Frustration 4th.

I'll be the first to admit when I'm wrong and when I've got shortcomings. Lately, communication has been the big one. On the positive tip, in the time I've been in this country my comprehension game has gone up in a major way. The tempo of speech here has slowed down for me to the point of sounding like good ol' American English (with the exception of the few drunken and eccentric accents here and there). I was in class today and for some odd reason never felt so frustrated with speaking Spanish. One of my shortcomings is that I hate to be put on the spot, I'll admit that I'm not so quick on the draw when I'm caught verbally off-guard. My folks that really know me and my personality know that it's an ironic drawback I've got. Oh well, we all have them. I have to say I was glad that it happened...I was outside the University, smoking a stog and analyzing the situation to myself. I needed to talk to someone and it was around lunch time. I head back to the casa and my host dad was waiting on me to have lunch. I had one of the most fruitful talks I've had with him. I totally unloaded all my frustrations with him. He was super reassuring giving me little bits of advice here and there. I was grateful for it. The ironic part of it all was that I unloaded all of it with the most flawless Spanish I've used since I've been here...I even used some of the stuff I read over the past few days that I couldn't get down in a semester as well as some stuff I didn't think I knew. Being around everything has made an impact on me and I was worried that it wasn't. It was reassuring to know that I'm making progress towards my goal. I've made a decision for the rest of the trip to try to build with folks that share my interest...not alienating the others, but I've got to think about what I want out of this thing and if I've got to be drastic to do it..then so be it I will.

Next...Happy 4th yall! Honestly, today makes me really miss home. I've always been a big fan of the fellowship that today brings. I miss my family, homies, beer and grilling out on food and meaningful conversation. I'm grateful to be here and being here makes me more grateful for what I'm blessed with back in good ol' Amurrica. I'm fortunate to have a good group of people here as well at least we have each other to help the grip of us to remain mindful of what I've just said. I hope all of your holidays are blessed. Felíz Día de Indepencia de España!