Notes in Spanish

I have discovered (and doubt I have written about it here, more than just briefly) a wonderful audio tool to advance my Spanish knowledge. Notes in Spanish (dot com). I have absolutely fallen in love with Ben and Marina, the wonderfully adorable married couple that record the audio sessions and create the fabulously-detailed transcripts (for paid members) to go along with them.

Don't feel like paying, you say? Never fear! There are three levels of audio: Beginner, intermediate, and advanced. Each level has some free content to download and enjoy. I believe all you need to do is go to iTunes and type in "Notes in Spanish" to find and download the free files. I would actually like to do a more complete review of Ben and Marina's site and language tools, but right now I am totally, one-hundred percent exhausted and need to get some shut-eye.

Hasta la proxima.

Gusto en conocerte

I wonder sometimes, how very long it will take me to answer a confident "yes" when someone asks me if I'm fluent in Spanish. I'm not sure if I've posted this before, or just thought it to myself enough times that I suspect I must have. Because... well, there's no clear line. There's no "this side you're fluent, this side you're not" barrier that I can simply step over one day, or from which I can conveniently measure my distance in inches or feet or miles. No, this is a clear-cut example of how nothing in the world of bilingualism and/or multilingualism is blanco or negro. Everything comes in shades of gris.

But knowing that does not stop the internal questioner. When will I know?! Is it like what they say about finding the one you will marry? "When you know, you just... know... You know?" No. I don't. I really don't.

What I DO know, however, is that I must keep doing what I've been doing all along: Practicing, speaking, listening, writing, learning, interacting... Hola. Me llamo Kristy. Gusto en conocerte.

Okay, so it's been too long...

Abandoned, neglected, dejado... these are all words that adequately describe my blog and anyone who may have been following it. This is not to say that I have not been practicing Spanish. Au contraire, mes amis! Wait, that's French. ¡Al contrario, mis amigos! I have been speaking up a storm, especially since getting my current job as a teacher in a program where, like, 90 percent of my students speak Spanish at home.

In fact (odd and lovely phenomenon), I have been increasingly asked by native Spanish speakers where I am from. And, not only that, which Spanish-speaking country I am from. A woman from Guatemala at the gas station last night asked in Spanish, "Where you from? Chile?" The fact that I am even asked this question at all astounds me. Considering that it happens now at least once or twice a week, makes me realize that, wow... this is a very good sign.

For anyone who actually reads this and practices Spanish, this may help you with some verbs: Linked verbs in Spanish