Friday, March 2nd, 2012
Today is my final exam for my intensive month of Spanish. After having a study session to clarify my doubts and a relaxing conversation with Ana about not being so preoccupied with everything, I think I´m as ready as I can be for it.
First, the written portion. This consisted of a page-long text about the pros and cons of texting and our obsession with it. There were Q&As, fill in the blanks, multiple choice, vocabulary questions and finally a free response. After checking everything 50 times, I finally had the courage to turn it in. I hope all my subjunctive constructions are there and correct. I hope everything has la concordancia. I hope my subjects match the conjugations and that the conjugations are in the right tense...aye!
We had an almost cruelly long break between our written and oral exam and in this time I tried to relax and not think too hard about my oral portion. I also tried to find more classes with Argentines to take. But I bumped into another student in my class who told me he was going to take "Geography of Argentina". WHAT!? WHERE THE HECK WAS THIS CLASS!?!?! Hi, I study geography AND Spanish. Did somebody think I wouldn´t enjoy this class? I went to the floor that had information about it and confirmed that it wasn´t too good to be true, because it did indeed exist. Unfortunately, nobody was on the floor to help me and get it confirmed, so I guess I´ll just have to do that when I get back, but no matter. It exists. And that´s how I became even less stressed. Bring it on semester. I can handle you with certainty. And with no political science!
Once again, we hurried up to wait for the oral portion and because we were running so far behind, by the time I had my turn, we started doing it in pairs. 4 minutes later, I had my final grade in the class--a 9 out of 10. For those of you who haven´t learned about this different system of grading, let me explain:
In many Spanish-speaking countries, they use the 0-10 system. Contrary to what this seems like it translates to in the US, a 4 is a C. So you just need to get a 4 to pass. This means that that a 5-7 puts you in the B range and an 8-10 puts you in the A range. It´s much more difficult to get an A+ here than it is in the US, and a 4 is still considered a decent grade--meaning your grades might be a little shocking, but to an Argentine who´s working, going to school and living their life, a 4 is A-OK. So I was pretty exhilarated about my 9--especially because I´d gotten a 6.5 on my midterm.
When we finally finished our intensive month for good, we felt as though we´d run a marathon. We needed the proverbial victory dance, which of course came in the form of medialunas and tea. I don´t know if it was just my happiness at passing and passing with an excellent grade or if something was starting to click, but my conversation with Angela at the café was so fluent and I wasn´t thinking about every sentence. I was speaking rapidly, clearly and properly. It felt so exciting, like maybe I´m really starting to get this. While it definitely wasn´t an instantaneous change that happened when I arrived in Argentina, it seemed instant in that moment. Like I went from trudging along and confused to native speaker in merely an afternoon. I was using the subjunctive constructions that only a day previously I had come to actually understand and navigating all the tenses with certainty and expressing myself exactly how I wanted to, and Angela seemed to be commanding her language, too.
Excited for our day to come, we parted ways knowing we´d be leaving for Bariloche in less than 24 hours. Later in the evening, the great conversation and my conversation skills seemed to carry over with Juan. We talked about friendship, its ebbs and flows and the sweet and sour memories of our friends throughout the years. Although friendship is different in Argentina, the heart of it is the same as it is anywhere and it truly powers us through the best and worse of life. I realize more and more how truly dependent upon friendship I am. For as much time as I like to be by myself (only child syndrome, I guess), I need to talk to people, to share ideas, experiences and maybe a few laughs too. I haven´t met very many Argentines yet, so I don´t know if my host family is representative of typical 20-almost-30 somethings in Argentina, but if they are, then I cant wait to meet more, because the more I am near Juan and Ana, the more I realize I´m not sure I could make it without their guidance that is less like guidance and more like friendship, caring and some kind of love that I can´t really explain. Every time I try to explain it to them, they just laugh like it´s obvious--why wouldn´t we like you!? But really, every sobremesa we have gives me more and more reason to love this country and the people inside it. Whether it´s a silly conversation about my pet cockroach freshman year or a serious conversation about finding myself, they´re there to talk me through it and listen wholeheartedly. And feed me the best food I´ve ever eaten. I always leave that kitchen table feeling a little stronger in every way possible. And then Juan showed me videos of orcas trying to eat seals. I love this guy.
What a great day for you!! :)
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