Re: Karen's Spanish learning journey
Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:37 am
I didn't finish Game of Thrones 5 before the lending period was over. Now, I have to wait for my turn to check it out again from the library so I am back to reading Spanish. Yeah! My current book is La lección de August (a recommendation from No Manches). It is a story for young adults about empathy and overcoming adversity. The main character, August, is a bright, engaging young boy who was born with severe craniofacial malformations. The book is told from the perspective of August, his sister and several of his friends and recounts his first year in a bricks and mortar school after years of home schooling. It is a very easy, but enjoyable, read. The portrayal of both the cruelty and compassion of children is very well done. Thanks for the recommendation, No Manches.
I made it up to episode 68 in Celia and have given up. The story was getting too melodramatic for my tastes and there was no longer sufficient music or interesting history to compensate for the overacting and melodrama. I've switched to Olmos y Robles (RTVE) and am enjoying it very much. The cast is full of talented comedic actors plus the character of Robles is played by a very handsome actor.
As I work on my spoken Spanish this year, I will need to start practicing the simple, everyday things we say as we go about our daily business. Right now, I am more comfortable having a conversation about a complicated topic than exchanging everyday pleasantries in a store. Well executed chit-chat helps to ease social situations but awkward chit-chat can lead to more awkwardness. Intellectually, I know what to say in these situations, but I have never really practiced saying them so they don't feel automatic. I stopped in a small Mexican grocery store last week and realized that I just wasn't ready to make chit-chat with the clerks in Spanish. It was a little country market that appeared to cater to the local population of migrant workers. Because of the current political climate in the US, I was afraid of giving the impression that I was criticizing the clerk's English by speaking in Spanish and I wasn't certain that I was prepared to handle that potential situation tactfully.
I made it up to episode 68 in Celia and have given up. The story was getting too melodramatic for my tastes and there was no longer sufficient music or interesting history to compensate for the overacting and melodrama. I've switched to Olmos y Robles (RTVE) and am enjoying it very much. The cast is full of talented comedic actors plus the character of Robles is played by a very handsome actor.
As I work on my spoken Spanish this year, I will need to start practicing the simple, everyday things we say as we go about our daily business. Right now, I am more comfortable having a conversation about a complicated topic than exchanging everyday pleasantries in a store. Well executed chit-chat helps to ease social situations but awkward chit-chat can lead to more awkwardness. Intellectually, I know what to say in these situations, but I have never really practiced saying them so they don't feel automatic. I stopped in a small Mexican grocery store last week and realized that I just wasn't ready to make chit-chat with the clerks in Spanish. It was a little country market that appeared to cater to the local population of migrant workers. Because of the current political climate in the US, I was afraid of giving the impression that I was criticizing the clerk's English by speaking in Spanish and I wasn't certain that I was prepared to handle that potential situation tactfully.