Day 15

I got through most of chapter 3 of Fundamental Spanish, but at the end were 5 pages of review excercises tacked on, which will have to take the backseat until tomorrow as my Japanese review has priority this evening.

Meanwhile, the Harry Potter (Spanish) books are anxiously queued on my shelf, waiting to be read.

Day 14

I got through the second chapter of Fundamental Spanish, and I can pretty much instantly decide between using estar and ser. The only difficult distinction is between location as an origin and location of an object. Soy de Los Estados Unidos. Estoy en mi casa. I think those are correct. (I’m from the U.S. I’m in my house.) Actually, I better confirm that right now to solidify it in my memory.

According to Fundamental Spanish, estar is for location, ser is for point of origin, so I’m all set with my sentences above. Guay.

Day 13

I didn’t quit! I’ve just been busy with life.

However, just yesterday morning a package of books came that helped me make time instead of just trying to find it.

In the package were all seven Harry Potter books in Spanish, and the textbook Fundamental Spanish. I got through a chapter and a half of the 15-chapter textbook yesterday, and pulled some useful vocabulary from it while getting a bit of review on information I’ve already studied. I’m hoping to finish the book within 2 weeks, but it may take me longer as my in-laws are dropping in for two weeks from the beginning of agosto. As soon as I’m done with the textbook, I’m jumping into Harry Potter y la piedra filosofal.

El día de playa

It’s “Umi no hi” in Japan, so the nursery school is closed, meaning I have no time to study as my daughter is at home and demanding attention. I’ll be able to return to my studies the day after tomorrow, but I still have to split my time between Japanese and Spanish.

Day 12

17 de julio, 2008

I listened to the first four podcasts of the Inspired Beginners lessons from NotesInSpanish.com. Unfortunately, I have no blank CDs to burn more CDs, and I’ve been through these four podcasts over a dozen times a piece. I find myself muting out Ben as I’m scared to pick up on any bad habits he might have when speaking in Spanish. I focus on Marina more since she’s a native speaker and, therefore, has a native accent, however I also fear picking up a feminine accent that I’m unaware of. (I’m not sure about the masculinity/feminity differences in Spanish, but in Japanese there is a clear difference)

I also watched the fifth episode of Mi Vida Loca on the BBC’s Spanish site. Good stuff.

Day 11

16 de julio, 2008

I spent more time than I anticipated on Spanish today, as my Japanese-English dictionary ran out of batteries while I was studying at a cafe this morning. The only immediate material I had for Spanish was my Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary, so I went through all 14 of the grammar explanation points in the back of the book.

That there are exactly 14 entries sparked my interest, as it works out that I can study each point in-depth for a day and create a two-week course for myself.

Day 10

14 de julio, 2008

I like Mi Vida Loca. I watched a few episodes tonight over a cerveza negro. As I’m watching, besides listening to what they’re saying, I’m thinking to myself, “I’ve got to move to Spain.”

Unfortunately, moving to Spain is not an option on the table. Especially for us NAFTA folk. What an odd world we live in, where we’re born into countries instead of choosing where to live. How I long for EU citizenship, but alas. It is not to be.

I can still learn Castellano, though!

Day 9

13 de julio, 2008

I went through a couple of words on my “hot list” today, and wrote a lang-8.com entry. The thing with lang-8 is, everyone seems to be studying Japanese, and there are few active Spanish speakers. I’d love to correct their English or Japanese entries, if only they actually wrote any. I’ve had one user correct two of my entries, for which I’m grateful.

Tomorrow, as per every week, is my major study day, and I’m going to make the most of it.

Day 8

12 de julio, 2008

My Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary came today! The thing is, there’s nothing “Pocket” about it. It should have been named “Bag Oxford Spanish Dictionary”, but that may be a less pleasing title.

Some of the bonuses of the dictionary include a verb conjegation chart and a grammar summary.

I got through the ninth and final chapter of the Spanish Wikibook. The last thing I pulled from the site was a list of most commonly used words, which is what I’ll jump into in a day or two.

Day 7

11 de julio, 2008

I got through lesson 8 of the Spanish Wikibook, and got around to ordering an actual Spanish dictionary from Amazon Japan. It should arrive either tomorrow or by next Monday. I order the Pocket Oxford Spanish Dictionary because the regular edition was highly recommended, and I wanted it to be relatively portable as I mostly study at the library or local cafes. I think it looks like a good starter dictionary.

I’ve written a couple more lang-8.com entries in Spanish, and they’ve been getting corrections so I’m satisfied with that whole process. All in all I feel I’m off to a good start having only studied for one week!