Rule 7. The only rule is work. If you work, it will lead to something It's the people who do all of the work all the time who eventually catch on to things. -John Cage
Mi problema con hablantes de español en .ee.uu, pues, no todos, pero mayoría no entienden como difícil para aprender otro idioma entranjero. Hablo acerca hablantes son bilingües de sus infancias. Me siento que ser bilingües es muy difícil cuando aprendes como un adulto. En mi experiencia, no había conocido personas que hablan más que dos idiomas en EE.UU. En Europa, es más común encontrar personas que hablan tres o más lenguas.
Esos son mis pensamientos. Solo estoy celoso de los bilingües que no tuvieron que trabajar para aprender un idioma como un adulto.
Voy a escribir por 5 minutos. Tengo mucho miedo porque el examen es muy difícil para mí. Tengo que aprobar un examen se llama, BTLPT, se significa Bilingual Target Language Proficiency Test en inglés. Me di cuenta que mi nivel en español no es suficiente para aprobar el examen. Tengo 6 meses para estudiar y tratar de pasar el examen. ¿Que voy a hacer, si no paso? No se. No tengo un plan B. mi problema con este examen. Todavía, creo que hay muchos tiempos de gramaticales que no sé.
Es este punto de mi viaje de aprendizaje de español. No estoy mejorando en este idioma. Yo sé es difícil para ver mi progreso. A veces pienso poder entender que un hispanohablante está hablando pero a veces no entiendo nada. Es frustrante. Hago errores como estoy confundido o es confuso o al revés.
Hay muchos tiempos gramaticales que tengo que aprender todavía. Siento que este camino es demasiado largo. Tal vez cuando me mude a españa, voy a sentirme más cómodo con este idioma.
Actualmente, estoy viajando a través Europa. Estoy en Irlanda. Las ciudades que estuve visitando son Dublín y Limerick. Mi vuelo a Barcelona es el domingo.
Mi itinerario para este viaje será los siguientes países, Irlanda, España, Alemania, Suecia, y Estonia.
Tengo que visitar a mi tia en Colonia, a mi amiga en Suecia, y asistiré a un camp de jiu jitsu en Estonia. Las últimas semanas serán en Valencia, España.
Yo tuve mi primer día de observación para ser un profesor. He oído muchos rumores que mi distrito escolar será malo y terrible. En mi primera impresión, mi escuela es un buen lugar. Creo que hay personas siempre van a tener malas experiencias porque tienen expectativas muy altas.
Normalmente cuando experimento algo nuevo siempre tengo mis expectativas muy bajo y pienso en las peores situaciones. Por eso, cuando sobrevivo todo está bien. no pasa nada.
Anteriormente solía ser un romántico, después mis veintes era un cínico, ahora soy realista. Creo que en la vida y el universo tienen un buen humor e ironía. Yo se el chiste y me reí.
Nosotros necesitamos sufrir para lograr nuestros objetivos . Sin sufrir, la vida siempre es fácil y feliz. Un vida asi esta muy aburrido, demasiado aburrido.
Imaginaté si juegas el juegovideo de vida con la dificultad es fácil. No es divertido. Cuando la gente engaña el juego no es divertido para nosotros. Los engañadores que normalmente engañan en juegos videos en su vida. Ellos son perdedores de vida.
Yo recibí mi reloj nuevo. La marca del reloj se llama Garmin. Quiero estar más saludable. Por eso, yo corro. Mi meta es un 5K todos los días por un año, tal vez siempre. ¿Por qué? Estoy en forma bien en mi opinión pero creo que puedo empujar mi cuerpo y mi mente así. Voy a cultivar disciplina y consistencia.
Recientemente escuché a David Goggins otra vez. Una de sus frases es ” Solo estás usando una fracción de tu potencial.
Que significa eso?
Para mi, yo puedo hacer más, estudiar más, aprender más, leer más, de todas maneras yo quería.
Todas las cosas yo quiero mejorar en. Tengo que hacer tiempo libre para lograrlas. La decisión es mía. Tenemos selecciones todos los días de su dieta, su trabajo, su pendientes, y más.
