Wow -- I had anticipated yesterday to be something of a wake-up call, but I'd have to estimate I understood in total about 10% of the Spanish I was exposed to during and between classes. Although not an ideal situation in any figment of the imagination, I choose to see this as 90% room for improvement rather than the obvious "Maha" obstacle (Sanskrit, not Spanish) for obtaining a Master's degree IN SPANISH. There are 52 students in the class of which about half are international students including nine from China, a first for the program. Soooo, I can't imagine that I am completely alone with the language barrier, but for now it's difficult to take much comfort in what my optimistic mind views as nothing more than a minor detail. Right.
I met three other international students during the coffee break between classes -- Elizabeth from El Salvador, Enrique from Chile and someone who sounds like "Erneste" from Cuba. Having followed them down to the student cafeteria, I was grateful they were kind enough to entertain my broken Spanish as we drank our cafes con leche. But the best encounter by far was meeting Diego Caro, a professor and the program coordinator, on the ferry ride back to Puerto de Santa Maria where I am currently staying. He's a tall man for Spanish standards with twinkling eyes and a broad smile, has a paternal way about him and was extremely patient with my 10% when I introduced myself as a friend of Emily (whom I'll talk much more about later in this blog). Just the type of hombre you'd want in charge of the program. After chatting the entire ride home, with Diego's kind encouragement, I hardly minded the fact that I had just missed the previous ferry an hour before.
!Que suerte! Sometimes things happen for a reason.
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