¡¡¡Arre!!!

Something I love about learning Spanish is the sounds. It's so fun and challenging to try to pronounce sounds that I usually never make. In grammar class today, we started playing around with the double r sound, which I still can't do. So everyday on my way to class, I practice rolling my r's while looking like a crazy person muttering under her breath. I have definitely improved, but I'm not quite there just yet. Another sound that I find myself choking on is the j (jota) sound, which sort of sounds like someone coughing up a small hairball. Hahah that's the only way I can describe it. Something a little more difficult is the subtle t, which is a softer t sound than I'm used to. It sort of sounds like, or could be, a lisp.

Miguel, our grammar professor, showed us a funny wine commercial that uses a million r's:
In English:

In Spanish:

AND...this was a sort of reflection activity we did with Clair Jasinski, a psychologist who talked with us during orientation:

SO FAR...

 1. I can appreciate...the honesty and forwardness of Spanish people.

2. I still can't understand...why people like to call me china so much.

3. Listening to and understanding Spanish and making Spanish friends...is easier than I expected.

4. Going to the next level, challenging myself, getting out of my comfort zone again...is more difficult.

5. Right now, I'm in a stage of acceptance with moments of enchantment and disenchantment.

 
TONIGHT, I'm off to the airport to spend the night there with my friends before our early Friday morning flight to Barcelona. We'll be spending three days in the city and hopefully seeing and doing a lot of things! ¡Hasta pronto!