Wednesday, June 22, 2016

I actually am seeing the sun today. Hallelujah brothers and sisters! It is only occasional through the clouds that I see it, but I will take what I can get. Heidi and I took Monte for a walk and I completely enjoyed finally feeling warmth on my body by the sun radiating down from the sky.

Hey before I forget, there is a short write up on us today at the Gringos Abroad website. Check it out.

Easton and I went to a restaurant, Pedir de Boca, today where the owner teaches Spanish to whoever shows up. Our friends Scott and Colleen tipped us off to this, and today we met them there. There is only one rule…the only language that can be spoken is Spanish.

Phillip, the restaurant owner and instructor, gives homework which is basically a question that everyone must come prepared to answer. He also invites grammar questions. What he teaches each week is organic, and dynamic based on the questions that are asked by the students.

Today, he gave an in-depth lesson on all the verb tenses past, present, and future. I didn’t understand a lot of what he was speaking, but when he would write a simple verb out in all the tenses, I could remember seeing and/or hearing it used by others. So, I began to get an idea of when and why one form is used over another.

One of the biggest advantages of attending Phillip’s class is that I get to listen to someone speak only Spanish for two hours. He speaks at a reasonable pace and enunciates well, so it is good practice for my ear to hear Spanish words, regardless if I understand everything. It became an exercise for me in trying to recognize words I already know, and also using context to figure out what words meant that I didn’t know.

It really is generous of him to do this. He doesn’t charge for the instruction, so I am going to make it a point to eat at his restaurant, Pedir de Boca. Which by the way I have and the food is fantastic!

It felt great being back in Spanish instruction. It has been way too long since I last studied. One of the biggest reasons I am here in Ecuador is to learn and become fluent with the language. I need to remind myself of this because I have found it easy, since being in Cuenca, to go about my day and avoid putting in the hard work to learn Spanish.

What’s true for me is that I am much happier when I am actively working toward a goal. Lately, I often wonder what I am doing here because the experience I’m having in Cuenca isn’t the one I signed up for. However, as far as learning Spanish goes, there are so many more teachers, methods, and options available to learn here, that I am actually blessed. I need to take advantage of this and not waste the opportunities in front of me. This is a perfect example of  the saying, “change how you look at things, and the things you look at change”. So it is Cuenca, so it is.

Chau.