Where shall I go?
 

I've traveled all over Europe and Asia for more years than I care to remember. I didn't travel last year. Instead I had two trips worth of new windows installed.

I'd thought about how I could keep the moving around to a minimum. One problem is that I'm getting so d@mned old that I can't do as much as I used to. It's harder to heft my luggage, though I keep it to a minimum, and walking a lot isn't easy either. Lately I've been thinking about where I can go that would be easier on my poor body.

So anyway, today I knew I was going to be disgracefully late for 11:00 Mass at my usual church, so I decided to go to St. Joseph's, which has a Spanish Mass at 12:30--(I arrived late for that one, too! I always get lost looking for St. Joseph's.) Just as I entered that beautiful little church, the mariachi band struck up a song, and I suddenly thought, "That's where I'll go! To Spain, to study Spanish."

I claim that I speak Spanish, and as long as I keep it really simple, I really do speak it. What I can't do is understand when someone else speaks. I understood about one word in five of the sermon, and I even had trouble locating the appropriate place in the Mass book.
There are a few responses that one is supposed to give, but that's not easy for me to do.

So I think La Escuela de Idiomas in Nerja, Spain, is on the horizon for me next spring. I won't have to walk a whole lot, and I really like that school and that town. A went there a couple of years ago, and thought the classes were fun and the town was pleasant.

What a nice idea. That sounds like a great plan.

I wish I had your knack for learning languages, Peg. My husband and I had a wonderful trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Hong Kong last February. We went to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner tonight and tried (and failed) to remember how to say thank you in Vietnamese. Sigh.

I don't think I really have a talent for learning languages, what I have is determination. I have studied German, off and on, since 1968. It embarrasses me to tell people I've studied German that long and still have failed to master it as completely as I want to. I receive many compliments on my German, but that's only because Germans are surprised when any American speaks their language. I have a good German accent, too, and that fools them.

I think it sounds like a grand plan, Peg. I never formally studied Spanish, but with a gazillion years of Latin, French, and Italian, and a good deal of time traveling in Spain, I sort of absorbed it and can get by pretty well in Spain, though I agree that the rapid-fire responses quell me sometimes. I hear you about the accents, too. I studied German off and on for about 8 years and can get by, and yes, Germans are thrilled if you've taken any time to learn their language. But it's my ability, maybe through years of theatrical training, to mimic the accent, that fools them into thinking I'm better than I really am. But yes, I think Nerja is a splendid idea for a learning vacation!

Fantastic idea! I'm glad to see you trip planning again. Hooray for that.

I've never been to Nerja but I know it's a very small town (a population of 20,000 only) without much happening.

If I were you, I'd base myself in a livelier place like Seville.
When I visited in October a few years ago, the streets were always abuzz with life. I imagine it would be nice to spend a few months there.

I've been to Seville several times. It's a wonderful city, but I would have difficulty doing a lot of walking (old lady here).

I went to Nerja a couple of years ago to study Spanish and liked it a lot. I don't plan on doing much sightseeing, so the walking in Nerja shouldn't be much of a problem. I will check out las Fallas if I go in March. If I go in April I hope to attend the Moros y Cristianos festival in Alcoy. That's been something I've wanted to do for a long time.

The church in Nerja has a mural on the back wall that I get a kick out of it. It looks like the Annunciation, except that the angel is obviously a Spanish angel--dark hair, craggy features, not the usual blond angel that the Italian painters always seem to paint.

Peg, do you have Netflix? There are a few very entertaining Spanish series there that we have enjoyed: Grand Hotel, Cable Girls and Velvet (in order of preference). I find watching them with English subtitles really helps me accustom my ear to hearing Spanish. I especially liked Gran Hotel.