Spring Break and Language Study

Mark and I have finished up our cycles at CEDEI and are heading to the coast for some much needed R&R. We have a couple of reservations made, but we may just go where the wind blows us. Remember spring break back in college when you just hopped on the bus and hoped you made it to your destination? Well, we've got a little of that adventuresome spirit in us as well!

I think working with students has put a little bit of that excitement back in us. The students were all talking about where they were going to spend Easter (spring) vacation and almost all of them were leaving for the "playa" and so we thought we'd join them!

With my Advanced English Conversation students, we celebrated our last day at the Coffee Tree and, of course, we continued our English conversation. I have to say these young people are the cream of the crop and I hope to keep in touch with them at least once a month.

I also had the opportunity to do a product review on a Spanish language program which I enjoyed immensely.  My full review will be up on their website, but in the meantime I wanted to let you know that I love this product better than anything I've used thus far.

Rocket Languages has it over Rosetta and any other program I've used because they teach you the way an adult learns languages with the "why" behind words, phrases, sentence structure and grammar, but in an interactive manner. I tried out their Premium, Premium Plus and Platinum programs and I'm sticking with it 20-30 minutes a day for the rest of my life.

If you're a Spanish beginner, it's perfect. If you're at the intermediate or advanced level, you can continue to increase your vocabulary and fluency in an interactive manner. The Rocket Recorder (voice recognition system) allows you to see how closely you come to matching your voice with the "teachers" (Mauricio and Amy). You can download the audio to your MP3 player or iPod and take it along with you. I downloaded the audios to my iTunes library, so I can take them with me on my morning walks.

Rocket Languages started in 2004 and has been the number one interactive audio language program since 2005 and now I can see why. I actually look forward to studying and with 600 pages worth of content in PDF format, you have the best of both worlds. With each lesson, there's also a cultural section which is very informative and adds to your overall learning experience.

The best part is the user friendliness of the program: you just log on to your account, click on the section you want, and away you go! I found that using an earpiece microphone worked best for me to get the most out of the interactive audio lessons, but it's not absolutely necessary. 

Overall, it's a much better value than any other program I've used thus far, so I give it five stars for price, user friendliness, content, voice recognition and tech support. And with a 60-day money back guarantee (no questions asked), there's nothing to lose.

Until next time...hasta luego!

Technorati Tags: Spanish language learning, Rocket Spanish, living and retiring in Cuenca, living and retiring in Ecuador

Tags created with Ukion Tag Generator

Why We're Here!

Today when we were with some of our Ecuadorian friends, they asked us why we chose Cuenca as a place to "retire." I think it baffles their mind that we left the States and came to Ecuador. For us the decision was simple: we couldn’t afford medical insurance in the States after my husband’s retirement. One more catastrophic event and we would have been bankrupt. Unlike so many, I have not been so fortunate with my health. I’ve lived 15 years beyond the doctors’ “expiration date,” so every day is a precious gift!

When we explain it to our Ecuadorian friends, they can’t believe what we have paid in medical bills through the years. I prayed many times, “God, heal me or let me die.” He chose to let me live for which I’m grateful; I was able to see our boys through safe passage into adulthood.

We are thankful for the medical care in Cuenca, which was our number one priority, but we got so much more than we ever anticipated in the way of extras: perfect climate, affordable living, lots of sunshine, mountains, four rivers, and loving people to share life’s journey with.

Most of our time is spent with Ecuadorians because they teach us so much, especially how to really live life. They are generous with their time, their resources and their ability to make the language fun for us. We only speak Spanish when we’re with them and they're quick to correct any mistakes (all mistakes!). Knowing Italian has been a great asset, but also our worst enemy. We still revert back to Italian without even knowing it, until someone brings it to our attention. "Que paso!"

We're grateful to be able to learn another language and culture. We mostly hang around folks who want to do the same. We know one American couple who has diligently gone to language school for a year and have a tutor as well. They are mastering the Spanish language in their 60’s. Some expats have no interest in learning Spanish and that’s okay if that’s what you choose to do, but you’re missing another whole world!

Maybe it was our missionary life in Italy that makes us gravitate toward lanugage learning. I’ve gleaned a wealth of information from the Ecuadorians and how they view Americans, which will be a topic for another blog post!

We’re learning to say that we’re not “jubilados” (retirees) because to Ecuadorians that means we’re wealthy. When we say "jubilado" they rub their fingers together (money, money, money). We explained to them that not all Americans are wealthy, but in their eyes we are. When you realize that the average Ecuadorian makes between $264 and $340 a month and the average indigenous person makes $30 a month, it changes your perspective.

We came here for the medical care, but we’re staying because we have fallen in love with Ecuador!

Until next time...hasta luego!



P.S. Happy Birthday Cuenca -- 454 years today!



Milestones

Today marked a milestone in our language learning. We left this morning (before language school) to wait in line at the immigration office to get our updated censo (the last step before getting our "cedula").

The cedula is an important document; it allows us all the rights and privileges of an Ecuadorian citizen with the exception of being able to vote and run for office (not one of our aspirations!).

When we first arrived at the immigration office -- three weeks ago -- we could hardly say the word "hola" without stuttering. But today we reached a milestone...we not only understood everything the officer said, we were able to answer all his questions to his satisfaction. We walked out of the office with our new censos in hand!

I wish I could say that it is always the case...fluent Spanish, but it is not. The other day, Mark went into Sukasa (think: Crate and Barrel in the States). He went up to one of the associates and said, "Quisiera una tostada por favor!" The clerk's smile turned into a grin as he led us to the toasters. Unfortunately, there are a lot of Spanish words that are similar in sound, but with totally different meanings. The Spanish word for "toaster" is "tostadora." If Mark had been at Taco Bell, he would have been correct!

At the end of the day, we count it a privilege to have made mistakes...it's the only way to really learn a language. Some of the biggest mistakes we made in Italy -- while learning Italian -- still keep us laughing. Mark has his own way of learning a language and I have mine. Although we learn differently, we always celebrate the milestones.

Today our Spanish professor was sick and we had a free day so we went to "el centro" and celebrated with "helado" (ice cream) and Mark bought me two dozen roses at the flower market. Later we walked to Parque Calderon and met up with friends.

Part of the journey of living in another country is celebrating the milestones along the way (and never taking yourself too seriously!).

Until next time...hasta luego!


Consuelo y Marco

Technorati Tags:
living and retiring in ecuador, language learning, Cuenca, Ecuador
Add to: Technorati Digg del.icio.us Yahoo BlinkList Spurl reddit Furl