Learning Spanish Day by Day

Note: for some reason this did not publish when I tried to publish a month ago, so this entry is two weeks overdue. And yes, I still speak like a gringo. Blah

One month. That is exactly how long I have been in Bolivia now. Three of those weeks have all been in the same town, Sucre, where I have studiously embarked on my Spanish journey with lessons. Tomorrow will be my final lesson as I have much to practice and am well aware of what I need to do to keep developing my foundation.

What do I need to do?

Becoming more familiar with been conjugations is high on the list. This will involve hours upon hours of spoken and written practice to learn the rules of the irregularities (of which there so many). I currently speak like a gringo and although my "t" and "soft r" are slightly improved (at least for short words with the "soft r"), my "R" which requires rolling of the tongue is a disaster (and embarrassment). Pronunciation is something I work on as I speak to people, listen and read out loud. And through reading I can improve my vocabulary and understanding of sentence structure. I have also started writing a little, which will improve my vocabulary and overall understanding of the grammar, but will need to seek out someone to proofread my writing so I can learn what errors I am making (want to sign up for that job?).

And of course as I navigate through my travels and seek out opportunities to speak to people, I will develop my skills as well.

Enough of this writing in English - time to continue with reading Pahlo Coelho Aleph (in Spanish with a dictionary at hand of course).