Learning Spanish

Recently I resumed taking an evening class in Spanish at our local JC, the College of Marin. Previous classes, while in the community education system, used a serious college textbook (Como se Dice - very expensive @ over $150) and had an emphasis on learning grammar.

What a pleasant surprise this semester to find an instructor that took the course description to heart and actually was teaching conversational Spanish. No textbook - 90% speaking with handouts for homework exercise that form the basis of the next week's conversation. Two months into the class I'm already comfortable enough to converse in Spanish with little or no stammering. I making intelligent conversation. Asking questions. My recent trip to Cabo, while very resort oriented and not conducive to connecting much with an authentic Mexican experience, still afforded me many opportunities interact and speak Spanish. It sure opens doors to a friendly interchange - every Mexican I spoke with seemed to appreciate my efforts to converse.

So I owe a bit of thanks to my instructor, Patricio Tapia, and I'm now motivated enough to take an additional private classes from him through his "Spanish in Marin" program in San Rafael, CA.