This morning was the first Spanish class.
Do you know that if you don't speak a language - and by "don't speak" I mean you really just don't utter a single word - that you won't be able to speak it a year later? That's right.
I walked into my classroom at 9.15. I had missed the first week (last week) and so was a little nervous about accidently finding myself in Fluent-and-Studying-Dialectical-Differences-While-Reading-18th-Century-Poetry-In-Spanish Spanish class and sitting for awhile and thinking, "Nah, you'll understand, just get your ears warmed up" only to realize that in fact I'm in the wrong room and I look like an asshole. Typical first day jitters.
So I get there early, and make sure I am in the right room. Two 40-something year-old ladies come in who obviously know one another. Another 40-something wanders in, and she celebrates her arrival with the others. I ask, "Am I in B2173?" and their heads all snap at me. The leader of the pack says, "I dunno." and they go back to gabbing. Friendly folks. So I just sort of sit there stupidly and then Leader Lady comes to her seat (two away from me), pulls out her schedule and says, "Yeah, yeah...B2173." And I say, "Oh. Thanks."
Another 40-something shows up and they are now four standing around the shortest one's table. Am I really in the right room?
The professor walks in and starts celebrating with all of them as well. Oh shit.
And then young Valentine walks in - my age and obviously worried she's in the wrong classroom as well. As if on cue, the professor says, "We were wondering if the two of you would show up" and everyone got down to business. I breathe a sigh of relief.
So um, can I share something? These 40-somethings can really speak Spanish. I got the scoop at the break. They all started in beginning Spanish together, which they took a year and a half ago. They formed a sort of die-hard rat-pack and have been going through all the levels until then (they are on Spanish 4 of 6, now. Like me). They've made some amazing progress. And there I am, spitting out words and not conjugating my verbs, while Leader Lady is telling us about how hot her husband used to be so hot, but now he's sort of balding and she's thinking that maybe she should have thought more wisely about her marital "investment."
I'm sitting there the first half just totally desperate. The prof asks me to describe my first doll. I say, "Oh. Um. It had long arms."
And then I start blushing and feeling stupid.
And it continues like that for awhile.
But at the break the Rat Pack explain their story, and they tell me that they have a lot of fun, and that they make the stupidest mistakes and everyone laughs. And they keep saying, "Oh, I just think we're a really supportive group" and "Oh, I probably would have given up a long time again but I think the people in this class are so fun that we keep sort of pushing one another to learn." They all continually say, "Oh, it's so good we're such a small group. This is really great - it will really give us a chance to get to know one another and to make stupid mistakes without feeling self-concious!"
So by the second half I'm feeling a little bit more at ease. Sure, I TOTALLY forgot the subjonctive, but hey. Details, Babycakes, details. I start coming out of that weird nervous person that I tend to turn into at the beginning of anything new and slightly uncomfortable, and I slowly morph back into my usual, witty, suave self. Sure, when Shortie Pie was talking about how she would like to have a pill for motion sickness that wasn't dangerous (to her health), and I kept understanding that as a cake for motion sickness that wasn't lazy (to her health?), I exposed my idiocy in my true humorous form. The Rat Pack laughed. With me. And maybe at me just a little.
I'm finding I enjoy the company of older people more and more these days. I think my Spanish class is going to be no exception. Those chicks are friggin' hilarious.
Arabic starts tomorrow.
hey watch those remarks about 'older' people will ya kiddo! s
Nothing pejorative about the word "older" Babycakes.
that totally rocks.
how many languages are so studying and why? if i could, i would totally go on a linguistics bender.
I admire you, Miss Lee. I'm excited to hear about what you're up to.
(And 'Valentine' is one of my favorite names. 'Lee' too - it's my mother's middle name.)
Nessa - Um, well, I guess right now I'm learning three. I sort of feel like French has more or less been learnt, I just have to keep reminding myself of stylistic issues, you know? And Spanish is getting better, but Arabic is just the start. I mean, I learned the alphabet today.
Angel - I know, isn't Valentine a hot name? The girl herself isn't, really, but I could see some super seductress - maybe with black hair and green eyes or something - named Valentine. This particular Valentine was wearing butterfly clips in hair. By that I mean large see-through blue plastc clips in the shapes of butterflies. So not temptress-like.
Valentine is also the name of the older sister in the Ender's Game series, which I love. (Now I'm a nerd - not just admitting to loving a sci fi book, but a whole collection of them.) Seriously, it's good. Intellect and action.
And a girl named Valentine.
Angel - you're not a nerd. I don't like sci fi at all, but I really liked Ender's Game. I read it when I was in eighth grade or something, and I still think about it from time to time. I should reread it.