be staying with a host family there. We don't know them yet, but we've heard through the grapevine that they're great.
Fourth week March:
Cuzco, Peru, hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Apr to May:
Farming and practicing Spanish in and around Costa Rica.
Second Third:
We have plans to meet several people around the US this summer, and we'll firm up plans for that during the spring.
For the summer, we'll be in the US June to August. Our plan in this order is:
Dallas
Colorado
Arizona
Zion Nat'l Park
Yosemite
SF/Napa Valley
Portland
Seattle
Sun Valley
Yellowstone
South Dakota
Chicago
Washington DC
Virgina -- Charlottesville, Richmond, Williamsburg
Third Third:
For Sept - Dec, we have plans to work with Semester at Sea as administrative staff, if we get a positive response from our applications to that organization.
...If not, we'd like to visit several countries in Asia!
If you'd like more specifics, let us know over email...
First Third:
Jan 16 to the fourth week of March:
Cuenca, Ecuador, studying Spanish and travelling. We'll be staying with a host family there. We don't know them yet, but we've heard through the grapevine that they're great.
Fourth week March:
Cuzco, Peru, hiking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu
Apr to May:
Farming and practicing Spanish in and around Costa Rica.
Second Third:
We have plans to meet several people around the US this summer, and we'll firm up plans for that during the spring.
For the summer, we'll be in the US June to August. Our plan in this order is:
Dallas
Colorado
Arizona
Zion Nat'l Park
Yosemite
SF/Napa Valley
Portland
Seattle
Sun Valley
Yellowstone
South Dakota
Chicago
Washington DC
Virgina -- Charlottesville, Richmond, Williamsburg
Third Third:
For Sept - Dec, we have plans to work with Semester at Sea as administrative staff, if we get a positive response from our applications to that organization.
...If not, we'd like to visit several countries in Asia!
If you'd like more specifics, let us know over email...
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