Mucho Gusto!

I can't really remmeber when was my last time sitting in a class (the real class for learning, not for work). However, I did find myself a bit unexpectedly retarted to the school thing before going to the spanish class yesterday. 2 days ago the school lady called me up to remind me the saturday class and be there 10 mins earlier for the registration stuff. So I didn't forget I had a class and didn't forget to get the textbook at the counter. BUt I did forget that I might need at least a pen or a pencil and a notebook, and I did forget what else I would need in the class. It took me quite a while to figure it out... do i need a pencil case? a ruler? a marker? a red pen? an eraser? a bookbag ............ ??? I was looking for a new notebook but all our company products are cheap and in poor quality. I recalled that at school before the semester started we would have had several cute notebooks ready for each subjects, and even get the textbooks a PVC cover to protect the books. I can't believe I even forgot to prepare a nice notebook this time.

Ultimately I grabed a company sample notebook (sold to Dollar General) and threw a newly sharpened pencil and a company pen into a eslit bookstore shopping bag and carried a lady purse to my first spanish class (I looked at myself twice... it's just not right at somewhere and I couldn't figure out where... I just didn't look like a student!). It was a 3 hr class starting from 5.20pm to 8.30pm-- a very akward time during the dinner hours, where I really need to figure out if I should have food before or after the class. The teacher is a skinny, average tall, spanish young guy named Enrique (handsome name, isn't it?;)), who can speak good chinese and kind of funny in a shy way. The language is new to me so I found it fun in the class and in learning, but if seeing it in a more serious way, Enrique apparently is not professional enough or a linguist to teach pronounciation or this language to taiwanese beginners-- he didn't even teach us how to pronounce "R" right. Perhaps he's just another foreign young guy who doesn't know what to do for life so came to a tiny asia country for new experience and teaching his mother language for living like most of foreigners do. I couldn't stop wondering this way.

There are 10 students in my class and around 7 of them seem to have known spanish, so they picked up very fast and speak in good promounciation. As for me, I stil have to look up the notebook to figure out the pronounciatino of J or X, not to mention the whole sentence like 'what's your name?'(como te llamas?) or 'see you tomorrow'(hasta manana). (guess i should install spanish letter in this computer to make the front question mark and the wave on the top of N.) The most difficult part is the conflicts between french and spanish in my tiny head. Now they're fighting with each other-- the existing residents french refuse to accept new comers spanish to move in and keep sending spies to penetrate in spanish group. So sometimes there'd be awkward things coming out like answering 'gracias' in 'de rien' (should be de nada), or pronounce 'bien' as 'bian'. I personally hope both french and spanish can live happily together ever after but I know one of them will be kicked out soon which I can't control at all. Also the english will be in danger in the future when spanish gets stronger. Oh well... we'll figure out some way later but now spanish has to be grown bigger that's for sure.

Oh by the way, I got a spanish-chinese dictionary as a xmas gift from a nice guy before the class and even before I got my textbook. I'm really appreciated his thoughtfulness and I'm sure ths gift will be very helpful and useful. Now I got to go study my spanish and practice my pronounciation. If anyone knows any spanish or people who speak spanish, I will need a language exchange and both males and females are welcome.

Gracias!