The Dog Ate My Tarea...

I had the first semester to get used to having a more disciplined schedule. Sort of.  One credit doesn't really equate to a massive schedule.  I thought adding a four credit hour class wouldn't be that big a deal, and in comparison to my other classmates' schedules, it's not.  It's just that it's a foreign language and it seems more difficult than if I was taking say, an English class.  (Insert sarcasm here)

I used to be really good at time management.  I had to be.  I was juggling a full-time job, raising four kids, getting them to all of their activities and managing a household.  These days, I'm managing myself and although I'm doing quite nicely in most areas, time management is an area I'm struggling with nowadays.  I've created a life full of social activity balanced with working out, a part-time job and taking care of a dog.  Now I have to fit school and study time in all the time I've learned to waste trying to stay busy.  Seems a bit of an oxymoron.

Going to college in 2012 is so much more technical than it was in 1980 or even, 1997.  Everything, including homework, is done online, even if you attend class in a classroom.  It's great and it's terrible.  It's efficient yet can be a huge pain in the ass if your "University Blackboard" crashes and you have assignments due.

Last semester, I had one online class and about three hours of homework a week.  This semester is two classroom days and about 8-10 hours of study and homework time.  La Profesora assigns approximately 15-25 assignments due every week.  The first week into the semester I had a friend in from out of town.  I thought I had until Tuesday's class time to turn in the online homework.  Thursday was class; I worked on Friday, turned in seven assignments Friday night, played on Saturday and entertained on Sunday and Monday.  Monday evening I went to turn in the rest of the homework and found to my surprise it was...too late.  I couldn't turn it in anymore.  The time had elapsed and it had disappeared...POOF!

WAIT!  I didn't know....this is new!  I couldn't believe it.  I didn't believe it.  I kept trying to turn it in.  Hoping, praying that I really was computer illiterate as I have always suspected, or, was this a giant error in the system?  I don't not do my homework...not me.  I'm a good student.  I care.  I'm 50.  I'm paying out-of-state tuition for this damn Spanish class for pete's sake.  Please... let this be a mistake. 

Oh, it was a mistake alright.  My mistake. Eight missing homework assignments mistake.  I couldn't figure out what had happened until I, Whoa!...looked at the course syllabus, where it clearly states that homework is due online every Sunday before midnight.  I was so upset.  I couldn't sleep and I beat myself up for two days.  What the heck was wrong with me?  Where were my priorities?  What was I thinking having a friend in town stay with me?   And far worse was knowing that I was missing a day of class that week to go skiing in Idaho.  Where were my priorities?  I was already struggling in this class and how could I possibly afford to have eight missing homework assignments AND miss a day of school to ski?  I couldn't.  Oh, but I did.

First thing Tuesday I went straight to La Profesora and asked her about the Sunday deadline.  "Yes, she replied, every Sunday."  What could I do?  Make up an excuse?  The dog ate my tarea? It was online homework...unless Bob had swallowed my computer, I knew that wasn't going to work.  I was 50...there is no excuse.  I'm not in high school.  I'm in college.  My mom can't write me a note.  I can't write my own note.  Hard lesson, but I still went skiing.

I came back with a new resolve.  I would try harder, study longer, and manage my time better.  My first exam was coming up and I needed to get an "A."  I was having huge struggles with things that seemed silly, like figuring out how to say the time of day correctly in Spanish.  One night I spent 40 minutes trying to say it was 9:55 pm.  Time is different in Spanish.  Just like they say "I have 50 años," (years)  NOT "I am 50 years old."  If I forget the accent marks and I said anos instead of años, I would be saying, "I have 50 assholes."  It makes a difference, obviously.

Then there is this masculine/feminine thing.  I'm pretty upset over that too.  I never realized Spanish was so sexist.  For example:  If I'm in a room full of my girlfriends and no men, I would say "¡Hola Amigas!"  If there were 15 women in the room and only one man it would be "¡Hola Amigos!" The man gets the greeting.  Something is very wrong with this picture.  I would like to file a formal complaint, but where do I send it?  Mexico?  Brazil?  Spain????  I'm upset, for real.

I don't think I went into this foreign language thing with a sense of reality.  I thought if I watched a few Spanish Nouvellas, listened to Spanish Musica, worked in a Spanish speaking work environment, it would rub off on me and I would learn Spanish by osmosis.  I live in a Spanish speaking community, my housekeeper is Hispanic...How? How could I fail?  This is all by design!

My long term goal is to move to Spain in three years for a year of study abroad.  Now,  I'm so discouraged by my lack of being instantly bilingual, that I ask myself if I will be able to communicate other than asking "¿Cuando es baño? and  ¿Cuantos?  For the bottle of tequila I'm going to require to drown myself in?  I wonder...am I putting too much pressure on myself?  (Again...sarcasm)

On top of all my stress over this class,  I am still trying to figure out how to shut down the Hispanic girl, who still claims she doesn't speak Spanish.  She's becoming a problem.  My friend, the Somali woman, is irritated by her too.  She thinks la Profesora is rolling her eyes at her.  I haven't seen that yet, but I can believe it.  We sometimes play Spanish games in lab to help us remember definite and indefinite articles, verb forms etc.  Miss Mexico always wins.  I don't care if it is Chutes and Ladders in Spanish, she's gotta go.  I don't even have a chance against her skill set.  Perra!

One thing is for sure, I'm getting an education.  Every day I learn something new.  Yesterday, I was so excited, I actually GOT how adjectives work in Spanish.  I totally forgot how they work today, but yesterday I had it.  They say that if you study a foreign language after the age of 40, you can keep Alzheimers at bay.  I'm banking on it. My only concern is the struggles I have with memory now and trying to retain the information I've learned, or thought I learned or....what was I saying?

Tomorrow I'm off to class again.  I keep hoping that eventually, some of this stuff comes a little easier and I start remembering things a little quicker.  I'm hoping that just as I sometimes  break out in dance, that it happens with Spanish... someone will be speaking to me in Spanish and I automatically answer in Spanish without thinking, and when I realize what I've done, I will gasp and cover my mouth horrified...and then break into a huge grin.  Then next maybe I will start dreaming in Spanish...now there's a thought.