I have never said anything about this on my blog before but it's about time. First of all, I am going to Guatemala in the fall for a semester, where I will live with a host family, volunteer at a hospital for credit and experience, and learn Spanish and a new culture. It will be an unforgettable experience and I can't wait. But I haven't always felt super excited about it which is unusual for me. Normally when a new experience is in my sights, especially one involving travel or medicine, I am on cloud nine, thinking and talking about it, and planning for it many months in advance. I had no doubt that I would love my semester in Guatemala, but I just wasn't very excited. I think a big part of that was the fact that France and French are so dear to me, and I'm always wanting to speak French and return to France. So trying to resign my brain to the fact that I now need to learn Spanish, and the fact that my family is returning to France without me, was hard. But God (who can do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine!!) had a way to get me excited for Guatemala.
I have really clicked with the Costa Ricans and Masai (the Panamanian). I hang out with all four of them and it is a wonderful thing. All of them are happy to teach me Spanish and answer my never-ending stream of questions: How do you say fork? Knife? Spoon? How do you say I want ____? How do you say I am hot? Cold? Etc. (By the way, these are the answers, respectively: El tenedor, el cuchillo, la cuchara. Quiero ____. Tengo calor! Tengo fría!) Yesterday, the five of us went with a couple other CBCC staff to hike and play on another beach, and visit the Tillamook Cheese factory! It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun, and we ended with Dayra cooking us some Costa Rican fare: pollo, frijoles negros, arros, y salsa (chicken, black beans, and rice). Yum. By the way, my blog is now going to have random Spanish words all over the place. Hopefully more as the summer goes on.
Today Masai, Giancarlo, Esteban and I took the bus to another beach town for the day. I had so much fun listening to them speak Spanish (muy rapido!) and try to pick out words here and there. It's interesting that I can be with them speaking Spanish the whole time and not feel left out. Normally if I was with a group of people conversing with each other and I couldn't participate--especially if it was another language--I would not feel very included. But that is not the case! They still are perfectly happy to talk to me in English, and Dayra also told me that they appreciate being able to speak Spanish to each other without me feeling awkward of left out. I love it. God put these amazing people in my life at the perfect time, and I am so, so thankful.
I am falling in love with Spanish language and culture.
I can't wait to be able to speak it! I'm learning fast, and if I study hard this summer I might be able to speak pretty well by the time fall comes around and I move to Guatemala. Today I bought a Spanish Bible (Santa Biblia) and I can't wait to read it. I keep a notebook of all the words and phrases I learn so that I don't forget them, and I'm already remembering things. I can even make a few simple sentences! My mom sent me some index cards and I'm going to start studying hardcore, drilling verbs and vocab. I am so motivated to learn this beautiful language. I've grown up hearing Spanish so much that I never thought it was that interesting, but now I love it and I am SO EXCITED to learn it. Oh God. You never fail to come through with plans more amazing than I could ever imagine.
ME GUSTA ESPAÑOL.
Dios es muy bueno.
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