For polyglots and language learners I’m sure this question comes up a lot. I usually stress over this question a lot. This is very difficult because I love traveling. I always want to study the language of the country I’m traveling to. I don’t always want to go to a Spanish speaking country. The whole world is just as interesting. For example, I studied French for six months before I went to Belgium and France. It helped to know a few words and be more comfortable hearing the language. When I returned home, I came to the question again. Do I want to continue with French? Or do I want to travel and study another language, like travel to Italy and learn Italian. It can be overwhelming. Youtube has helped me figure this out.
Lindie Botes advice is very good
Portuguese
Portuguese will be my next language. Here are a few reasons I came up with. I will be doing Brazilian jiu jitsu for as long as I can. I probably will be traveling to Brazil whenever the world comes back to normal. I will like to have conversation and meet people. I will most likely meet Brazilians and Portuguese travelers in my adventures. I want to return to Portugal and explore. The music and the food are something that I want experience as well. I can continue to make reasons for learning this language. Finally, I made a separate list of all the languages that I have dabbled in over the years. I had more reasons than any of the other languages. More than Korean, French, Italian, German.
One aspect of my language goals is that I want fluency in my target language. I want to have a high level of proficiency in that. Which is a huge goal. It is too daunting. I have been learning Spanish for 5 years, and I still get lost when native speakers speak. I have decided to let go of this goal. I just want to get proficient enough to enjoy my time in the target language’s country. It could be A2 or B1. It doesn’t have to be at an academic level.
I will give Portuguese a solid 12 months. I will do a lot of input. Which will be listening, studying grammar and vocabulary. I think by the beginning of March I will get and italki tutor. I don’t want to rush my speaking. I can also choose between Portugal and Brazil. I have no idea what travel restrictions will come in 2021.
Here is a caricature from one of my favorite artist. Kosuke Miyagi. Follow him @kosukemiyagi
It’s been awhile. I have seasons or moods when I blog. But really, I should continue to write and create regardless of my mood or location. The world has really gone to another place since the beginning of this year. I choose not to write or comment too much about my situation, much less the current events of the world. Really I need to write/create for my own piece of mind. Even if it is wrong. Most of the time I take in the news and it just depresses me. There’s no place to put my opinions, frustrations or thoughts.
My plans were derailed this summer, like most people. I was planning to travel to Europe with the money I earned from Spring Break. The lock down happened during that time. So that money never came. So I’m here in Texas for the summer. Which I would rather not be, but I have to adjust and adept. Like Jocko Willink would say, “good”. I gained about 10 pounds since quarantine started. I made a plan to get in shape.
So what will I do for the rest of the summer. I have some classes on Udemy, an educational website, that I will start for a head start on the classes I will take in the Fall. Statistics, Chemistry, and Psychology. This is a strategy, I think I need to take. I have hypothesis that I am not naturally good at school. I have a concept in my mind that I have to catch up, and I’m not as quick as other students. It could be mental flaw, but what negative can come from getting an introduction to one of my future classes. Besides a bit of money and time, I will have a basic understanding of each subject I undertake with Udemy, which will further prepare me for the Fall Semester. Which brings to an important college question. Are you taking the class to learn? Or are you taking the class as a requirement and your goal is to pass?
I am the kind of person where I want my cake and I want to eat it too. Also as an education major, I would be a bad teacher if I wasn’t a good student as well. I want to learn. I have to change my mindset, I have to be curious, and I have to think critical. Especially when analyzing why are these classes necessary? How are these teachers teaching? Are they effective at transferring information? Are they engaging the students? There are so many more questions.
SPANISH
My Spanish was the one thing that improved during the quarantine. Before the quarantine I signed up to Lydia Machova’s Language Mentoring program. I felt so good that I signed up twice. There is so much to learning a language that I actually experienced during this time. You have to put in a lot of hard work when learning a language. Most Youtube polyglots don’t actually show how much consistent work they put in. My second time in the program I wasn’t as consistent with the weekly goals or activities. I had my own goals. I concentrated on reading, comprehesion, and grammar.
What I’m reading now. The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain.
I went to Paris, France as my last leg of this European trip. I spent 5 days there. I decided I would go to see Paris back in September of 2019. The last time I went to France was around 2006. I had such a bad experience with France that time. This time I tried to go with an open mind. I also used six months to learn some of the basics of the language. I am in no way conversational. I went to see a friend who I really enjoy talking to.
