July 14 - How Much Spanish Do I Know?

We had our second LPI (language proficiency interview) today. I wasn’t really nervous about it like some other aspirantes because I did so horribly on my first interview I knew I’d improve to some degree during my second. But…as the hour drew closer and I found out the interview was with the idioma jefe – a completely serious and intimidating dude – I got a little nervous. Things didn’t get any better when I walked in for the interview and had to explain how to put a condom on – in Spanish. You may be thinking that’s a bit of a strange topic to discuss during an interview, however, I had just come from a session on that, so it wasn’t really Rolando’s fault for asking – he just wanted to know what I’d been doing before the interview. I struggled through that part with lots of strange facial expressions and we moved onto other topics, thank God. The LPIs are tape recorded, but I wish they were on video camera too because I’m sure if some of them were submitted to America’s Funniest Videos, PC trainees would win millions.

Bottom line, my Spanish has improved! I graduated to the level of intermedio medio – the level volunteers must achieve to be sworn in as volunteers! I came in at precipio bajo, which means you can’t even say “hola” correctly. Yippee! I can talk to people on the street, buy food, and perform other basic functions. I still cannot understand my host dad, the internet dude, or just about anyone else that tries to have a normal conversation with me using verbs other than can, should, want, and need. Ok, maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but I still definitely have a long way to go.