The first thing I discovered upon my arrival in Caracas was that I remembered much less Spanish than I thought I did. As it had been over five years since I had taken a Spanish course I guess I really shouldn’t have been surprised right? Who can really expect to remember much from a high school course that was mediocre at best? As I tried desperately to order a simple sandwich and something to drink, I realized that if I didn’t at least attempt to learn Spanish I would most likely starve after a week or so.
How exactly does one go about learning Spanish in a Latin American country? Seems pretty easy right? Well I assure you it is not, especially when your entire day is spent speaking English. Another obstacle that I quickly encountered was the very rapid way in which everyone speaks in this city. It is amazing how a sentence containing 10 words or so can come out sounding almost like one long word. Is that what English sounds like to people who don’t speak English? It is exceedingly difficult to learn words in another language when you are unable to decipher exactly where one word ends and another begins. This process is made even harder by the fact that most people here fail to pronounce the whole word anyway. There were many words that I was convinced I knew and was using quite frequently. Imagine my dismay when I found out they had whole other syllables on the end of the word. No wonder I had been getting funny looks from people on the street and in restaurants.
I eventually came to the conclusion that an actual course was needed or even better, a private tutor of some sort. The only way I was ever going to learn Spanish was by actually sitting down and studying with someone who could answer the myriad of questions that arose everyday. Sad isn’t it? Here I sit, living in a Latin American country and I am unable to pick up the language without resorting to private lessons. Some people seem to have an ear for languages and can pick them up simply by listening, too bad I will never be one of those people.