Such Spanish. Such wow.

So I’m almost done with my first week of Spanish classes! And my brain is a mushy overload of Spanish medical vocabulary and idiomatic phrases. Every morning, I have one-on-one classes with my teacher, Jessica for 5 hours. Five longggg hours of Spanish grammar, vocab, listening exercises, and just general chit-chat. So by the time class is over I’m mentally exhausted. But I really feel like I’m getting a lot better at speaking “con fluidez.”

The school is close to Xela’s central park, and is a quaint spot with a beautiful courtyard. From 8am- 1pm the students and their teachers sit at tables throughout the school and have their Spanish lessons. They have free coffee for students and teachers (#blessed), and bread during our 30 minute break.

I love love love my Spanish teacher. Jessica and I talk about anything and everything, and she is a fantastic teacher. I’ve learned so much about Guatemala and Mayan culture from her. Even though the days seem incredibly long, I can’t believe I’m almost halfway done with Spanish school. I’ll miss my chats with Jessica once I leave Xela!

Jessica, me, and Sarah (another UVA student)

Hopefully soon I’ll get used to the long classes and my brain won’t feel as dead once 1pm hits. (No, but I actually need that to happen pretty quickly, because some afternoons I feel like I can’t even speak proper English let alone Spanish.) Until then, I’ll just keep on taking these afternoon siestas to get me through.

Hasta luego,

-S