Day One

There`s a reason why they call this an intensive Spanish program.

Day one went well - but by the end of it, I was exhausted!

Fernando brought me to the school on an autobus -- these common VW
transit buses in town. He helped me walk from the bus stop to the
school, which was even more helpful than it sounds because there are
not actually bus stops in Merida. You just pick up and drop off more
or less wherever. I`m getting close to figuring out the system (there
is some order to the way it all works).

At orientation, I answered ¨no se¨ to all the placement test
questions... I think I know the least of anyone
here. But I feel I learned
quite a lot for one day -- the morning class focused on plural vs
singular and masculine vs feminine, also the alphabet which is
phonetically difficult. In the afternoon, Miguel took me around Merida
for the one-on-one. I think this is going to be the most valuable time
(as many of you told me!). He answered all my questions and was very
patient. It was sort of a relief after a morning of not understanding
almost three quarters of everything said.

Fernanda, the 18 year old daughter, picked me up from school. She
speaks English and clarified a few things I wasn`t sure of. After
dinner, Fernando took me to Centro Historica, where there was a
traditional dance until it got rained out; then he took me on a tour
of downtown.

Merida is a beautiful place. The people are just terrific. I love
being here so far!