The Reunion Issue

Learning Spanish, As Explained by GIFs

Related Video: My friend Carrie shared this in our Spanish class. I can relate. It is a SNL sketch of "the Mexican soap opera for people who only had three weeks of Spanish in the fourth grade." 

Before I came to El Salvador, my Spanish education was limited. I went to Spanish day camps in elementary school. However, at camp we mostly ate chips and salsa and made piñatas.  In a more formal setting, I had one semester of Spanish in the seventh grade. The two things I remember from that class are the alphabet song and playing Bingo.  So to suffice to to say, I knew very little Spanish. I knew basic phrases, but that was about it. 

Moving to a country in Central America, I really want to take advantage and try to learn as much Spanish as I can. I take Spanish classes two times a week. Unfortunately, this is sometimes the only time I speak Spanish in a week. I teach in English, and I live with other teachers who speak English. Learning Spanish has been a slow, frequently frustrating process. Here are some GIFs to explain what the process has been like. 

The People are Talking Really Fast, And I Have No Idea What They Are Saying

When I first moved to El Salvador, I did not understand the majority of what people said to me. I relied on others to translate or had to make inferences about what was being said to me. It's isolating, not being able to communicate with others. 

I've Told You I Don't Speak Spanish, and You Still Talk to Me In Spanish

My students at the beginning of the year would speak to me in Spanish. It took a long time for them to get out of this habit, because they found out I couldn't understand them. There are still adults who speak to me in Spanish, even thought they know I don't understand it. Also, coming physically closer to me and making incessant eye contact will not help me understand you.

The I Don't Know What's Being Said, So I'm Going To Zone Out

Many of our meetings at school are in Spanish. I frequently zone out, because they are talking to fast for me to understand what they are saying. I hope that if they say something important, they will tell me later in English. 

The I Recognize About 1/5 Of The Words You Are Saying

It feels like a small success to recognize even some of the words that are being said. 

The I Don't Know This Word, So I'm Going To Try Just Saying It With An Accent And/Or Add An A Or O to the End Of The Word

 I know this is not a good practice, but it does work some of the time.

The I'm Going To Ask You How To Say Everything

In Spanish class we are only supposed to speak in Spanish, so it is a lot of "como se dice _______?" How do you say behind? How do you say easy going? I know I just asked you five seconds ago, but I already forgot. How do you say _______?

The I Now Speak/Think In A Weird Mix of Spanish and English

Que Mas? Es muy dificil constantly translating back and forth. Mi brain hurts.  

The I Can't Speak Spanish, And My English Is Getting Worse

There's four of us?  There are four of us? Is that right? That doesn't sound right. 

The My Mind Just When Blank With What I Was Trying To Say

What is this word? I know I know it. I can't think of it, because my mind has gone completely blank. I can't even think of the word I'm trying to say in English now. 

The I Just Had a Conversation and Used The Wrong Word And/Or Conjugation

I just said that I like to touch my friends. That was not the word I wanted to say. 

The Buckle-Up Because It's Going To Take A Long Time To Figure Out How To Say What I Want To Say

First, I have to think about what I want to say. Then, I have to translate those words in Spanish. Then, I usually have to change what I wanted to say, because I don't know the words I want to say. I also have to figure out how to string them together in a sentence.  It takes a long time. Be prepared to wait as I tilt my head and stare up. 

The I Just Had A Conversation With Someone And Didn't Completely Mess Up

I just understood what that person said to me. They seemed to understand what I was saying. Success! Okay, this feels good. 

The Okay, Okay, Even Though It Doesn't Seem Like It My Spanish Actually Has Gotten Better

According to Duolingo, I am 35% fluent in Spanish. That's not true. They're lying. Or, more so, it's very hard to measure progress in a language. The progress is very slow, if it even seems like you are making progress. This can be very frustrating. Still, I have gotten better, even though it doesn't always seem like it. 

So, that's where I am right now with Spanish. Next post I will be talking about the privilege that comes with speaking English. 

My Wish + What I'm Looking Forward to in 2018

Ancient Greeks and Romans would write wax-coated tablets. The tablets could be reused to conserve materials and money by smoothing over the wax and writing on it again. A similar process was used to conserve the amount of parchment used in 6th Century Europe. In the Middle Ages, powdered pumice was used to scrape away the original writing on vellum. The word used to describe this is palimpsest. The official definition of palimpsest is: 

a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing material has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.

It comes from the Greek words "palin," which means "again," and "psēstos," which means "rubbed smooth." So, mid-17th Century, the words were combined to make the word palimpsest, or "again rubbed smooth." Though rubbed again smooth, the documents weren't erased completely. Researchers have been able to go back to these documents with modern technology and read the "underwriting" as it is called. Now palimpsest can also mean something with layers or an entity that is used for something other than its original purpose. 

The word "palimpsest" popped into my mind as I was sitting by a beach in Costa Rica with my parents on New Year's Eve. This time of year it is so common to hear the slogan "new year, new you." For many, a new year is an opportunity to once be again rubbed smooth with a fresh start. Like a palimpsest though, the you can never be completely new. There will be always be the underwriting, and that is a good thing. Past failures help guide next steps. Getting what you wanted sometimes means realizing that you want something else entirely. Enduring a tough situation builds character, strength, and resilience. So as we settle into this new year, I hope you don't try to become a completely new you. Instead I hope you use your underwriting to help guide what traces should remain and what needs to be scraped away to make room for the new. 

Something that I would like to continue is writing a wish for the upcoming year a la Neil Gaiman.  You can find my wish for 2017 here. So instead of resolutions, here is my wish for all of you in 2018. In 2018, I wish that you do more. For we can always do more. I wish that you scroll less, and instead take the time to look at someone's face. Make a connection away from a screen. Lastly, in this upcoming year I wish that you take care of yourself. Celebrate your body. Listen when it tells you what it needs, this includes your body and your mind. Give yourself the self-care you deserve. It's not selfish, it's essential. Happy 2018!  

