English Fast

It has been over a week since my last post, mostly because a few of us got together and decided that we would only speak Spanish this week. It has been an interesting experience.

The thing I learned on my first day here was that, despite my infancy-status as a Spanish speaker, I could still communicate. That held true this week, especially because I have learned a lot more Spanish since my first day here. Once I made the commitment to speak only Spanish, I found that I could do it. If I didn't know a word or a phrase I learned it, because the next time the same subject came up I was going to need it.

I have found my biggest weakness in speaking Spanish is simply knowing conjugations for verbs. Verbs that are used all the time, like ser and estar (to be), tener (to have), ir (to go), and querer (to want), fly off the tongue without a second thought. But when I have to stop and think about a conjugation the conversation slows down. So I've been trying to spend more time familarizing myself with as many verbs and their conjugations as possible. It may seem obvious, but speaking a second language really is a matter of "getting in the habit", or making it second nature.

The part of this process that I have yet to experience is thinking in Spanish. During this last week I barely spoke any English, but I always thought in English. My self-talk was always in English. I was looking for something in my backpack yesterday, and without thinking I said outloud "Donde?" (where), but the words in my head were still "Where is it?" So I'm making the transition, but my mouth and my brain are not in it together yet.

I have also started to pick up some cultural things that Chileans do when they speak. For example, a very common way to say "okay" or "I see" or "yes" is to say "Ah, yah". I do this almost all the time now, even when I'm speaking English. I have a feeling that that expression will become a permanant part of my vernacular. It will be fascinating to see which cultural traits I retain when I go back to the States.

I wonder if people will notice anything slightly "un-American" about me when I'm home. By that I mean culturally, how I behave when I interact with others. There is a professor here that our group has a class with. He is a younger man (early 30's is my guess), and he spent a significant amount of time studying in Chicago and New York. Multiple Chilean students have told me that this professor is "weird" or "crazy", but the more I got to know him the more confused I became. He seemed very intelligent to me, friendly and sensible. What were these other students talking about?

Yesterday I realized what was going on. This professor no longer behaves quite like a Chilean professor, or at the least how Chilean students think their professors should behave. Because he spent so much time in the States, and because of his younger age, he actually developed a teaching style that is more comfortable for American students. That is why I found that my interactions with him never lined up with what Chilean students told me to expect. To them, he is a little weird and crazy, not because he actually is those things, but because he is a Chilean who has picked up some American traits. Very perlexing to Chilean students, I'm sure. And I wonder if any of them have figured this out yet. The students I talked to definitely have not.

A brief personal update: I went to the doctor today because I've been sick for almost three weeks. He prescribed me $80 worth of medication, which I started taking tonight. Hopefully that will help! Our group is spending the weekend at the beach, so I will be back next week with plenty of pictures and stories.