Today was a very exciting day!
Maricarmen said that as a student I have now officially transitioned to intermediate level…
There are three levels beginner, intermediate and advanced.. She went on to say so we won’t speak any English now, all Spanish… ?
The funny thing is that I belong to a Spanish speaking online programme called Yabla which I love. It is chocca full of soap operas and interviews and teaching videos; yesterday I was choosing some material and I pressed the intermediate button to see what I could find there… So I knew really and truly…
It is always important when we have a ‘mountain to climb’ that before we start we look up at the peak and see truly what a journey we have ahead; it helps if we take a look at the possible twists and turns, the trees across the path, the hazards along the way, and that we have a healthy awareness of our ability, and how much help we will need… This way the magic can occur; there is space for the surprises, for expansions, the delight of reaching another level… We look up, seeing the peak shining with the sun on the glistening snow ahead of us, knowing that we are making headway and that in time we will reach the top…
As always recognising that the richness is in the journey; the process, the step we are in… As C.P. Cavafy starts his poem Ithaka…
This poem speaks to me of the many journeys I have undertaken in my life… And the ‘learning Spanish one’ is already far richer than I could ever have imagined…Although the more I learn the more I feel a novice, rather than the lofty heights of ‘intermediate’! I see how much I don’t know, how slow I am, what a long road ahead I have to reach my goal of fluency – which I want very much – but I understand that it is just like ‘wanting’ my body to get free of pain or ‘wanting’ to run faster – I understand that it is the energy of ‘wanting’ that has no place in the journey.
I am making the road by walking it and fluency like ‘intermediate level’ will appear when it does…!
Meanwhile I must make the road by walking it each day – paso a paso…