So the last time I was in France I had such a bad experience. There were several factors that contributed to my bad experience. First, it was my first time traveling to Europe, I mostly touristy things, like the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower. Secondly, I didn’t speak the language, not even a little bit. Parisians are known for not being very nice to tourists. Let’s flip the perspective and see it in their eyes. If someone comes to your city and speaks another language, that’s not the official language of the country, how would react to them? I think the reaction is pretty universal.
Before Sunset
Instead of going to see usual things I went to see the locations I wanted to see. I enjoy Rodin’s sculptures, so I went to his Museum. I really enjoyed the Tecahnical Museum in Prague, so I thought the Musee des Artes et Metiers would be cool. I enjoyed the models and architecture of old buildings. The movies I enjoy in Paris that I know of are Amelie, obviously, Before Sunrise, and Inglorious Basterds. I went to the bookstore in Before Sunset and I went to Brasserie in Inglorious Basterds.
The cafe in Inglorious Basterds. Bistrot La Renaissance
I think that’s what makes me enjoy traveling more as I’m older. I cater traveling more to my interests and feelings. I try to see things and subjects that I have a general interest in. I keep returning to Europe because I find it’s history amazing. I also don’t try to rush so much activities in my day. I just try to enjoy myself and go into a book shop, and relax. If the weather was better I would be outside drawing all day. Here are a few of my sketches from Paris.
This time I learned enough to get by and see what I wanted to. I learned how to order food, coffee, and my check. I felt good that I achieved these small steps. I felt that I was received way better by the restaurants when I spoke french. The first time I went to Spain, ordering food and interacting with the language on a daily basis was the first step as well.
I think Paris is a great city to hang out in and take your time in. There are so many cafes and places to see. I did get to see my friend, if only for one night. There was a strike so traveling was difficult the entire time in Paris. She couldn’t hang out the second day. But through coincidence or serendipity I met a very Australian lawyer in Montmartre. I remember her henna tattoo from breakfast at the hostel. She was sitting at the same table I was sitting at. No one at the table was conversing except the Peruana and Espanola, which I was eavesdropping on the conversation. Fast forward to the afternoon and She was having a cafe and a smoke outside in front of the Sacre Coeur. We had really deep conversation about her countries history and politics. Later that night we met again at the hostel and had another conversation on life and 2019 over some beer and bar food.
I went to Bruges after Antwerp. I have heard it was one of the prettiest cities in Belgium. The movie, In Bruges, is one of my favorite Colin Ferrell movies, probably the only. I did my reading assignments for my college class. I went on a Spanish walking tour. I drank two beers, texted some friends and family then I went to sleep for New Year’s Eve. Not the best time, but not the worst time in Bruges.
The famous red umbrella.
I did most of my reading assignments while I was in here in Bruges. I stuck to myself and read my textbook on my phone. I did the assignments and discussions from my laptop. I wonder if anybody else at Lonestar College is doing online classes outside of the country? If you can work online doing freelance and be anywhere in the world, couldn’t you travel and finish college from anywhere in the world? Just a thought. We are now in the year 2020. ( A legitimate school would probably not go for that, huh?)
I took a free walking tour in Bruges. Leonie, my German friend, whom I met in Antwerp has some influence in this. I wondered if I could take the tour in Spanish. So took the tour in Spanish. Did I understand all of it? No. This was a big shocker to me. I had to really concentrate to understand the guide. There were so many ambient noises, people talking, cars, as well she was speaking to a group. My comprehension was truly tested. I can have one on one conversations but taking a tour is a challenging situation. I wish to improve in this area. I wonder if people that study English who think they got it down like me. Then they go on a tour and they get lost in the tour guide’s language speed or accent.
I spent New Year’s Ever by myself in the Hostel Bar. I drank a couple of beers then I went to sleep. I reflected on the past year and past New Year’s Eves in general. Most of my New Year’s are pretty uneventful. I think it just depends who you spend it with. Unfortunately my family in California never does anything besides go to sleep or work, that is why I left to see somewhere else for New Years. I do like this tradition of being somewhere else for NYE.
le hearing the language. When I returned home, I came to the question again. Do I want to continue with French? Or do I want to travel and study another language, like travel to Italy and learn Italian. It can be overwhelming. Youtube has helped me figure this out.
markmagpusao.com 