Mission: Learning Spanish

What a great thing it is to learn a new language!  We really want to be able to converse comfortably with our brothers and sisters who speak only Spanish so we have taken on the task of learning.  We have met three times with a tutor at the Missionary Training Center over an application called Zoom where we can both see and hear each other. He is a good teacher and a native speaker. We have met three times also with our coach.  She is a lovely girl who does not speak Spanish but she DOES know how to study effectively and she is helping us set goals and reach them.

This is all sounding very familiar as if I had said it before in this blog.  Well, then, let's get on to something new!

This morning I have been working in The Book of Mormon.  I started (today) in 1 Nephi chapter 8.  My method was to copy the whole chapter in Spanish into a table format on my computer then  I added a second column to the right for notes.  This is what it looks like:

Capítulo 8
Lehi ve una visión del árbol de la vida — Come de su fruto y desea que su familia haga lo mismo — Ve una barra de hierro, un sendero estrecho y angosto y el vapor de tinieblas que envuelve a los hombres — Saríah, Nefi y Sam comen del fruto, pero Lamán y Lemuel no quieren hacerlo. Aproximadamente 600–592 a.C.	Ve—present indicative  ver-to see  He sees Come-present indicative  comer- to eat -He eats Desea- present indicative Desear to want-He wants Haga- present tense Hacer- to have He does in this case Ve—present indicative ver- to see  He sees Estrecho—narrow Angosto—narrow Envuelve—present indicative envolver to wrap up, envelop—It envelops Comen—present indicative co mer-to eat, They eat No Quieren—present indicative querer to want—They want in this case-they don’t want Hacerlo--to do it
1 Y aconteció que habíamos recogido toda suerte de semillas de toda especie, tanto de granos de todas clases, como de todo género de frutas.	Y aconteció que-and it came to pass that Habíamos—haber to have—We had
2 Y sucedió que mientras mi padre estaba en el desierto, nos habló, diciendo: He aquí, he soñado un sueño o, en otras palabras, he visto una visión.	Y sucedió que-and it came to pass Estaba-  he was Nos habló—he talked to us Diciendo—saying He aquí—Behold! He soñado—I have dreamed He visto-I have seen

As you can see, I was much more detailed in the heading part, inserting the verb tenses.  Well, that did not last, though it really needs to continue. I spent almost an hour just doing this small amount of work.  When I got to what I thought was a verb, I typed it into the right column then went to the internet for the forms I did not know.  Which was most of them!  

I have the internet but also my various Spanish study aids.  When I was at the office the computer translated into English directly.  That was great. I cannot figure that out on my Mac. I must try harder I guess.

Anyway,  the assignment from our coach is to speak with two different people in church this week. Yikes!  That is somewhat scary.  After the meeting with her, I had a dream that I was speaking with a little boy in the hallway.  Several other times conversations ran through my mind, and maybe they were good-is, but I was also sleeping and did not wake up and write them down. I remember "having"  those conversations. I just don't remember what they were.  Rats!  Now I will just have to wing it.  We shall see.

One of the major things I have learned this last three weeks is that the old gray cells are not what they used to be!  However, this classwork is a gift from God and I plan to use it to the best that I can.  During the class with Hermano B. I was able to say things that I did not know where they came from. He was so kind about it and said I did great.  People are really kind for the most part, is all that I can say.  Adiós.