This is an ode to the Spanish lessons I was taking for the past couple of months. It is difficult to translate in English what it meant to learn Spanish!!! It is exhilarating to just sit in a class of 25 students with no baggage of past knowledge and wisdom just like a kindergarten kid to imbibe elementary nuances of a language.
Spanish is a true "romance language" and I realised that speaking Spanish with the right intonation, phonetics and orthoepy is like music to my untrained, non-native ears!!! Each class brought with it the excitement of learning new vocabulary, new rules of grammar, discovery of more and more common roots between English and Spanish words (Latin being the mother language of both). I must also confess all was not hunky dory during these months of literary adventure. Ensconced within those hours of joyous discoveries and learning were the moments of frustration on coming across the dreaded "exceptions to rules". At times there seemed to be more exceptions to rules than those confirming to these rules. For instance it nonplussed us that day is masculine (el dia) but night is feminine (la noche). Hence it is "buenos dias" and "buenas noches" for good morning and good night respectively.
On the upside Spanish is a very phonetic language, you read and pronounce what you write unlike English. Also once you get the grammatical agreement between masculine and feminine and singular and plural in place more than half the battle is won. But it is easier said than done is a different story altogether! Also the endless list of verbs to be mastered (of course, with the ubiquitous "exceptions") is no mean challenge. Each day of Spanish lessons for me has been an exercise in stimulating the tired and wearied grey cells and bringing them out of the rut of mundaneness. Even this task of writing about the entire experience has filled me with an enthusiasm and energy that is prodigious to say the least. I am just thankful for having gotten a chance to acquaint myself with this wonderful language.
Gracias a la vida!
