Well I'm a big bundle of no fun. . .

Well, here it is, the end of the week and I haven't updated at all.  One might think that was because I was having so much fun running around and being busy and having fun and being busy having fun.  Well, that's part of it.  I do find myself busy, and some of the time it's with fun.  Other times I'm just watching Modern Family on Sidereel and that's not really update worthy.
Class is absolutely kicking my ass, to the point where I do that thing I am SO fond of - fighting back tears when I get frustrated with myself.  One of my teachers told me today that I understand a lot, and I learn very quickly, but I'm on my own in class because I don't speak.  I can't argue with that.  I do the book stuff quite well- the exercises, the reading aloud (she said my accent is much better than the other two ladies - Laura from Vermont, and Dina from San Jose), but when it comes time to chat, I am all "si" and "no."  I get so frustrated when I try to think of what I want to say and can't, especially if it's a vocabulary word we JUST talked about, or a verb I know I can conjugate but I'm drawing a blank and confusing past tense with future tense.  And these very sweet women look at me expectantly and really want me to try and the wanting to get it right spirals out of control and I absolutely freak out.  It's like, if I think I won't look like I know exactly what I'm doing, if I can't be a master of something; then I don't want to do it all.  I feel like I should KNOW this stuff.  I shouldn't struggle as much as I am.  It is utterly exhausting.
But also, incredibly fun.  I think I am more confident now than I was when I got here, and I know I just need to spend a bit more time studying some of this stuff on my own until it clicks into place.
So there you go; still bummed I haven't updated?

I had a couple of fun nights out playing pool with the American crew from UNO, and they were swell fun.  Tonight I'm going out to dinner with Dina, the girl from San Jose that is in the class opposite mine.  (We have two teachers - Elvira and Felipa; I have Elvira for the first two hours and Laura and Dina have Felipa, and then we swap).  So yeah, I'm getting 1:1 Spanish instruction for the price of group instruction, which is you know, FREAKING AWESOME.

pieces of art I'd totally like to buy (you can't see the Frida one; she was too much in shadow)

I've settled in to a pattern here - I get up, go to school until 1 and then grab lunch.  I might stop at a store (expect Mexican Christmas or birthday gifts if you have one upcoming) and shop a bit or look at the pieces of art I'd like to buy but totally won't, and consider buying the pieces I'd like to buy and totally might.  Then, as I digest, I read James' book, Wotz; either on my bed if it's pouring, or up on the terraza if it's nice (so you know, yesterday).  Then I do my P90X workout which absolutely kicks my ass; take a shower and then. . . .
I might go out to dinner, or if I have someone to hang out with (aforementioned Americans and Dina), I'll meet up with them; or else I'll cook at home and watch Modern Family or read some more or practice my verbs on spaleon.com.  Helpful, but not like speaking.
I think what I'll do is come up with some random story that I'd want to tell in English; then translate it and read it aloud to myself.  I was telling Quinn yesterday that if I need something at the market, I think of what I might need to say the entire time I'm walking over.  See, when I have time to prepare and think with no pressure, I don't panic.  Plus, I have no idea if it's correct or just close enough that they know what I mean, so there's less chance of me being corrected, which always feels like a win.

The weather here has been much much better - after the INSANE rain storm on Monday I think it was, the afternoon showers were much shorter and lighter, and yesterday and today have been sunny the entire time (so far).  It's muggy out there though, and walking up hill home after class leaves me gasping for breath and sweating like a pig.  Sexy, yes?  Then at night it cools off quite a bit, so it's not even like you get those "balmy" evenings, but let's be honest - it's a hell of a lot warmer than San Francisco is right now.

Dad comes down on the 12th for a few days (yay!), and then Patrick will come down for my final week (yay some more!).  Andrea and Duane are still mulling it over.  There is tons left to do: lots more city to explore, shops to poke my head into, vista points to check out, grottoes to visit, neighboring towns to travel to, two for one drink specials to be exploited and goat cheese to be eaten.  Stay tuned for more riveting updates!

Oh, and I've become quite enamored with the door knockers here (random, right?) and I've started snapping photos of them.  Check 'em out on flickr.