La Vida Idealist

Several of the Spanish books I've been studying. Highly recommend "El Principito."

My uvula shook as I said the word despejar.: “Despehhhhar.”

My friend Pilar smiled. “You sound Spanish,” she said.*

“Huh?” I kind of thought that was the point.

“The ‘hhhh.’” she said. “That’s from Spain. Listen: ‘dehar,’” she said, using a shorter and less guttural h sound.

I’m never gonna learn this damn language.

–

You may wonder how I can improve my Spanish while working as an English teacher and writing for La Vida Idealist. Honestly, it’s not going so well. It came down to: I needed to learn how to teach, and how to speak Spanish. Because the reason I’m here is teaching, that’s what I’ve focused on.

Even with that justification, I’m disappointed I haven’t done better with Spanish. I listen to podcasts (which emphasize European Spanish, hence the accent). I read books such as “Harry Potter y la Camara Secreta.” I write to bilingual friends in the States. And I talk with Adina and a few other folks. Of course, I need to do more of the last one.

I’ve pestered a few friends – all of whom speak strong English – to speak only Spanish with me. Like Pilar, for example. She, by the way, is Colombian, and I hear that Colombians have the best Spanish. Listening to her talk, I wouldn’t doubt it. I have a crush on her rolled r’s; they’re delicate yet distinct, like a snowflake on a peacoat.

I suppose that my accent should be on the low end of my worries. I’ve got to overcome my lousy conjugation, my failure to put pronouns in the right place, and my inability to remember the gender of verbs. But still, I’d love to spend an extended time in Colombia and be immersed in their immaculate pronunciation.

At least I’d sound great while I’m screwing everything up.

*My background as a reporter compels me to say that this exchange has been recreated to the best of my memory

Kent Green is currently teaching English in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica through Costa Rican English for Sustainable Tourism, a project of ALIARSE. For more on his experiences,  check out his blog or follow him on Twitter.

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