I wrote the following in my journal 6/14/2013:
Have you ever experienced the cuteness of a baby learning how to speak? I have and I still am as I live in the McKinzie household and interact with their adorable son Cohen. Any who they muster a few comprehensible words and the rest is adorable jibber jabber. Well learning how to speak and understand Spanish is analogous to the cute baby you are imagining, the main difference is that I am NOT adorable and the process is not only humbling but frustrating as I know how to communicate effective (even if I always do or not) in another language. Then I think of my dear graduate school buddy Emi Yamada and I relax.
As you may have seen me express in some of my vlog posts on facebook, yo queiro apprender espanol so much!!!!! I want to be able to communicate with the people here without it taking an hour to ask a question. I almost cried out of sadness and frustration. Yes, I have only 6 hours of Spanish lessons and have been here for a complete week but that reality does not diminish the desire I have.
When learning a new language in a new culture it is extremely humbling. You become dependent on those around you to help you do almost everything and pray that they don't lead you astray or teach you to say offensive phrases. Also the proverb verse that states to be quick to listen and slow to speak is something that I have been practicing.
I think of my dear friend Emi Yamada that is self-conscious about her English speaking abilities in large groups since Japanese is her first language. Emi was (well she still is a) very sweet, humble, helpful and considerate person. Living here in Arequipa, my respect for Emi has skyrocketed. Due to Emi wanting to learn English and obtain two masters from the US, she constantly put herself in a position where she needed the help of others that were younger than her whether it was spiritually, academics, social norms. What tenacity! What boldness!!! Emi will go very far with the spirit she has and her determination.
Thank you Emi for being a good role model.
Later that day, I had an opportunity to converse one on one with a church member named Areli. She knows some English and I spoke very little Spanish however I understood what she was communicating. It was a good experience and I see that I need to be constantly confronted with Spanish without the help of a translator to force my mind to click over.
Here's to learning Espanol.
