"si no das, no vas a recibir"

"Si no das, no vas a recibir"... If you don't give, you won't receive. This is a reference to interactions between people, but I am interested also in its application to learning a new language. You have to struggle and be frustrated and make the same mistakes 20 times, because through those things you learn and remember. If it were always comfortable, you wouldn't learn anything. I have been watching people who are not learning very much, because they only speak Spanish in class. Push yourself, it's the only way you will get better! Of course you will not understand much of it, that's ok. In my culture class today, our profe showed us a scale, and at the bottom was "I don't want to," then the next one up was "I can't," followed by "I don't know," then "I think I could." Eventually the top of the scale is "I did it." Basically, this is all about how your thoughts dictate your actions. I would rate myself some where in the range of "I believe I can," to "I'm doing it." My fear is that I will fall back into comfort mode and not learn much beyond what I already know and need to get by. It would be terrible to let that happen, so I won't.

Javi joined me for once today (tea; pronounce like 'eleven'). She was one of the exchange students I met with last semester in Millersville to practice Spanish. If it were not for her and a few other people I practiced with, I would have gone through a really severe adjustment to the language here, but I sort of spread out the impact, and can notice a difference now. She informed me that most people don't enjoy the micros. I think most people are crazy.

What is the strangest birthday present you have ever received? Artichokes? I have three artichokes sitting in the kitchen, just for me. And I couldn't be happier. Josethomas (JT) and GThomas presented me with a late birthday gift, and laughed at some severe miscommunication (¿Qué es eso?!?" "¿La playa?") JT was talking about the beach and I was talking about the glue-stick in his hand... that is what happens when you interject midsentence I suppose.