If anyone thinks he or she in an effective communicator, it's best to test your skills in foreign language.
Last week I was studying with Ingrid again, who decided that she was going to stop sugar-coating the commas, as it were, and lay down the bi-lingual law. She began telling me that my 2-page essays were not long enough to really gauge my skills, and this was "unacceptable." She was being harder on me than normal, and I was just getting more an more frustrated.
At one point, in a moment of frustration, I asked her, "Is there something wrong? I feel like you are really frustrated with me." I suppose when you put two women together who are mutually hard-headed, conflicts are bound to surface. Luckily we are both also gluttons for conflict-resolution.
We ended up having an hour-long conversation about her life and my life, and how she finds herself being harder and harder on me because she sees herself in me, and she doesn't want me to make the same mistakes she has. "I know that you have had a hard year," she said. "I think it has been one of the hardest times of your life. I see a brokenness in you that is very, very fresh."
At this point, I was totally confused. I had never mentioned anything about a hard year to her, but yet she really seemed to get it - most all of it. Suddenly she started crying, and I started crying, and there at Celas Maya we found ourselves more or less re-enacting the "it's not your fault" scene from Good Will Hunting. You gots to love you some Ingrid. Homegirl got it goin' on.
At any rate, I kind of hit a wall with Spanish studies and decided to take a break this week. After learning 10 tenses in 7 weeks, I felt the general need to assimilate before moving on.
Heading out to Antigua for Kevin's last weekend in Guatemala. Expect updates.
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