Read a novel in Spanish.

It was Isabel Allende’s “Hija de la fortuna.” Then it became “Memorias de mis putas tristes” by Gabriel Garcia-Marquez. Will I ever actually FINISH one??

I read 45 pages last night! I’m getting faster at reading it and better at understanding vocabulary in context. I’m reading about 15 pages a day and hoping to finish by the end of this month

I read alot on my trip, but I’m still only on page 184/414 of Yo! by Julia Alvarez. There is one quote I love

“Culparlos equivaldria a cederles el control de nuestro silencio, igual que hemos cedido el control de nuestras vidas.”

I have tons of friends who flunked Spanish in high school, but speak fluently, while I made straight A’s for 3 years but am completely clueless! They grasped the big idea, while I focused on the tiny details like spelling and accent marks. I think the ultimate benchmark for me would be to read a small Spanish novel and get the meaning of it without the help of a dictionary (human or otherwise). Without asking friends, “Umm… what does this say?” or skipping large words because they look scary. This isn’t an urgent goal, but it does fall into the “Life Goals” category.

I’m hoping to do this on my trip to Brazil. I’ve not yet decided which book, but I just want to make sure I do. Maybe I’ll finish the one I had started.

...immersing myself in La Sombra Del Viento :)

I’m not moving far on this. Still only on page 60

Wow, I’m only 10% there! This has proven to be difficult for me! I may need to start an easier book.

I’m on page 32. I’m finding I don’t have much time for this. Also, it’s very difficult for me to get into a rhythm with Spanish. So I’m slow to pick up the pace.

It’s called Yo! by Julia Alvarez. I want to improve my Spanish so this is a good goal.