Tuesday

Second day in CDMX. My bike got a FLAT! Sigh and I didn't have enough time to fix it before I needed to go to class. So I walked. Fortunately, the school isn't that far.

We get a 30-minute break for lunch. So, I walked around the corner and had lunch at Bread Boss. I thought about fasting, or waiting until after class to eat, but I changed my mind. At least I worked out. (Two days in a row!)

BreadBoss is a little hole in the wall restaurant, but it came highly recommended. I ordered the Spicy Chicken Sandwich. It took a while, but when it arrived it was worth it.

The sandwich was to die for. The picante sauce was amazing and those were the best French fries I've had anywhere in Mexico.

School

The school is interesting. There are about half the number of students here as in PV last year. The other students at my level are in private instruction because their company is paying for it. The other students also wish they were in group lessons, but that is not an option as they are not paying the bill. The company is. So, I get private lessons too! Which should be a good thing but is much harder than I expected.

My first class I shared with a wonderful lady who admits she's a beginner. Matching our levels was a challenge. Today did

Today went better. Aram, my instructor is super smart, but my way of learning is annoying him. Or rather it is annoying me. Being self-taught, I cobbled together my own lessons over the last 8 years. I skipped a lot of "boring stuff". He's been formally trained and speaks 3 languages and he's learning his fourth.

He's not real impressed by my "clever short cuts". He's super smart, young, and motivated. He's also pointing many of the flaws in my Spanish. I think the teachers at the PV school knew they were working with tourists. They were very relaxed about everything. But Mexico City is not a tourist town. This school is training professionals for crying out loud!

Since I was in charge of my own education for the last 8 years, I tried the Tim Ferriss approach. You know focus on what matters most and ignore the rest. So, I cut out the "boring bits."

I never really learned details like gender, the proper use of prepositions, or all the past tenses of Spanish. Some things in a foreign language you simply must learn by rote. I focused on the things that had rules. I don't "do" rote.

Only now... I don't speak nearly as good as I think I do. It is a strange thing. Part of me wants to change schools, but part of me is like, "wait... this might be exactly what you need."

Rather than second guess my decision, I've decided to focus on making the most of the opportunity while I'm here. I keep telling other people, "It takes what it takes." It is time to listen to myself.