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Published: June 16th 2017
Geo: -34.8939, -56.1568
For anyone thinking of a language immersion class, I have a few words.
Yes and no.
No if you're married to your TV and your automatic coffee maker. No if you have to drive everywhere you go. Definitely no if you're uncomfortable with never knowing what will happen next.
Yes if you have to do more than just read about how other people live. Yes if you're ok with freeze dried coffee and a bottle of warm water. Yes if learning new things is what keeps you going.
You could go anywhere in the world to learn a language so this all is very subjective, but here's how we see it.
We don't like the poverty we see, but we understand that we can't change the way they live. We can't make them keep their children in school or do anything to make them less violent in their desperation.
We don't like the saggy bed, lack of cable news or odd eating schedule. And we sure don't like the basic living conditions we're in. A hostel would be 3 steps up.
But we love the people. And when you love one part you can live with the others.
Bob says he's always enjoyed meeting new people and hearing their stories. And being who he is, telling his stories. But traveling to a country with a different language, it's a whole new adventure. "I stumble for words, not ever knowing for sure if they understand anything I say. But I have the advantage of having Karen to help me with my struggle," he says. “Occasionally I come up with a word that Karen can't find. When that happens I am thrilled that it's not just one of us, but it takes both to have a complete conversation.”
At lunch today Andrea and her mother Nela were hysterical telling us about how this man approached Andrea at a Tango show and told her he was in love with her mother. “Mi Madre??” Andrea asks. And then they go on to regale us with laughing and jumping up and hand waving and more with the laughing.
It's balm for sleepless nights and tasteless dinners, I tell you.
Today I was moved to a different class—I'd been asking for the move for days because my class was aimed at beginners and was just too slow. Vicky and I were both moved and the new class is very good—not too fast like I was afraid it would be, but advanced enough I'm getting challenged. The students are all in their 20's though, so we'll see how long I can keep up.
Having the two of us gone has helped Bob's class too, since now the three men are at about the same level and can have better discussions without us women asking all those extraneous questions 😉
We'd intended to go to Cuidad Viajo (old city) after lunch today, but it's raining again, so instead we took our laundry around the corner and came back for a little siesta. I'm loving these siestas.
You know, living here like this makes you look at yourself and ask, “What's really important to me?” We don't need all the stuff we have and that's a good thing since our suitcases are pretty darn small, and although we love our conveniences of home, we don't NEED cable TV, stoves with constant temperatures or washing machines, even.
We need our families. We need each other. We need decent food, clean water, a warm place to sleep and enough money to make it work. Okay, maybe we need some football scores now and then.
And as my dear fishing buddy Landis is being reminded of again, you need your heath. Her stage 4 cancer is growing again, and as she once more faces the life and death decisions the rest of us can pretend aren't there, I'm overwhelmed by sadness. I'm a mess of soggy tears as I think of losing someone I've grown to love so much. So the news that this new treatment is so far not giving her insurmountable difficulties gives me respite, but respite is just that--a rest from stress.
So for you Landis I'm also facing my fears and stumbling on. And I gain strength from you and your bravery every day.
But you know what else has come to the forefront as a real basic need that I had not given much thought to? We need the ability to communicate. If you can't talk to the people around you, you can't eat, you can't find sustenance.
Knowing how to communicate is a very big deal when you're in an immersion situation and something I hope not to take for granted again. If I don't know the difference between “I met a friend,” and “I cooked a friend,” I'm going to have very limited friends.
This is no 5 star resort where everyone's goal is to make YOU happy. If you're lucky you have people who want you to have a good time like Andrea, but maybe not. Maybe they simply want the money they earn by putting you up—or putting up with you, like my host lady in Spain.
So do you do it or not? You may find it a horrible depressing experience where you have the terror of no control at all, or you just swallow the fear and have the TIME OF YOUR LIFE.
Buen viaje!
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Landis M. Vance
non-member comment
"I cooked a friend"? Whoa, no DO dinners for you!!!