Yo hablo Espanol (un poquito)

Today I had my third Spanish lesson. I take lessons from Noami (No-ah-me) the same woman that all the Fergusons take from. Noami is the wife of Eduardo, the pastor of the Arevalo church. She is wonderfully patient and encouraging. I'm really enjoying lessons with her, even if they make my brain tired. I had two hours of Spanish today instead of my usual hour, so my brain is twice as tired. I feel like it's shriveling up inside my skull. Even English is more difficult right now.


But I'm glad to be learning even the little bit I am. Let me see if I can pass on some of my newly acquired knowledge. First, pronunciation: "a" makes the short 'a' sound - ah; "e" makes the long 'a' sound; "i" sounds like long 'e'; "o" sounds like 'o', but short and clipped; "u" sounds likes 'oo'. Got it? The hardest part about vowels is the fact that we Southerners have a tendency to drag out our vowels, and sometimes give them multiple syllables! One thing about Spanish pronunciation makes it easier and harder all at once: every letter sounds when you say a word (except for "h" which is silent) This makes it easier to know how to say a new word, but can sometimes make actually saying the word more dificil (difficult). For example: aeropuerto (airport) is pronounced ah-a-ro-poo-er-to, not forgetting to slightly roll the 'r' sound. I still stumble over that word, every time I see it! Spanish is spoken in the front of the mouth, and you have to form different shapes with your mouth and tongue, so by the end of my lessons, my tongue is tired, as well as my brain. Just sounding out aeropuerto for this blog entry mskes me wonder if it's possible for you tongue to actually cramp.

But learning Spanish is still fun right now, mostly because I'm not dependent on it for daily life. Then it would be stressful. Please continue to pray for the Fergusons as they continue to study and gain fluency in Spanish. I am becoming convinced that there are few things more tiring than trying to learn and talk in a new language.

PS- my title translated is "I Speak Spanish (a little little bit)"