It has been my goal to learn a second language for as long as I can remember. I took two years of Spanish in high school, followed by one semester in college. I do not speak Spanish. Learning another language is fucking hard, y’all.
After my failed attempts to learn Spanish in a classroom, I have also dabbled with CDs and books on and off over the years. Nothing has stuck. Foreign language is a huge challenge for me. My brain is just not wired that way. It does not come easy.
I had a phone conversation with a friend several months ago and she was preparing for a trip to France with her teenage son. In preparation for the trip, she was brushing up on her French with the language app Duolingo. Shortly after, another friend mentioned she and her sons used this app for Spanish. I thought this was a sign to revisit my Spanish, so I downloaded the app.
Early on using the app I impressed myself with how much I remembered and how well I was doing. I thought, “Maybe I’m not so bad at this. Maybe I just needed a better tool.” I have continued diligently with my lessons daily and marked my 220-day streak today!
A couple of months after I started back with Spanish, my daughter learned she was going to Spain for the travel abroad program at her school. I immediately got her on my Duolingo account and told her to start practicing. She had also taken a year of Spanish in high school but did not have strong skills. Now, we were in this together!
I think we were both feeling pretty cocky and ready to take on a basic conversation with a Spanish speaker until one night while watching TV. We were watching a show on Hulu and I’m a cheap ass, so there were commercials. One of these commercials was for Chevrolet and it was in Spanish. My husband started laughing as he saw the pained looks on our faces as we tried to figure out a damn word they were saying. In a 30-second commercial, we got three words: Chevrolet, very and good. For the next couple of weeks, Josie and I would ask each other basic questions in Spanish and we would both reply with the same answer: Chevrolet.
The fact of how little I could understand actual Spanish speakers was driven even further home when I attended a high school girls’ soccer game. We were sitting near the visitor’s side of the field and they had a couple of Spanish-speaking girls on their team. We were right next to the girls’ dads. It would be an understatement to say they were incredibly exuberant soccer fans and proud of their daughters.
I became transfixed by their sideline coaching. They were yelling so much enthusiastic encouragement to the girls. Well, I’m guessing it was encouragement. I honestly cannot say for sure. I concentrated as hard as I could and tried to follow what they were saying—or at least pick out a few words I knew. What I got was basically, “Here! Here! Here!” and “There! There! There!” I was disheartened by my total ineptitude.
After the game, I was telling this to Josie. She asked what I did understand. I replied to her with a hopeless, “Chevrolet.” We all laughed and told each other again that learning another language is hard.
I’ve contemplated giving up, but dammit, I’m not getting any younger. I know I will visit a Spanish-speaking country again one day and I want to at least be able to attempt to communicate in the native language. So, I’m still at Duolingo. I’m getting better at understanding conversation—if it is spoken somewhat slowly. My pronunciation is still pretty abysmal, but I’m trying. I doubt I will ever be fluent. However, as long as I can find a place to pee, order wine and food and ask for directions, I’ll call that a win.
Angela Traver
What is this blog about? Well, it's a general blog, but it is also a very specific blog. If you get that reference, you get a gold star! I have been a public relations professional and writer of press releases for more than 20 years—primarily in the booze biz. I decided to do some writing for fun and embrace the humor that gets me through most days. Hopefully it will make you chuckle—or at least smile. I’m a certified crazy magnet, and more than a little nutty myself, so buckle up. Also, I have two vices—profanity and red wine/whiskey. You’ve been warned. It should also be noted, that I’m a HUGE Bob & Sheri fan. I’ve been a listener for more than 20 years. This opportunity is a dream come true and it may have made me cry. That being said, I cry at everything. If you are into booze, dogs, food and/or knitting, hit me up on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter (although I’m terrible at Twitter and it scares me) @kyspiritsgal. You can also find all my previous blog posts at www.kyspiritsgal.com.
