Like in grade cinco

FAM, Leganés

Having finished three out of eight of my intensive spanish classes, I must say that I am pleased with the outcome, it is like being in elementary school all over again learning a new language. Today we filled in a sheet full of drawings of watches and clocks with the time that was depicted on them. I’m fairly certain I’ve done the same thing with a page full of “French” clocks before – maybe the same clocks. Despite bringing me back to my childhood, I think some of this stuff is sticking. I have learned the alphabet of course, as well as numbers, physical descriptions, emotions, positional information, free time activities and a few more things that are harder to classify. And then I come back and actually can practice with people who know how to correct me if I am mistaken about something. In turn I get to correct English – it is a real linguistic experience where everyone learns something.

The normal classes are going well too. Well it is only one class at the moment: Network Infrastructure. It is similar to the Network Communication course I took in my last year at Dal, but a lot more condensed. We are breezing over Ethernet and Wireless link layer protocols and gave a couple of days focus on DOCSIS, which is a Data-Over-Cable protocol. I suspect that we will be covering IP and then TCP/UDP either tomorrow or when classes resume in week or two.

I am also scrambling to finish my last assignment from Greece which is due on Friday, which is tomorrow I guess. I’m not certain how that will turn out, but time has a way of telling these things. While I’m rambling about my day I want to mention that it does indeed rain in Spain, and that may or may not occur mainly on the train, but certainly on my head on my walk home from classes. A warm rain, and although I think that the locals may have found today a tad on the chilly side, I welcome any break from the sick heat and know that I’m going to be damp when I get home regardless of the weather.

Written by Colin Bate