Settled In

A lot has happened since my last post.

Since it is a lot cheaper to rent a furnished studio than stay at even the cheapest acceptable hotel, I've been spending a lot of time looking for a place and getting settled in. I found a cozy little spot right in the center of things and feel pretty proud that I've managed to negotiate everything because my landlady only speaks Spanish. Lots of things to learn about my new digs. Where to get laundry done. How to buy potable water. (They sell it in the streets in huge bottles.) I have a coffee maker but couldn't find filters, so I tried to make it with paper towels. I was able finally to buy some at the great little coffee shop next to the school. Unfortunately I can only get wifi here at the school so that might limit the number of posts.

My classmates at my level are a banker from London who is Chinese-Canadian and an Italian who lives in Switzerland. Sandro was so happy to know that I speak German because neither his English nor his Spanish is great. My head is about to explode speaking 3 languages! We've become friends and I'm making friends with the other here at the school, a diverse group of all ages from various parts of the world.

Posted on Thu, September 23, 2010 by Arvid

1 comment (Add your own)

1. connie mack wrote:: Arvid,
Your experiences bring back good memories of my two summers at the Instituto Colectivo de Lengua y Cultura in Cuernavaca Mexico. On one stay I was with a family for two weeks and at the school for a awhile. The next summer I stayed mostly in a room that was rented out by the guy who gave basket weaving classes at the school.

I can identify with the feeling that your head is about to explode. I would go through saturation periods and for awhile I just could not absorb anything else and all I wanted to hear was English. At the Insituto they recommended that after four weeks, we took a travel break to apply what we had been learning. Also, besides the fact that you already have some basics in Spanish, you probably are aware that learning your third language is easier than the second so we expect you to be fluent when you return. Take care,
Connie Mack
Sat, September 25, 2010 @ 7:15 PM

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