xandreax

I´ve been in Peru living with my boyfriend over the past 7 months. I have a much easier time listening to people, understanding colloquial words and phrases, watching movies, understanding songs, etc. I still don´t speak enough but I have trouble doing that in my native language too. I think I write more than I speak.

While I´ve been here, I´ve visited different places, read books in Spanish (most by Peruvian authors – these books actually do help me with understanding Peruvian slang and vocabulary in general), I´ve read a book called The Peru Reader as well to learn more about the country (ok, well I´ve read most of it. The plan is to finish it in the near future).

I still have to ask some people to please slow down or explain something more clearly when they talk because it seems I´ve had to get used to each person´s voice individually. I can understand 99.9% of what my boyfriend says whether it´s said quickly, slowly, loudly, quietly – just because I´m used to him.

I speak with relative ease in Spanish and my boyfriend has commented that ¨I can tell it´s way easier for you to speak in Spanish than it is for me to speak in English – you speak at a normal pace with few errors. You can say what you want.¨

Right now I´m focusing on trying to help him learn more English because now the plan is for him to try to find work in Canada with my help. He´s right though about our skills – I would say my Spanish is at ¨basic fluency¨ and his English is intermediate. Well, everything´s a process.

I think I´ll wait a bit longer til I say I´ve completed this goal… just because.

I’ve achieved this goal even though I still have to finish the Spanish novel and throughout the year I’ve been going through books that are not novels as well (which is why I chose to have only 12 “novels” read in 2010 as a goal)

I’m reading “Dexter is Delicious” by Jeff Lindsay now.

1)”Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon
2)”I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” by Hannah Green
3)”Every Breath You Take” by Judith McNaught
4)”Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell
5)”The Lost Boy” by Dave Pelzer
6)”His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina” by Danielle Steel
7)”Dave Barry’s Only Travel Guide You’ll Ever Need” by Dave Barry
8)”Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl”
9)”Dexter by Design” by Jeff Lindsay
10)“La Bella Lingua” by Dianne Hales
11)”Middlesex” by Jeffrey Euginides
12)”The Keeper” by Sarah Langan

I’m not reading The Eyre Affair anymore. It wasn’t boring or anything I just think I’ll read it another time. I had borrowed that one from the library. I’m reading books that I actually own now. The last one was Middlesex and I finished that one about a week ago. I’m almost done the book I’m reading now called “The Keeper” by Sarah Langan.

1)”Outlander” by Diana Gabaldon
2)”I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” by Hannah Green
3)”Every Breath You Take” by Judith McNaught
4)”Black Beauty” by Anna Sewell
5)”The Lost Boy” by Dave Pelzer
6)”His Bright Light: The Story of Nick Traina” by Danielle Steel
7)”Dave Barry’s Only Travel Guide You’ll Ever Need” by Dave Barry
8)”Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl”
9)”Dexter by Design” by Jeff Lindsay
10)“La Bella Lingua” by Dianne Hales
11)”Middlesex” by Jeffrey Euginides