"Storytelling" (2011 - March 15)

My new Spanish class started Monday, and it's called "Storytelling". Although there will be some grammar (imperfect "co-preterite" tense) presented in the first several sessions, the class is designed to give us the opportunity to use the past tenses of the language we've worked so hard to learn. The main focus of the 8 sessions will be to write short stories in Spanish, and then present them to our classmates.






I'm excited about this process for many reasons. I'm hoping it will train my ear to listen to and understand the spoken language better. I'm also hoping it will help polish my Spanish accent and rhythm. I not only want to speak Spanish - I want to sound as much like a native as possible!!! 

Spanish classes are a wonderful way to meet other "adventurers" who have enough interest in México's language and culture to stick around and thoroughly engage themselves in a learning process. I say "adventurers", because it seems like the media reports of Méxican violence and danger keep away those who are not quite as brave. When we meet new people in San Miguel, one of our first conversation topics is usually about the family and friends back home who wonder why in the world we'd choose to go to México. Don't we know that it's dangerous there? Are we crazy? But I'm here to tell you, first hand - there's no need to worry about any of us. The more familiar we become with the people, the language and the culture (through classes, reading and personal experiences), the safer we feel. And the more we want to return to San Miguel, again and again!!! 

Rick and I seem to meet almost as many Canadians in San Miguel as Americans, perhaps even more. Maybe I'm missing something but from what I'm hearing - and experiencing - it seems to me that the U.S. media is doing the American public a disservice by overgeneralizing the problems in México. The result is that they're scaring people away from a really cool place to be - and really neat experiences to have. And hurting Mexican tourism in the process. 

I'm hoping that, by now, you're totally baffled about who is in these photos, and why I'm posting them. But as you are probably guessing, there is actually a method to my madness.

These are photos of Rocío, my beloved Spanish teacher. Not only is Rocío a terrific instructor, but she makes learning lots of fun. These great shots were taken by Jim Quinn, a new friend and retired photojournalist from The Chicago Tribune. Like anyone else who has met Rocío, Jim is crazy about her. Crazy enough to do a photo study that totally captures her bubbly personality. If you were to look up the word "spirited" in a picture dictionary, this is definitely the photo I would hope you'd see:

And so it is with great excitement that I look forward to my second "Storytelling" class tomorrow morning. And although it is tempting, I solemnly swear that I will not switch the stories in my blog to Spanish. At least not yet!!!

Adiós, mís amigos.    Judhit