Coming Out in Class, Changing Language Levels & My First Fall Hiking Excursion

Updates on My Spanish Language Class

At times, when learning another language or improving your language skills in a classroom environment, you are asked to talk about personal topics, either with the entire class or in pairs or in small groups.  Given that my Spanish Level 3 language class is rather large (over 25 students), we do a number of exercises in small groups or in pairs.


Last week our teacher asked us to pair up and go over some exercises.  I was sitting next to a Chinese woman, who probably was about 28 years old.  As we went through the exercises, there was one statement that talked about one's girlfriend or boyfriend.  So naturally this woman asked me if I had a girlfriend.  I told her that I didn't have a girlfriend, but I did have a boyfriend.  It was at that point that she grabbed my arm, held it tightly while lifting a napkin to cover her mouth and said "Nooooo..." with a Chinese-Spanish accent.  I started cracking up and said "Siiiii......" in my American-Spanish accent.  She asked me if my boyfriend lived here and when I told her that he lived in the US but was looking for a position so that he could move here to be with me, she asked me what would happen if he found someone else in the US.  I told her that we would have to talk about that if that were to happen.  She looked at me again intensely and then blurted out "Chulísimo!!", which means "How cool!!".  She then asked me if I never liked girls, which I told her that I liked women but that I was not attracted to them sexually and that although I always felt this way, it wasn't until I was 28 years old that I came out of the closet.  She said that in China they use that same phrase to describe Chinese gays and lesbians who come out as gay.  Of course this entire conversation was in Spanish.  It was a conversation that I continued chuckling about to myself over the next few days.

The other news about my Spanish class is that after a week and a half in my level 3 class, I felt that

My teacher, Lourdes Miquel.
Well-known author of
Spanish language
learning books for foreigners

the level was too basic for me.  I had my doubts from the beginning but I waited until last Monday to request a time to talk with my teacher about these doubts and what I could do.  We met and he said that I could take a test to see if I was ready for level 4.  I did that on Wednesday and during the oral part of the exam, I was told by the teacher who interviewed me, Lourdes Miquel, that my skill level was acceptable for level 4.  So on Thursday I was placed in a level 4 class.  It turned out that Lourdes is also my Level 4 teacher. It's definitely much more challenging than level 3.  There's a lot I need to do to catch up with the class, having missed about 2 weeks at this level.  Lourdes is excellent, has a good sense of humor, has been at the forefront of advancing Spanish language learning teaching skills for foreigners,  and is constantly working with each of us to improve our Spanish.  There is much more conversation in the class and the students seem to be open and friendly.  I hope to make a lot of progress in expressing myself in Spanish through the work that I am doing in this class.

New Gym, Daddies and their Children

A few weeks ago I decided to change my gym membership to one that is 4 blocks away rather than 2 blocks away, but is larger, has better equipment and has much more natural light that enters it.  I chose a plan with limited hours, from 11 am to 5:30 pm, which made it more affordable.

My usual routine is to go to language class from 9:30 am to 12 pm and then go home to get my gym bag and head to the gym on most days.  One day last week I got to the gym at 5:15 pm (once I enter I can stay as long as I like).  When I got to the men's locker room, I was surprised at the number of little children, boys and girls, that were with their dads.  Since there is a pool at this gym (almost every gym in the city has a pool from what I can tell), I discovered that there was a children's pool program around that hour.  I think it's fascinating how Spanish family life is integrated into one's daily routines, even at a gym facility.

Hike to Puigsacalm

Today (Sunday) was my first hiking trip this Fall with the hiking group.  In spite of the threat of rain, 17 of us braved the elements and discovered a beautiful day and hiked a trail that gave us incredible views.  We hiked to Puigsacalm, the highest mountain in Catalunya - 1,512 meters above sea level.  We also went to the next peak, Puig des Llops at 1,486 meters.  Luckily we did not encounter any rainfall, but there were parts of the trail that were very muddy.  The views were spectacular and the group was wonderful to spend the day with.  Below are some pictures of the hike.