Spanish Struggles

I came to Argentina with the silly idea that when I left, I would be pretty much fluent in Spanish.  In reality, I feel like my Spanish has gotten worse, not better, since I came here.  That’s probably not true, but my language skills have not improved the way I expected them to.  They certainly haven’t improved as noticeably as they did in Costa Rica, or even Peru.  To be fair, I shouldn’t compare this experience to learning Spanish in Costa Rica because I barely spoke any then, and you improve much faster when you know very little.  Once you know enough to get by, I think improvement comes slower because the things that are left are more complex.

Also, I have a much harder time understanding people here than I ever have, and that has caused a severe dip in my confidence.  In Costa Rica and Peru, even though I couldn’t always say what I wanted to say, I never had to worry about understanding the language.  Part of my trouble here is the accent—people talk really quickly and with different pronunciation and inflection that in other Spanish-speaking countries.  The biggest problem, however, is that the Porteño vocabulary is full of colloquialisms, slang, and words that are actually Italian.  Costa Rican Spanish, on the other hand, is very straightforward.

Another big difference between Costa Rica and here is that in Costa Rica I was speaking and listening to Spanish for 90% of the day.  I remember feeling physically exhausted from having to process everything in Spanish.  Here, I’m simply not practicing as much because it is very easy to go a day without speaking any Spanish at all.  Most of my friends here are English speakers (not all Americans, but the common language is still English).  Before I came, it hadn’t occurred to me that there would be so many foreign students in the city.  Even though we all wish we were friends with Argentines, it is so much easier to meet and bond with people—to form real friendships—when you speak the same language.  I think I just have to accept this as the study abroad experience, and remind myself that even though they are not Argentine, I am making some good friends with people from different places and who have had experiences very different from mine—and this is still cultural exchange, right?

That said, I could certainly be making more of an effort to immerse myself in the language.  For starters, I need to read more.  This should be easier now that classes have started in earnest.  I should also be reading the newspaper.  I think starting my internship will help, because I’ll be interacting more with Spanish speakers and doing some translating.

Also, finally after two months, I am bonding with my host siblings.  My host mom was out of town this past weekend for the Easter holiday, and it was actually really nice because the host sibs were hanging out in the apartment, instead of going out.  Friday night Flor and I watched Pan’s Labyrinth (which is called The Faun’s Labyrinth in Spanish).  I didn’t understand it without subtitles, but I was able to use Spanish, not English, subtitles!  I was very pleased with myself.  While we were watching the movie, Ignacio came home, plopped himself down in a chair next to me, and chatted out for over an hour.  I think the longest conversation we’d ever had previously was about 45 seconds.  We made a pact to be English/Spanish conversation buddies, but he had been out drinking with friends and suggested the pact at the same time that he was demonstrating his best dance moves, so I’m not sure he remembers it….  But the experience certainly broke the ice!  I’ve also been talking more with Mariano.  I learned that he is a DJ and he invited me to his next gig!  I think being more comfortable with them is going to make a big difference for my Spanish and for feeling settled and happy here (not that I’ve been unhappy—I’ll just be happier!).

Some goals for practicing Spanish more:

-Read the newspaper

-Listen to Argentine music

-Do my reading for class (I mean, I always do all my reading—I swear, Mom and Dad!)

-Hang out in the living room with the host fam, not in my bedroom

-Make friends with the kids in my music history class

-Email people in Spanish: Papi, Marta, Dad, Tía, Katie, Suzy, Dani, Claire, Molly, Yelani, Mariel, Ben, Lissie (anyone else?)….  I have lots of people who will practice with me!  This is important because the other day I emailed Marta in English.  There’s really no excuse for that.