First Day of School: What If the Kids Don´t Like Me?

(Apostraphe update: I´ve apparently been using the tilde "´" instead of the apostrophe " ' ". After some harsh words and a little name calling, the misunderstanding has been cleared up but it seems as if they will have to share duties while I get used to pressing the correct apostrophe which, unfortunately is less convienently placed.)


So, I´m 3 days into school and I am loving it. Of course the first day I got lost and showed up late to class causing the school to call Mama Cecilia and creating a bit of a stir - not a good start, but hardly surprising for those of you who claim to know me. My teacher Edith is quite a sassy Ecuadoriana who uses the time tested teaching method of constantly insulting me in spanish. You´d be suprised how effective being harassed en espanol is for the learning process. She's pretty hillarious, and class is more like shooting the shit than normal schooling practices, alternating between non-sequitors and learning grammar and vocabulary. The balance of just talking (and being insulted) and learning the rules is perfect in my opinion.

So far I am simply shocked by my progress. I didn´t learn Spanish at all in school, and all the Spanish I knew before arriving was learned from a bootleg copy of Spanish Language software, and flash cards I placed around my house the month before my arrival. For a little more background, I was literally the worst student in my highschool French class, coincidentally the only class in which I ever received an F (for confirmation, email Greg Pelly, who´s French homework I copied for 4 years straight). Dr. Dowd would surely give me a hearty punch in the kidney if she new that I´ve learned more Spanish in 3 days than the French that I ¨studied¨ for 7 years of school!

After the first night I went to a bar with Christie for her last night and we spoke Spanish for 3 hours straight, with the understanding of course that language fluency is directly correlated to the alcohol level in your blood. I think my French would have been much better if I could have snuck a shot or 2 of Yager before 1st period French.

Day 2 and day 3 have also progressed nicely with the insults growing with our comfort level. It is however exhausting at times learning spanish for 4 hours a day. It´s kind of like how the new iPod 3G wastes batteries faster when using the 3G mode. When I´m in Spanish mode my batteries get used up much faster because my brain is constantly in motion.

I´m going out on the town tonight with some friends I met from the school (mostly Germans with a smattering of miscellaneous Europeans and the occasional American). I actually have a ton more to write, but I don´t want to push my luck and overload anyone who might be reading.

Hasta Luego,
Etan