It probably goes without saying that living in a house with 10 gringos doesn't exactly do wonders for your Spanish. We're a feisty bunch - tossing around jokes and stories at about 100 miles (or maybe kilometers now that we're in the metric world?) per hour, and trying to come up with a satisfactory comeback or sassy comment in Spanish just takes too darn long.
We've heard tales of previous groups trying to successfully complete one Spanish day per week where they only converse in Spanish (pretty self-explanatory, I suppose)... but to no avail. During our epic 3-hour long Monday morning meeting we decided to do a little something similar, only slightly less ambitious. Each week we're going to have Spanish Dinner Day in which all conversation around the dinner table must be in Spanish. (We're also taking suggestions for a more creative name than "Spanish Dinner Day"...)
Tonight was our first dinner in Spanish, and I think I speak for everyone when I say it was a grand success. Bibi may or may not have done most of the talking, which is perhaps why it felt so successful... but I'm pretty sure we understood the majority of what she was saying. Granted, her spiel was chalk-full of important announcements, so she'll probably have to repeat herself in English at our next non-Spanish dinner/meeting... oops? But so it goes.
Amongst the important announcements, whispered pleas for translation help, and childhood stories (thanks to Haley for sharing her story about the monster she believed existed until she was 12...), we learned a lot and are getting back into thinking in Spanish, which will inevitably come in handy upon the start of programs. Hopefully we'll be able to continue the trend over the coming months, and with a little time, maybe Bibi won't be the only one vying for talking time during Spanish Dinner Day.
Thanks for checking in!
Sarah
We've heard tales of previous groups trying to successfully complete one Spanish day per week where they only converse in Spanish (pretty self-explanatory, I suppose)... but to no avail. During our epic 3-hour long Monday morning meeting we decided to do a little something similar, only slightly less ambitious. Each week we're going to have Spanish Dinner Day in which all conversation around the dinner table must be in Spanish. (We're also taking suggestions for a more creative name than "Spanish Dinner Day"...)
Tonight was our first dinner in Spanish, and I think I speak for everyone when I say it was a grand success. Bibi may or may not have done most of the talking, which is perhaps why it felt so successful... but I'm pretty sure we understood the majority of what she was saying. Granted, her spiel was chalk-full of important announcements, so she'll probably have to repeat herself in English at our next non-Spanish dinner/meeting... oops? But so it goes.
Amongst the important announcements, whispered pleas for translation help, and childhood stories (thanks to Haley for sharing her story about the monster she believed existed until she was 12...), we learned a lot and are getting back into thinking in Spanish, which will inevitably come in handy upon the start of programs. Hopefully we'll be able to continue the trend over the coming months, and with a little time, maybe Bibi won't be the only one vying for talking time during Spanish Dinner Day.
Thanks for checking in!
Sarah
Random Picture of the Day:
Weird group shot at the birthday brunch last weekend
Weird group shot at the birthday brunch last weekend