Si, lo hablo

Jonathan:

I distinctly remember a conversation I had with a friend only a few weeks before we left on this trip in which I boldly stated that I was on the verge of being conversational in Spanish. I'm not really sure where I got that idea - Maybe it was my impressive ability to fluidly ask where the bathroom was, or my deep knowledge of Spanish numbers and colors that gave me my confidence. I can't be sure. Regardless, It took me less than three weeks of traveling through northern Mexico to discover the vast reality of complex grammar and idiomatic nuances that my 2 years of high school Spanish had somehow failed to touch on.

 

When we decided to enroll in classes in Guanajuato 6 months ago, I genuinely thought that two weeks of studying would be just the kick-start we would need to propel ourselves into a frenzy of high-octane learning on the street - I thought we'd be fluent in no time. Well, it turned out that two weeks were barely enough time for me to learn how to say "the more I learn, the more I realize I don't know" (Mientras más aprendo, más sé lo que no sé)... and I meant it.

 

When I look back on the roller coaster ride of confidence and self-doubt that both Megan and I have been through with learning Spanish over the past 7 months, I can't help but smile. Each school experience has propelled our grasp of the language to new levels of depth and complexity, while at the same time shedding light on overwhelming tracts of unexplored territory. It's been hard to measure our progress because with every milestone we reach, the finish line seems to slip further off into the distance. Days of confident in-depth conversation are almost always followed by days where we barely understand what we've just ordered.

 

I've heard that there are several tell-tale signs of being fluent in a new language - when you start thinking or dreaming in it, or when you start to understand jokes. Normally when people ask me if I speak Spanish, I respond with one of several rehearsed responses like, "well, I speak a little," or "we're still learning." These simple responses are usually enough to solicit an enthusiastic nod of approval and sometimes a comment or two that I can't quite catch.

Somewhere in the north of Peru however, I noticed a distinct change in myself. Lately when someone asks if I speak Spanish, for some reason I've simply been saying, "yes. I do." It's not something I started doing on purpose, but the shift in self-perception feels significant. I'm certainly not dreaming in Spanish yet, so I'm not sure where this milestone fits into the quest to be fluent. We will probably continue to have our ups and downs, good days and bad, but for the first time since we left home the horizon seems to be creeping closer.

After a couple of brief sightseeing stops in Lima and Nazca on our way south, we've just completed our first week of studying Spanish in Cusco, Peru. So far we've both been having a fabulous experience with the program, and our latest local "family." Our conversations are becoming more fluid each day, and I have no doubt that from here on it will only become more comfortable to say, "Si, lo hablo."