Liz Lemon to provide a little Gifspiration for the new year. 

Here are some things (both personally and other) that I am looking forward to this upcoming year (in no particular order).

Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2018 

1. Spending less time on Facebook I've come to realize that scrolling on Facebook really doesn't make me happier. In fact, it frequently makes me unhappier. Yet, for some things I need it (like for sharing blog posts), so at this point I can't completely get rid of it. I will check it occasionally, but more to respond than to scroll. At the end of 2017, cut down significantly and there was a noticeable improvement in how I was feeling and in my productivity. I'm looking forward to more of that.
2. Trivia Almost every month, my roommate and I host trivia at our house. I  enjoy hosting it and putting together the questions. It's always something to look forward to each month. 
3. Exploring more of El Salvador I still feel like I haven't seen that much of El Salvador. However, as I was looking through my wish for 2017 post I said the same thing last year. I explored quite a bit more of Taiwan in the second half of the school year. I'm hoping to do the same for El Salvador. 
4. Getting better at Spanish and more opportunities to practice I didn't need to use that much Spanish in Costa Rica, because almost everyone I met spoke English. Still, in both Guatemala and Costa Rica I could get by with the little Spanish I know. Although it frequently seems like I am not progressing, while traveling I realized how far I have come. I'm looking forward to continue to improve in 2018. 
5. Going to Brazil Over spring break, I'm going to meet my friends from Taiwan, Tyler and Jacob, in Brazil. There's a comfort in familiar people, so I'm very excited to see and travel with them again. 
6. Traveling back to the Washington This summer the plan is to spend some time in Washington state. It's been two and a half years since I have been back and have seen my extended family. I'm hoping to catch up with a couple friends as well. 
7. Being in my friend Kristen's wedding In my freshman biology class, I was alphabetically placed next to Kristen. In addition to both being named Krist(i/e)n, our last names have the same first three letters. During class I told her it was funny how similar our names were, she said something along the lines of "Uh, I guess." It blossomed into a beautiful friendship. I'm looking forward to being a part of her wedding. 
8. My ten year high school reunion I know, I can't believe it either. I am getting old. I don't know if I can really say this is something I'm looking forward to, but it will definitely be something to write about. 
9. Finishing the second draft of my book and starting a new project As Charlie Puth asks in a completely different context, "how long has this been going on?" I've been working on my current WIP for a very, very long time. I'm looking forward to completing my second draft and starting something new. 
10. Watching the Shibutani siblings compete in the Olympics In 2016, I went to the US Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul. I hadn't really been that into figure skating since Kristi Yamaguchi in the 1990s. However, after going to the championships, I got back into it mostly because of the ice dancing of the Shibutani siblings. They are only like my favorite siblings. This year in the championships they surprisingly came in second. I'm looking forward to watching them compete and be hungry for gold in the Olympics. This is my favorite routine of theirs. 
11. Two YA books about Taiwanese Americans As I was in Taiwan last year, I wanted to read more stories about people who are Taiwanese. I'm so happy to see some representation in YA this upcoming year. You can read more about these books here and here. 
12. More diverse voices creating things In 2017, there was critical success of projects by diverse voices. I'm looking forward to more of these projects, instead of sequels nobody asked for. 
13. Mary Poppins Returns Okay, maybe just one sequel. I was completely uninterested until I learned that Lin-Manuel Miranda is playing Bert. I will support anything Lin does. 
14. Midterm elections Are you registered to vote? Change is a'coming. 
15. The royal wedding On May 19, 2018 Megan Markle and Prince Harry will be tying on the knot. It's not just a regular wedding, it's going to be a cool wedding that bucks a lot of royal wedding traditions. For example, there will be bridesmaids. It's also the chance to drink tea and make fun of silly hats. 
16. Sabrina the Teenage Witch reboot This Netflix series, based on the Archie Comics, is promised to be darker. Plus, they just cast Kiernan Shipka as Sabrina. 
17. Donald Glover as Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story TBH, when I saw they had cast Donald Glover in this movie, I originally thought they had cast him as Han. I guess I will have to settle for him as Lando. Glover takes on such interesting, diverse projects. I'm glad his talents are getting recognized and he is getting cast in bigger projects (including Simba in the live action Lion King in 2019). 
18. Isle of Dogs Stop motion + Wes Anderson + dogs + and island of garbage? I'm in. 
19. The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey This book has been getting a lot of hype. It is a mystery set in 1920s Bombay. The main character is loosely based on the first female attorney to practice law in India. It came out on January 9. 
20. The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory I don't read a lot of romances, but this book has been blurbed and praised by many readers I trust (Aminatou Sow from CYG, Roxane Gay, multiple people at Book Riot). It's about two high-powered professionals who meet in an elevator. The woman agrees to go as the date to the man's ex-girlfriend's wedding and sparks fly. 
21. A new album from Camila Cabello "Havana" is a jam. I can't wait to see more of what Camila does post-Fifth Harmony, when given the opportunity to have more say in the music she makes. Songwriting giants Charli XCX, Ryan Tedder, Pharrell, and Justin Tranter also helped write tracks. It is already out.
22. New Carly Rae Jepsen music? There hasn't been confirmation yet about a new album.  However, she has been in the recording studio, and with the likes of Jack Antonoff. I want to cut to the feeling of being swept up in her music again. 
23. New Beyonce music? Beyonce is performing at Coachella this summer. It would be a great time to debut a little something something. The music festival is also right around the two year anniversary of Lemonade. I'm just saying . . .

Do you have a wish for 2018? What are you looking forward to in 2018?