Lest it seem from this blog that all David and I do is travel, eat, and drink, I must report that today I began a private, one-on-one Spanish tutorial at the Queen Sophia Institute here in Manhattan, to prepare for our impending Madrid casting trip. The session began at 8:30am and lasted 1.5 hours. I have a fairly extensive background in studying Spanish (8 years), but am shy about speaking and have not had any occasion to practice since my early years in Princeton... so I am rusty, to say the least. Oswaldo, mi profesor, was very patient, clear, and easy to talk to, very encouraging. We met and dived right into getting to know each other in Spanish, which was slightly jangling to me -- I don't know what I'd expected, I suppose I thought we'd sit and speak in English for a while about why I wanted to be tutored and what my objectives were, until I felt comfortable enough to start speaking Spanish. (I think I conflated the idea of having a Spanish tutor with having a linguistic shrink.) Oswaldo and I both realized quickly that my biggest challenge will be remembering what I had been taught in the past and overcoming my confidence issues in speaking in Spanish. As I warmed up, I was able to explain to him a great deal about our show, which was a funny experience -- having to explain and describe to a stranger about our show and the work that I do, in another language, made me realize yet again how complicated the show is. In any case, I had a very good initial session, have been given homework, and will take another class on Monday. Eleanor took a class with a different teacher today, too, had a lovely time, and David has signed up to begin classes next week. I think it will be great for all of us to have intensive and focused Spanish lessons before we immerse ourselves into Madrid casting and, come summer, rehearsals and life in Madrid.
I confess I enjoyed being back in a "class"/"schooling" situation today. Taking a class at 8:30am was not as bad as I thought it might be. We did have another day of casting today afterwards, however, which was, again, tiring, so I think I shall go to bed early-ish tonight.
Estoy muy cansada - voy a dormir bien esta noche.
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