la mujer escribe

As you guys know, Javs and I are headed to Chile for our honeymoon. *moment for fist pump*  We are seriously overdue in filling you in on all the juicy details we have planned for this amazing trip and as soon as we've actually planned some details, we'll get right on sharing them with you ;)  (we have plane tickets, so I know we're going!)  Regardless of details, one thing I knew I wanted to do in preparation for the trip....was to try and learn some Spanish.  There a million and one great reasons for me to embark on this journey to learn this language (including, but not limited to 1) I want my children to have a better shot at learning Spanish as they grow up, b) it could be insanely helpful whenever I finally get a teaching job in public schools and 4) as American citizen I am well aware of the fact that the US is swiftly approaching the time when Spanish will be the number 1 spoken language in our country) So the honeymoon seemed the perfect excuse time to pull up my boot straps and go for it!

So one of many car trip on the way to a wedding related appointment, Javs and I heard a commercial for a 'deal' Rosetta stone was offering.  (We had been investigating Spanish class options in the DC area - W&M was offering a summer class but it was Mon-Thurs every night.  There were several online options, but I had disliked my previous online class experience and was hesitant to start learning a language that way.  Several private or small group lessons were available, but all were very expensive.)  So when we heard the offer on the radio we both agreed it was worth calling to ask about it! 

Reasons we ended up buying Rosetta Stone

- The deal they were running (while no true discount) allowed us to return the whole thing if we weren't happy after 6 months of use.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect!  we were almost exactly 6 months from the wedding - so we figured we'd try it and if I learned nothing before the honeymoon - we could return it all!

- You can download the program to up to 2 computers.  This way if we did like the program we could download it to another  laptop in the future for our kids or my parents or whoever else was ready to learn!

- You can have up to 5 users on the program (nice for us because believe it or not, Javier and I are 'starting' at different levels here)  That means the system can track Javs' progress (he wants to brush up on some vocab and grammar) while tracking mine.  We can both pick up right where we left off, go back and redo activities we missed and move at our own pass without affecting the other user :) WIN.

- Flexibility.  I've taken classes while working a full time job so I know that I can do it.  But the idea of taking classes, working full time and planning a wedding with Javs felt like it might be asking for trouble  (especially if the class was Mon - Thurs)  and especially in the summer when it seems like there is always something going on.

- Supposedly it works.  And is fun!

- Javs did some negotiating and got us some cool add-ons: an awesome headset/microphone so that I can practice my pronunciation with the lessons, an extra MP3 so I can take some stuff to work and listen (that's right I'm working and listening to a woman say 'una nina, -ni, -na, una nina' over and over again) and the option to connect with Rosetta online (something we haven't explored yet, but I think could be cool?  maybe provides the chance chat with other users online - I don't know we'll see!)

So last night, armed with a glass of wine, I tried my first lesson (can you see my neat headphones/microphone?).  It was super cool!  I was amazed at how easy the program was to use.  As a Systems Analyst at a software company (yeah I have no idea what the means either) I was shocked at the lack of direction  provided.  They really just throw you in, but it was even more amazing to me how quickly I just figured it out.  Was totally intuitive.    The system uses a combination of audio, images, and text as you move through the lesson.  (Sometimes you hear speakers saying the words, sometimes you have to say the word, sometimes the words are written, sometimes there are pictures and you match the words, etc.) 

It is incredibly interactive and....well fun!  I would say I moved at a normal to quick pace (part of me just wanted to check out how a full lesson progressed) and so I easily finished within the 30 minutes it suggested I would take.  I was surprised 1) at how familiar I felt with the words at the end of the session.  I did some 'talking' to Javs afterwards (clarifying grammar, etc) and felt somewhat proud of my progress.  They really never feed you 'rules' (at least not yet) but run you through drills that repeat the correct combinations and structure. 2) that I got some stuff wrong. Aghast!  I'm totally going to blame it on my haste, but I did get some 'answers' wrong.  The system does a great job of tracking that and allowing you to go back and redo all or parts of the lesson to ensure you're comfortable.

I'll probably go through the whole lesson again (maybe sans wine?) just to make sure I'm really ready to move on, but I'm so glad I finally got started.  I'll keep you updated on my progress (maybe I'll be writing posts in Spanish before we leave!)  Adios!