Well, I’ve more or less (más o menos) kept my commitment to myself (and you, if you’re there yet) to study more regularly. There are, unfortunately, some obstacles, apart from my own emotional state, that come into play, so I don’t have total control, but I’m doing my best to hold myself accountable for the time over which I do hold sway.
In so doing, I have progressed to the end of Module 3 (at least the interactive audio portion) and have learned how to talk about the weather, use the proper terms for “yours and mine” (tuyo y mío, resp.), and a number of other new and interesting additions to my vocabulary.
Day Job Discovery
Two of my life-hacking “webpreneur” heroes, Neil Campbell and Luria Petrucci, once referred to their former work life — working for someone else in a traditional role — as “the tyranny of the day job”. If I’ve shared this before, it’s because (a) it made such an impression on me and (b) I’m 52 and sometimes forget what I’ve shared before!
While this is definitely the way I view my day job (esp. in my current predicament, wherein mi hermana pequeña no longer works by my side), I did benefit from enduring the tyranny a few days back, when I encountered an ESL teacher at the elementary school who “introduced” me to a website/phone app called Duolingo.
Ironically, one of my other life-hacking heroes, Tim Ferriss (@tferriss), interviewed Duolingo’s founder and CEO, Luis von Ahn (@luisvonahn), a short while ago, and my wife and I enjoyed listening to it during one of our recent Saturday drives. The company’s business model is quite interesting. They provide the (crowd-sourced) training free of charge, and they make their money off their unique certification testing process.
While I do not see Duolingo’s becoming my go-to tool for learning Español, I wonder whether it may be a useful supplement to my current study regime. I don’t know, though — I’m having a tough enough time sticking to my Rocket Spanish study schedule without adding yet another input. I’m thinking of suggesting the site & app to mi esposa, who also has expressed some interest in learning this beautiful language. Its less-intense approach might be better suited to her needs at this time, since most of her study time is devoted to becoming a professional proofreader. I’ll keep you posted, either way.
La Música
Meanwhile, I continue to bathe myself in the melodious tunes I have been discovering recently from the likes of Jesse & Joy, Paty Cantú, and Danna Paola. I read yet another article, part of whose contents I intend to share soon, if I can gain permission, about immersion’s being one of the useful tools in learning a foreign language. It tunes the ear to the language, if nothing else. But it’s something else, too. It gives me a feel for the culture, for the passion in the language — something that goes beyond just vocabulary and structure.
Another sibling group — dos hermanas, in this case — I recently discovered is Ha*Ash, and is composed of Hanna and Ashley Pérez Mosa, originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, but now based in Mexico City. I find their sound muy increíble and (what I know of) their story interesting, too. These are 2 chicitas whose music and careers I’ll be following closely. Look for a YouTube video share from their playlists here on my site in the coming weeks. (Maybe days.)
Bueno, folks, that about wraps it up for me for today, I suppose. Really have to hit the “books” and stop sound-bathing on YouTube if I’m going to get anywhere, so it’s time for me to do just that. I look forward to sharing some from Module 4 with you next time.
¡Hasta luego, amigas!
