Flying

Oh! I never realized how much I would miss my favorite hobby, being a private pilot. I started flying in 1996 and until 2009 I flew about 100 hours each year. When we changed jobs, I basically gave up my hobby due to the fact that I just could not afford it. Well, now that I have a new job, I am on the prowl for an airpane; an inexpensive airplane. The plane that I have my eye on is a 1965 Mooney M20C. It is a beautiful airplane, but normally out of my reach financially. This example is in very good shape, but will need to have the engine overhauled in the near future. Although the engine runs great now, I can expect to have to pay for an overhaul within the next 5 years. If I am able to work it out, I hope to be flying be early next year. We are about 4 hours flying in a plane like this to the US border of Texas.

Musica Americana!

There are some things that you miss while in a foreign country. One of the things I miss the most here is the music. Although I enjoy many different varieties of music, to me country music reminds me of home the most. Most, but not all american radio stations do not allow international streaming of their music, so normally listening to an iPod is the best option.

While driving in the car, we listen to the local FM radio stations and there is one station out of maybe 30 that plays american variety music exclusively. Yesterday, we got a big laugh out of this song being played on the radio. Somehow, this song doesn't seem appropriate for everyone here in Guadalajara. You would be surprised to know, though, there are a few Mexicans who were born in the USA, or their parents were born there and can transmit citizenship to them, but they never officially applied for their citizenship paperwork. They go to the Consulate to apply for a visa and get the news that they can't get a visa, they should be applying for a passport instead.

July-September is the official Rainy Season here in central Mexico. When we flew into Guadalajara in early August, my first view out of the airplane window reminded me of scenes from Ireland. Guadalajara receives about 37" of rain per year, and about 33" of that falls during the rainy season. Beginning in October, get ready for almost no rain. During the dry season, Guadalajara gets about as much rain as Las Vegas, NV. I have seen pictures of this area during the dry season, and although the weather is Wonderful, the grass and many plants turn brown and there is a problem with dust.

Getting Settled

We have been in Guadalajara for about 10 days now and although there is so much to take in, I think we are adjusting well. It has been difficult not having a car and either walking or taking taxis anywhere we need to go. I can already see that this will be an easy city to live in. The people are friendly, the weather is the best in the World, and the danger threat that you hear about in Mexico seems to be mainly in other parts of the country.

The most challenging thing about being here is not speaking Spanish. Sure, I had 11 weeks of Spanish class and know a little more than a baby on his first day of life, but not too much more. R, on the other hand, is doing much better communicating as she had 6 months of class. Last night, I went to WalMart and ordered Dish Mexico TV for our house. This was a challenge with my "Que Hora Es?" Spanish. See this youtube video for a laugh or two. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WckCw_-7e3M

Getting Paranoid about the Internet

I am getting more paranoid about the internet. It could be because I have been reading about kidnappings. It could be because I am becoming a more private person. It could be because I am afraid of creepy people stalking our family.

Should we delete all our photos from the internet? People can upload photos of us on facebook and we wouldn't even necessarily know. I have heard that once something is on the internet it is there forever.

There is so much public information available online, which is scary too. What about privacy? If I am concerned about privacy, why even have a blog? Should we delete it?

Passing the Spanish Test and Why it Felt Like Gambling

I passed! On my first try! It was harder than I thought it would be to spend 2 solid hours in Spanish reading and talking. I made quite a few mistakes but I just kept talking and hoping that by saying more words I would have a higher overall percentage of real Spanish. I think before in another post I talked about how easy it is to make up words in Spanish and not even realize you are doing it.

Lots of things in the FS feel like gambling, from the beginning when you start studying for a written test covering such a broad range of material. There is no way you can really study everything so you have to guess, and it is multiple choice. Then if you pass the written and go to the oral exam there are parts that feel like a TV game show. And just like a TV game they keep you guessing about whether you passed until the very end of the show. It's similar with the Spanish test. Your teachers give you little hints along the way, like someone might coach you in Blackjack, "split if you can double," "don't hit on 16," but you really can't understand all the hints until you start playing and seeing the scenarios yourself.

