empowering

Yesterday when I left Maria's house after giving classes to her children, I 'took it all in' and realized how awesome it is to be able to communicate in another language. I have not mastered Spanish by any means (yet), but I was thinking that I actually am capable of a lot.

I wasn't sure how to get to Maria's house from the Metro station, so I called her and she told me to ask someone how to get to the Centro Commercial (because it's right by her house and I remembered that). I was able to understand her on the phone, and ask a few people if I was heading in the right direction. And I understood them too. So even though I was lost, I was still able to find my way after some communication in Spanish. I worked with Claudia and Fernando, then talked to Maria before I left. We talked about another way I could get to her house by taking the bus, the possibility of the Olympics being in Madrid in 2016, and she told me how there's a free concert on Sunday. It was really cool. I can tell I've already gained a lot more confidence in my Spanish in the 3 1/2 weeks I've been here.

I remember in the first week in Toledo when we were shopping in stores when I was so nervous just to ask 'how much does this cost?' in Spanish. And today we went shopping and I thought about how that has changed.

I was also nervous just to go anywhere by myself, but that has also changed. Certainly, that's not the best idea late at night or in a very strange place, but I've liked the times when I went somewhere by myself, like church or back from Maria's house.

It's very empowering to be independent in a foreign country, speaking/understanding the language, and being confident about it. :) With languages, you can open so many other worlds and possibilities.