The Dragon Within

So I did my dragon race yesterday. My dragon within was horribly, painfully slow.  lol ah well.  At least it's done.  I have to admit the individual race idea feels a whole lot like just randomly buying medals *sigh* but it did get me off the couch to run 5k - which likely would’ve been a short stroll without the motivation, so deeming that a win. Also supports Alzheimer’s research which, well, I’d really appreciate it if someone smarter than I could solve that challenge sooner than later so happy to support. AND I’m going to get a dragon medal - so really, going to deem that a win ;)

Adult language learning

So the other day Harry Potter taught me that “shhhhh” in Spanish is .  Lol this amused me more than it should’ve.  And ajá = aha!  lol - the vocabulary you don't learn in the textbook.  Also, it’s taken me a week to get through one chapter.  Yikes!  For something actually painful, I am enjoying it more than I'd expected.  Everything I've been reading to date has been learner-focused, so very careful to use limited vocabulary and simplified grammar.  This is just a story, so I feel the grammar is a lot more natural and while this makes it more challenging (a WEEK for ONE chapter) I think it'll be helpful in the long run.  There's a lot of googling to get through a chapter; I'm pleased any time there's a full sentence that I truly understand.  Often I can get through a few paragraphs where I understand concept if not literally every word.  But then I'll hit something that I have absolutely no idea what is going on.  Lol

Last week I had my first Spanish class (well, first in Canada) -- my teacher is from Madrid (like arrived in Canada 2 wks ago) and I'm quite pleased both with her and the level of the class.  It's the right degree of challenge and I feel like I'm in the middle of the group capability wise, so all good.  It's a B1 class, so pretty pleased at that; I'm pretty proud to have made it there.  And follows Cervantes which is the same methodology that the school in Costa Rica followed which is cool.  Very conversational practice focused which is, of course, exactly what I need.  Textbooks, aps, and google can teach me grammar and vocabulary, but conversation really requires live people ;)

None of my classmates have pets though?!?  What kind of group have I landed in?!?   Lol not quite as good a fit personality-wise as the CR class was, but sobeit.  

Still not quite sure why I'm doing this, other than that it amuses me.  I like that it requires 100% of my concentration so challenges at work and life just stop because I can't give them attention while I'm learning.  My own form of meditation ;).  Lol ah well.  I also finish class feeling much like I do after a serious workout -- slightly stunned and slightly high.  Lol I have previously written about some of the random exercise adventures I've undertaken, but this one is entirely of the mental exercise variety.  Now, if only it got the same benefits as cardio ;)