Several of my teachers coached us on using transitions, practicing common topics, and throwing in some subjunctive at the end to give your opinion. The best hints I got were from my fellow students including to act like you know what you are talking about and to keep talking no matter how you feel about what you just said. Even if you just said that many college students in the United States study the arts of liberalism instead of liberal arts, because you don't have the skill to say that in Spanish. (Not an actual test topic--I made that up.)

It's really a relief to pass. That's another part that seems like gambling. You've put a lot of money and time in this slot machine waiting for it to pay off. I don't know anyone yet who hasn't passed, although some had to try a second or third time. Part of it is your effort, but part of it is how your tongue does on the day of the test, how your testers feel, and the test topics you get assigned.

So now I have my 3/3. I still can't turn on the TV or radio in Spanish and understand all the words. I can get an idea of what they are saying, especially if they show pictures. I can watch a video and usually understand the details if I replay it a few times. I can understand a lot better than I can speak. I think the real test is yet to come in Mexico.

Will it be rare, medium or well done?

I am now one week away from my Spanish exam. I feel like I am well done but sometimes the inside of my Spanish is still pink & mushy. Just don't put the fork in too far. These are cuy (guinea pig) being roasted in Ecuador.

Probably the turning point in my feeling more confident in Spanish was going on the immersion trip to Ecuador. I can understand way more Spanish than I could before. When I got back from Ecuador and turned on CNN Espanol it was like night and day compared to what I could understand before I went. I have been back at FSI four weeks now. I still can't say I feel much different but at the same time I know so much more Spanish than before. When I look back through some of my old notebooks and the old Nuevas Rutas libros I can really see how far I have come.

My learning consultant told me last week she thought I was at the 3 level and if I worked hard I could possibly get a 3+. That was probably the wrong thing to tell me, because this week my teacher said she thought my Spanish was a little worse. She said maybe I was too relaxed about it. The thing is, now I have kind of a "big picture" Spanish. I can understand and make myself understood but I cannot stop making little mistakes. For example, today I couldn't conjugate nosotros correctly in any tense. At the same time I know I realize I am making errors I am powerless to correct them. I can only think about one thing at a time. This means that I can either focus on vocabulary and keeping the words coming, or I can focus on noun/verb agreement and conjugations, but not both. That is why speaking Spanish requires so much concentration. You don't have to think about your grammar in your native language. It just either sounds right or it doesn't. Even weirder, I have caught myself saying strange things in English or mispronouncing English words. My poor brain is short-circuiting.

This is probably some milestone or dire sign of deterioration in language learning. Possibly I am going to stay monolingual but in Spanglish. My Spanish is improving while my English suffers. This is a strange phenomenon that all of us have noticed in our language classes. We can also understand each other's Spanish so much more easily than our teacher's Spanish. Even when we make up words, which turn out to be false cognates (false friends, as they say in Spanish--e.g. experienzar, militario), our classmates can totally understand us.

Today two of my good friends at FSI took their Spanish exams. One passed and one didn't. I really couldn't tell you why because they both seemed at similar levels. It had to be nerves or just the topics they were asked to speak about, because both of them were very prepared. Maybe the tester just stuck the fork in too far.

Language Immersion

This picture is from Baños, Ecuador. It's the waterfall there called "El Pailon del Diablo," the devil's frypan. It's a metaphor for the rush of Spanish I got while I was there. I had my own teacher 4 hours a day, which was heavenly. I stayed with an Ecuadorian family in Quito 2 weeks, and then spent one week at Puerto Lopez. Taking language classes here is different. There is just a different flow to the class when you are the only student.

