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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Learning Spanish: old-school style with new application!

I just found out about this fun site: http://www.soziety.com where you can practice a variety of different languages via Skype. I just registered and plan to try it out when I gain the courage to practice my Spanish. Go ahead and click on the logo and check it out!

After browsing around for a little bit I ended up chatting with someone from Argentina named Diego. He was really friendly and spoke English pretty well. i think he thought I was lying to him, but truly he did a pretty good job. There was just one point where I think he was displeased that I was asking too much about the "command form" of a verb. "No need to worry about stupid things like these" were his exact words. Yet, it was followed by "don't worry about making mistakes or anything, you are doing really well." So, the sting of being called-out for an obsession with verbs diminished and my pride has remained unscathed. We are chatting again tomorrow early evening and I am actually excited!

I found out about this great site via another super informative site that I must give credit to: Spainexpat.com.

Also, I am getting really into the need to up my karma points in Plurk. There is a regular "chat" type demeanor within this application that I am really quite fond of. Though some would say it is a twin of "Twitter," I feel like I use the two applications very differently. Twitter is much more about stalking and reading up on interesting news and random stories. Plurk seems to be about responses and philosophical queries. I heart them both!

Though my Fulbright essay revisions are complete and I feel good about that, I still feel pangs of guilt at any one time for not doing one of many other things. Practicing Spanish, practicing Turkish, practicing English grammar, organizing my mementos, reading up on teaching English, blog writing, ebaying, emailing, plurking, twittering, etc. There is always something I can be doing in preparation for my move and I am not very good about just relaxing and letting go.

Also, with the influx of emails from prospective companies (that normally I would be super interested in) emailing me, I have a constant state of "is changing my current career path the best choice?" I absolutely think it is only because I think I will come back stronger and better than I was before. I feel really good about the impending move and know that though it will be a challenge and very tiring and frustrating at times, that it will forever change me in the best of ways.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the kudos. Glad you liked the site!

Gabriela said...

Thanks for the site. Just wanted to share my teacing experience on a conversational level. I was born in Argentina then moved to the US and have been traveling back and forth for the last couple of years. In Buenos Aires I teach adults how to speak English from a more relaxed point of view. I go on field trips or little tours through the city and pretend we are in an English speaking country. The student has to ask for a taxi and explain where he/she wants to go. I also go to cafes and have them order, all in English. This helps the student put into practice what they learn from their grammar books or esl classes. This has been a lot of fun for me as well as the students. Thanks for posting!
Gabriela
www.englishlci.com