picking up the pace

The more Spanish I learn, the more I find my motivation growing here lately.

I want more... and more!

At some point, probably about the time I started Pimsleur Spanish 3, I started making it more of a point to just force myself to stick to a lesson per day. So far this has worked out to mean working through each lesson once in the morning and once more after work.

Currently I think this may be about right. It obliges me to focus on getting the material down in a couple of passes instead of living with the luxury of knowing I can keep at it for as long as it takes. And whatever part of me that learns this stuff seems to be stepping up to the challenge!

So that's 1 hour per day (with the concession that weekends are tougher from a scheduling perspective) on Pimsleur.

I have also been a bit more disciplined lately about spending at least some time each day to watching Spanish-language programming (with Spanish subtitles when possible), attempting to make out as much as I can. I check new material against Google Translate and my collection of reference materials to fill in the gaps.

This has tended to add at least another half hour of exposure per day, although the quality of the exposure can vary pretty wildly.

And I seek out reading material where I can. Thanks to the internet connection here, there's a lot to be found. Last night, I was googling on the subject of yerba mate and found the blog of an English professor's sabbatical in Buenos Aires, which I have been reading with mild fascination.

Here's one of his entries, mostly in intermediate Spanish.

A couple of guys on staff at a local Mexican restaurant I frequent chatted with me at Latin Fest, and remembered me when I stopped by for lunch yestereday (and gave me some free food, mmm). Although I love the food, I would honestly go for just the conversation.

I noticed yesterday that I'm beginning to understand at least some small bit of full-speed Spanish if that which is being said or asked is sufficiently familiar.

Considering the relative enormity of the task, I'm just working on those little goals of learning new verb tenses, building some vocabulary, etc.

Baby steps.