This week has been the best week thus far. I believe that I have truly become accustomed to life in Oaxaca. It is very different than what I am used to, but it is not hard to love it here. My week began with my first exam. I was very nervous and anxious with doing well, so I started studying the week before. I thought it was so cool that before this trip I struggled so much with my grammar in Spanish. However, I got the information so quickly here and actually enjoyed myself. Due to my hard work and daily studying, I earned a 100 on my first exam! The victory was great enough to get me through the week.
The next day, my teacher spilt us into partners and assigned us a group project over American culture that we would have to present in complete Spanish! I was very anxious, but I was up for the task. That night we attended a baseball game, and it was the very first baseball game I ever attended. I never realized how much fun baseball could be until I was given the opportunity to experience something out of my comfort zone. We even got shown on the screen dancing to American songs!
Later on, that week, I gave my presentation on American clothing in Spanish. I had worked extremely hard finding the right pictures for each of the seasons in America along with practicing the vocabulary for the presentation. However, my presentation went completely opposite from planned. I stumbled extremely on my words and I mispronounced some of them. I was so embarrassed that I barely had enough strength to finish my presentation. My partner, who didn’t work as hard as me, shinned effortlessly in the presentation. She had been taking Spanish since she was a freshman in high school and now, she is a graduating senior. Her Spanish was flawless which also intimidated me as well.
After the presentation, I left the classroom to gather my thoughts. I cried out of frustration because it seemed that no matter how hard I studied and practiced; my Spanish would always be mediocre. I worried that because I messed up so badly that my grade would drop tremendously. I called my mother and instantly calmed me down and gave me the strength to go back out there. I cleaned my face off and returned back to the classroom. No one seemed to have noticed my disappearance so that was good.
However, my teacher came up to me and pulled me outside. She immediately knew that I was feeling down about my presentation. She reminded me that although my Spanish wasn’t perfect yet, that I still had done a great job. She understood every word I said, and she loved that I kept trying even when my partner sounded “perfect”. She also noted that she saw tremendously growth in my Spanish since I arrived her and wanted me to keep up the practicing because it was working. I was so astonished. Who knew that little ole me was actually speaking Spanish, haha?
