Regular or Irregular

Verbs.
Grammar.
Syntax.
Rules.
Vocab.

For those of you who have taken the time to try to learn a different language, you know the unique blend of frustration, humliation, achievement, and ultimately humility that come from the process. Today´s lesson was on past tense conjugation with regular and irregular verbs. I felt like I was 6 years old- back in Mrs. Wilson´s class trying to understand all of these rules that just seem so random, mostly confusing, and not entirely helpful. My question´s typically sound like- why is that the rule? what is that rule called? is that verb regular? I´m lucky to have the teacher I have- she´s very patient, thinks my stupid attempts to make jokes in spanish are funny, and is quite good at explaining things...slowly and in spanish.

I decided yesterday that I would stop for the week with my cooking class. It was wonderful to have the experience of seeing local food cooked in real time, but due to the timing (4-6 everyday) it was a bit too much for me at the end of an already full day. My maximum attention span (this is assuming a good night´s sleep and sufficiently strong coffe prior to arrival in said learning environment) is somewhere´s around an hour. But toward the late afternoon, I start to turn into that character Mike Meyer´s used to play on SNL who was tethered to the monkey bars with a rubber leash. Really I look really confused, tired, and mostly I just want to lie down somwhere quiet. So I am taking a break this week. Will see about next week- they are taking a trip to the market to buy things- but I think I can do that on my own.

I went to a baseball game last night with my host dad Daniel. What a hoot. It was somewhat reminicent of the time Joel and I went to a game in Cuba (save I didn´t attempt to smoke a nine inch cigar in 10 minutes this time- a little older and wiser- I think) in the sense that the crowd was small but passionate, the game was closely contested (the players are closer to the love of the game because their salaries are closer to reality), and the atmosphere was perfectly latin. The muchachos behind Daniel and I started in right away. The beer drinking appeared to have started some time before the game, but it definitely continued through the duration of the game. They hurled insults with passion, flair, and in this totally great, we-aren´t- serious-we-are-just-having-fun-and-are-quite-drunk kind of way. I learned some great swear words and enjoyed expanding my dirty vocabulary with Daniel present. He and I shared a lot of great laughs during the game.

Funny enough- I had a beer, a hot dog, and a hamburger at the game. So in some obvious ways- there´s some real cultural overlap. However, the hamburgers down here (they´re called hamburguesas) are made with a Mexican touch- and I dare say that they are better. For a dollar and a half- you get a lean, very thin patty of beef with a slice of cheese melted inside a slice of ham, topped with chiles, pineapple, lettuce, mayo, mustard, and ketchup. For some of you- that might sound totally disgusting- but I´m telling you, they´re way better than I thought they´d be. Anyhow, Daniel and I drank beer and enjoyed sharing some funny conversations about baseball specific vocabulary. Entrada is inning in Spanish. I can´t remember the word for home base- but I remember it was cool. The game was three hours long, and though initially I was nervous about hanging for that long (I don´t really care for baseball in English) at a baseball game with my rapidly speaking host dad, it was a great experience.

So the day to day rhythm downhere hasn´t changed a whole lot. Though as my Spanish has finally arrived in a place in which I can have a small conversation sprinkled heavily with gestures, I have been able to make some local connections. The barista at the little cafe I get my morning cup of joe from, Ruben, invited me out with him his compadres over the weekend. My teacher, Marisol, is a very hip gal with a down-to-earth Danish boyfriend who speaks amazing Spanish who I get along with great, and we are planning to get together. This is aside from that there are some totally amazing places to just sit and sip a beer in total peace here with views of the mountains, a very pleasant breeze, and all of the serenity necessary for practicing conjugation in whatever tense you may be practicing. This a great place to be- and one I can already envision coming back to.

Speaking of which, I talked with a woman here at the Institute where I am studying who did her master´s thesis in conjunction with the school here- so who knows? I know that I can get excited about pretty much anything in the moment- but it´s nice to know that the opportunity could be here if I wanted to. Plus, if I really do want to acquire any sort of proficiency, I´m gonna need more immersion. This is all without telling you that I ate the legendary chapulines (grasshoppers) here in Oaxaca which are a local tradition accompanied by a legend that says if you eat them you are bound to come back. I don´t know about legends and spells and such, but the grasshoppers were alarmingly good (especially with guacamole). So who knows?

I think I´m finding a better balance this week of learning as much as I can while simply enjoying being here as well. I´ve found another great coffee shop that plays real jazz and the coffee is real good. That´s become my study place in the afternoons- replacing my time at the cooking class. I can take my time, relax, and re-examine the things I may have missed from the days lessons. Then in the evenings I get my usual array of street food- so good and sooooo cheap- and sit somewhere outside. I know I´ve said it before, but you can walk everywhere in downtown here in like 10-15 minutes- it´s so great. I love that. Makes things simple.

Well- I´m off to meet a friend for a beer on an open balcony and stumble my way through the process of conjugating in both present and past tenses. I hope you all are enjoying whatever it is that you are up to and know that I love you all very much.


E-zac (that´s what my name sounds like in Spanish)