It would appear that at least one part of my plan is working: after three weeks in Monterrey my Spanish is certainly improving. I say “improving” because I cannot, in good conscience, call it “good” or even “passable” – I use que? a bit too much for that – and truth be told I’m more than happy with that. After three weeks I’m not learning new words as quickly as I was at first but I am learning to use more of them correctly, which is a welcome change to say the least. After a couple of weeks with my roommates – who have been overwhelmingly patient about the whole thing – and their helpful tips, for example, I have started to pause between each sentence (waiting for the inevitable corrections). Only now I’ve noticed that although I still pause, more often than not I don’t need to. Strangers have even begun to understand me! I was at a party last night, for example, with some of my friends from school and the room was abuzz with only Spanish and French and I found myself actually able to express myself clearly to [patient] people. All of this comes as a wonderful surprise, let me tell you, because it would appear as though Operation Move to Mexico: Sink or Swim has resulted in something resembling a doggy paddle!
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