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Mi Amor de Español

Ah, Peru! The countdown has started. There are 8 weeks left in the school year, and 11 days later, I will step on the ground in the southern hemisphere.

My friends and family routinely remind me about how dangerous this trip is. I've heard more horror stories about Peru than I could have imagined. Apparently, everyone knows someone who has lived in Peru and has made it very clear to my friends and family that I am crazy for even considering a solo vacation there.

It's like women who love to share with newly pregnant women their labor stories about how they almost died in the delivery room. Or the woman who, in 2006, adamantly insisted that the spider bite on my leg meant that I would surely lose my leg to flesh-eating bacteria. I suppose I should confess that my right is artificial because that's the only possible result of a spider bite, right?

No es verdad.

My major concern about traveling alone to Peru is language. I studied Spanish in college (and was even begged by my professor to major in the language), so I can read and write the language fairly well. Listening to it is more difficult, and speaking it is a bit of a train wreck for me. Wrapping your mouth around the words is a challenge. They are there, ready and willing to jump out as conversation, but they get stuck in their potential.

Let's face it, I can't very well walk around Cuzco asking the locals to write down everything for me.

I signed up for a conversational Spanish class last week. I've also instituted a Spanish-only policy in my home. This means I only watch Spanish language movies and television and only listen to Spanish music. (As a result, I've developed a new love of the Mexican rock group, Mana and have discovered the fabulous movie, "El Mariachi".) It's coming along.

So that's the story of my new entertainment habits. Explaining the semi-obsession with the culture of Spain is a completely unrelated subject. I suppose I talk about Spain and Spanish a lot these days. My friends tease me daily about this fascination. I hear on a regular basis, "You're a WHITE girl."

A look in the mirror confirms that. And it's precisely why I want to be fluent in Spanish.

Comments

Christy said…
I, for one, *never* share my scary birth stories with newbies. I think women should be free to experience their choices fully - as should you! I'm so excited for you. What an adventure!

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