Hola Pocoyo!

If you have a little one, you might want to check out the Pocoyo channel on Youtube. I'd heard of the cartoon before, but I never really paid much attention to it. I saw it mentioned online again, so I decided to see what it was about.

Bean was fussy and I just needed to get some rest, so I put him on the bed next to me and turned this on. I should have turned on the camera to record him because he just went crazy. I don't know what is so exciting about Pocoyo, but he loved it.

The episodes are short, and there doesn't seem to be too much conversation going on, so I think it's a good fit for little ones.

Another Language?

I've been thinking about learning another language sometime in the future. I know there are benefits to learning languages simultaneously, but I'd rather wait a few years before introducing another one. I like to do as much immersion as possible, so I think I'd be overwhelmed if I was trying the immersion method for another language. Plus, I don't know what language to choose.

I believe that "creating a need" is an important part of language learning. I have to ask myself, what other language would we have a need to speak? Of course I could pick Italian or French for the fun of it, but I don't know if I'd stay motivated because I can't think of a situation where I'd need to use those languages, and I don't know if I'd have easy access to native speakers.

Mandarin is popular these days, but I don't know. I can see potential problems with that.

There are so many different languages in the world, it seems a shame to limit yourself to one or two. I am going to keep thinking about it, but for now I guess I have enough on my plate with trying to increase my Spanish proficiency.

Blast From the Past

I find it so ironic that just as I get back into my Spanish immersion obsession, I get a LinkedIn request from my foreign exchange buddy. About 10 years ago, my family hosted an exchange student. Then, later on that year, I went to her country and stayed with her family.

I haven't spoken to her in years, and it's so funny that she found me on LinkedIn. In fact, it looks like she found my dad on LinkedIn and then found me. Strange.

In my excitement, I accepted her request and then proceeded to write her an email. She speaks English very well, but I wanted to write in Spanish. Boy, do I need practice.

My goodness it took me a long time to get through that simple email. How embarrassing for me. I mean, it's been 10 years and I am still struggling to write an email?!?! Maybe I am too hard on myself, but I really need to get it together. But honestly, I am secretly hoping she writes back in English.

How Cleaning the Bathroom Improved My Spanish

It's no secret that I don't like to speak Spanish. In fact, if you ask me if I can speak it, I will say no. I know that I can speak it if I absolutely have to, but other than that, I'd prefer not to. Does passive bilingualism ringing a bell for anyone?

Anyway, I have just discovered the reason for this.

Deep down I knew that it was my inhibitions holding me back, but I never really realized that until I had a situation where inhibition went out the window.