Language Frustration: Spanish Verb Conjugation

It’s been a rough day.

An admitted perfectionist by nature, I have long realised that I subliminally decide which of my various interests, hobbies, tasks, etc are worth ‘competing in’ and which are not.

Those who have seen my artwork will know that this skill fits squarely in the ‘ok to be mediocre’ category. As does my running 🙂

And at first, when we started taking Spanish lessons it fit squarely in the ‘it’s ok to be mediocre’ category, as well. But, as we’ve progressed, it’s somehow transitioned to become something I actually care about and want to do well with. Great!

But tonight, I experienced the downside of actually caring. We were meant to translate a few tricky paragraphs from English, requiring that we use and properly conjugate for all three past tenses within a single passage. Absolute disaster. Every word spoken–incorrect. Not a great thing for a perfectionist.

Though we’ve been taking Spanish classes in London and meeting with a friend from Spain for a language exchange since returning from our various adventures this Spring, the past tenses just aren’t sticking. Why is this so hard?!?!? Actually, I think I know why, but that’s another story.

The whole experience made me crave a bubble bath and a good cry. Welcome back to life as a 5 year old. Maybe it’s time not to care about Spanish…