My next week of Spanish classes were definitely filled with moments of frustration and complete exhaustion, but they also reinforced my understanding that learning another language is not something that will come instantly, even with the help of immersion. Concentrating heavily on grammar and on conversational skills has made me keenly aware of my shortcomings. However, it is with this newfound knowledge that I understand the best way to proceed and improve. I know exactly what aspects of the grammar trip me up each time and I know exactly what I need to practice the most.
However, despite the difficulties that I experienced in class each day, this week I really began to notice how my improving conversational skills were allowing me to communicate much more easily with my host family. Although I’m sure that my grammar had its flaws, my ever-growing vocabulary has helped me to talk even more fluidly and fully with my host family. Rarely is there a moment when my sentences are too jumbled or cryptic for them to understand the intent behind my words. Knowing that I can hold a conversation or survive on the streets if I am lost is definitely something that has made me feel more comfortable and confident while exploring the city.
However, as excited as I was for the end of the week, it was definitely bittersweet. I again had to say goodbye to many good friends, some of whom had been my first guides around the city when I got here and it was a little heartbreaking to think that I would probably never see some of them ever again. However, it was still a blessing to have known them and I can only hope that this was not truly the last time.
But on the bright side, the weekend came with another adventure. One of my friends and I took a weekend trip to visit Puno and Lake Titicaca. While the bus ride was cold and long(er than expected), the view of Lake Titicaca and the islands there was absolutely stunning. We went to one of the floating islands built by some indigenous groups. Our tour of the island included an explanation of how they are built, essentially by tying reeds together and drying out plants to form the base of the island, which floats on enormous clusters of the floating reeds that are native to the area. It was a really remarkable and ingenious technique and I am still in awe at how they even came up with the idea. Truly the most amazing lake home you could ever hope to see. Their islands form a community just sitting int he middle of the lake, and it was really cool to get to experience their way of life for a few hours. After that, we went to Taquile which is a really strange (natural) island within Titicaca that is home to a decently sized village where we had an amazing lunch and toured the scenery. We learned a lot about their culture, their quite unique governance, and got to meet some of the people (who are much more reserved than the Peruvians that I have met thus far).
All in all, another amazing week in Peru!
