Hombre!

Me llamo Kirstie. Soy adicto a studyspanish.com (My name is Kirstie. I am addicted to studyspanish.com). I'm not exaggerating. I am totally addicted. I think about this website when I roll over at night, at level 6 rounds (yep, guilty), and as soon as my lunch break begins. You all know my "Only Child Sydrome" issue with my irrational need for constant attention: "look at me!" "look at me!" Well studyspanish.com gives me all the attention I require - positive attention. It's fantastico!

Colleen es excelente!

Let's begin with my Spanish lesson of the month. My new Spanish instructor is my friend and co-worker, Colleen. She is an Occupational Therapist at the hospital. Colleen is one of the most positive people I've ever met. We co-treated a patient once who had suffered a stroke. This patient was quite adamant that she could return home and Colleen's job was to determine if she was able to perform typical daily activities (cooking, cleaning, making the bed, etc) prior to being discharged from the hospital. This particular patient was having severe word-finding difficulties, so I tagged along to the therapies kitchen to provide some speech and language therapy while the patient was attempting to bake a cake with Colleen. Let me tell ya, this patient was having mucho difficulties with the cake. She had such severe perceptual deficits that she was cracking the egg about a foot to the left of the bowl. She was pouring the batter about a foot to the left of the pan, she was applying the icing on the table a foot to the left of the cake....you get the point. I was freaking out. She was ruining the cake! Someone stop her! Can't we just make this cake ourselves? Colleen stood calmly by, providing cues as needed, "Stop and place your hand on the edge of the bowl. Now see how you've poured the batter on the table. Line it up. That's good. Try again." Wow. Now that's patience!

Colleen studied Spanish in University and then bravely accepted a practicum 5 years later in a tiny Mexican town near Mazatlan. She was tutored in Spanish intensely for 2 months prior to her departure, then practiced as an Occupational Therapist for a non-profit organization (100% in Spanish!) for 2 months. That's bold. Imagine the brain highways she developed during that stint!

So Colleen has agreed to help me with my Spanish. To be fair to Colleen, she hasn't looked at Spanish for quite some time, so she agreed to learn again along with me. We met to discuss Spanish verbs (it's vaguely familiar from my beginner class a year ago) and then she recommended my new obsession: studyspanish.com.

estoy borracho - but just at this moment

First of all, Spanish verbs are a tad complicated. For example, the verb "estar" and "ser" both mean "to be" (like, I am happy. I am a girl, etc). However, "estar" is a temporary form, whereas "ser" is a permanent form. This is important. If I said, "Estoy Borracho," (I am drunk), you would throw your head back and laugh, "haha, I love it when Kirstie's drunk!". On the other hand, If I said, "Soy borracho," (I am A drunk). You would feel pity and contact AA immediately. Got it? Mucho Importante!    

So once I got the verbs sorted, I went on studyspanish.com to "Take the exam." Not gonna lie, kinda miss taking exams....but only when I know my shit. Initially, I was receiving 80-90% and you know what, that's just not fricken good enough. So I persevered. After three consecutive 100%'s, I moved on to discover the most entertaining activity ever. Matching. The goal is to accurately match the Spanish word to the English equivalent. The vocabulary is sorted into categories: kitchen, large animals (as opposed to little animals?), bathroom, and my two favorites: Crime and Emergency Services. Who doesn't want to shout, "Las esposas, el policia!" (the handcuffs, policeman!) or my new favorite question for Ev, "Donde esta el carro de bomberos, el bomero?" (Where is the firetruck, fireman?") It just makes me so happy. The icing on the cake; however, arrives once you've completed the matching activity to  sexy spanish man at studyspanish.com's liking.  A large glittery star appears on your screen and sexy Spanish man shouts praise at you...in Spanish. It's pretty awesome and you can't help but grin proudly when sexy spanish man shouts, "Excelente!", "Fantastico!" or my favorite, "Hombre!" (I'm pretty sure that means "man" but whatever. I'll take it and like it).

Last night, I spent 2 1/2 hours on this site. I just can't get enough of sexy Spanish man's praise (I know, I probably require counseling or something, right?) And I love shouting back at the computer in Spanish. It's a passionate, angry language that needs to be shouted from the rooftops. Try it, "El OSO!" (the bear). "El gorro de bano!" (the shower cap!). See? Told you.

Now that I have like 30 verbs and 5 categories of Spanish vocabulary, I am ready to begin my first celebrity fan letter. I'm super pumped about this one. I will be writing a Latino star who has been in my dreams since I was a teenager. El es Guapo!
Stay tuned...

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