Learning Standstill

As the days grow closer and closer to the 2/3's completion mark I am becoming incredibly nervous about my Spanish language progression. In the first few weeks I found myself gaining knowledge quickly and with ease. I was picking up on the necessary significances of words and I was able to apply the new grammar rules I was learning in the classroom. However, these past three weeks I've felt like I've had a serious standstill in my progression. It isn't bad but it surely isn't where I had expected it to be previously. While I do hear a sufficient amount of English around that helps sooth me, 85% of everything around me is still in Spanish. My Señora only speaks Spanish as do her friends, a large majority of people around me only speak Spanish, and I find myself only speaking English to Americans, who are the only people I spend extra time with. Despite my constant use of English, I am constantly using my Spanish as well. The moment someone asks you something on the street or you enter a tapas bar or cafe, that Andalusian Spanish is thrown at you like a curve ball and you've got to hit it. Quickly.

Sometimes I find myself falling over my Spanish, mixing words, and essentially confusing the Spaniards. And then other times it is flawless and I am able to communicate efficiently and successfully. Everyday my challenge is new. I just don't think my progression rate has been what it was and I am a bit afraid of the future. This isn't to say that I don't think I will have fluency, I am just worried, that if I don't do something a bit more rigorous, I will not be at a level of Spanish where I want to be. I want a very high understanding of the language and an equal ability to speak it. So, to keep myself from falling short of my goals, I've equipped myself with magazines and weekly assignments to flood my mind with extra Spanish. I am planning on reading a book or two in my remaining time here as well.

I think having a few specific goals in mind while I was here really helped me to maintain focus. Even on my days off from school I am constantly finding ways to achieve my personal goals and academic goals because the reality of it is, they are intertwined. I need to learn a great deal of Spanish here because not only do I have to but I absolutely want to! So, we will see what these extra practices do to assist me in that. In the mean time, I guess I should stop blogging in English...Nah! :)

Thanks for reading ladies and gents.