I have just returned from these 3 weeks of language immersion training in Ecuador. Vale la pena (It was worth it). Some of the language programs at the Foreign Service Institute allow you to take a language immersion trip. You pay all your own expenses, but it counts as time spent at work so you don't have to take leave. I would recommend it to anyone. It was worthwhile if only to change up the pace after 4 months at the Foreign Service Institute.

It's hard to measure how much my Spanish improved, but at least I feel better about it. The highlight was when I checked in at the airport to leave and started talking to the lady in Spanish, and handed over my passport, and she asked me if I preferred English or Spanish and she complimented me on my Spanish! I was quickly brought back down to earth in Miami. The customs officer asked me what I had done on my trip and I told him taking Spanish classes. I could barely understand him in Spanish. The Ecuadorians have a much clearer and plainer accent.

Four more weeks until my suggested end of Spanish. I hear about half of the people don't pass the first try and have to take an additional four weeks of training.

Learning Spanish

It's harder than I thought it would be. I have made progress but it has been painfully slow. Last night I was collaborating with a friend on a writing project from my past work. I felt smart again, unlike how I have felt in Spanish class for the past 13 weeks. I am still just a baby in Spanish. C says he is definitely still in the baby talk stage. One of his teachers told him he speaks like an Indian chief in the old westerns: Me Big Chief. Me like ride horse. Wait, he said he doesn't know the word for horse.

What is so frustrating is not being able to say what I want to say. Especially for someone like me that likes to talk. It's like being constipated. There's stuff that wants to come out but it won't come. If only there was verbal Ex-Lax. In 3 more weeks I am planning to go on a Spanish immersion trip to Ecuador. I am hoping this will help.

A Kick in the Pants for Romance

One thing I have noticed about the Foreign Service is that it gets people thinking about getting married. It seems there are always some newlyweds and some almost weds planning a wedding before leaving for their posts. Spouses get travel orders, diplomatic passports, and opportunities to learn languages at FSI. So it is a big incentive to get married.

It could also be a big incentive for single people to find someone to share their adventures. I imagine if I were single I would not be looking forward to lonely evenings in a foreign country. They have had more than one seminar at FSI about "Singles in the Foreign Service." There was talk that when you do get overseas, you may need to be careful that some foreigners are seeking an American spouse not for their many fine qualities, but for a green card.

I have heard it can also be a wake-up call for some married folks. Some officers learn their spouses aren't really world-wide available and are not happy to hear that most new officers don't go to Europe.

For us, the whole process of thinking about moving overseas, packing up all of our material possessions, and saying goodbye to our friends and family involved a lot of thinking about our lives and what made us happy together. I was just reading the other day that sharing adventures together is one of the best things a couple can do. Talking to some of the more experienced FS folks was very encouraging along these lines, and that FS life brings spouses and children closer by necessity. You have to rely on each other more, you spend more time together, and your family is the one constant in your life even though you are changing posts frequently.

One other couple now in training told me they planned to renew their wedding vows in every country. How romantic!

Online personas

One thing I am so curious about is to meet people after I have read some of their blog postings. Usually they are different than I imagine them. For example, recently I met someone whose blog I had followed. Online he seemed like a gregarious and caring person. But live and in person he seemed more standoffish and less friendly. Maybe his gruff exterior hides a soft interior landscape, but you would probably never know this unless you knew him well.

You would think it would be the other way around, and that their blog would be less revealing than meeting them in person. Guess that's the crazy world of the internet and why people like to meet authors, to compare their idea of the person to the actual person.

Adding to the Foreign Service

I was so excited to learn today that someone I know in Anderson is now applying to the Foreign Service after hearing about our experience. Several people that I have told were very interested in the whole process and asked me lots of questions. But so far only one has actually applied that I know of.

In other good news, the new A100 class has some people from South Carolina.

Mi espos0 started Spanish this week. We have our classes at different times so we don't see each other during the day, but it is nice to know that he is there. We are still working out all the logistics with two children in two different schools and one that needs child care. They seem to be adjusting well to their first week of school.