Spanish group

Can you imagine that I’d still be able to speak Spanish in Nelson, New Zealand with people other than myself? Well, go figure, you bet I can! Don is an avid reader of all the newspapers he can get his hands on. In one of those dailies or weeklies he found a monthly meetings notice section and on the last Monday of every month, if you want to meet up with fellow Spanish speakers at a local bar, just show up. All skill levels welcome!

Last night I went to the get-together—and my trusty bodyguard Don joined me for the walk to town at night—and met up with about a dozen locals who all speak pretty good Spanish. They were very welcoming and all had fairly high skill levels, higher than me for sure. There were two reporters from the Nelson Mail, one from Germany who most recently lived in Columbia. The leader of the group, Dayanira, is from a Central American country (can’t remember which!) but has lived here for more than 10 years and has organized this group for something like 7 years. There were a few newbies like me, one with less skill level (phew!). A Kiwi couple had just returned from hiking the Pyrenees for 5 weeks in Spain. The woman, Margo, had a special Spanish accent--none! She spoke Spanish with her die-hard Kiwi accent and the words coming out of her mouth were priceless!!

Even though I haven’t spoken or even studied in at least 6 months, it was helpful to start speaking again. What I need the most practice doing is speaking, speaking and speaking. This group will be a huge help in that direction, so I am eager to get out my Spanish language materials when they arrive from the slow boat and meet up with these folks monthly. It’s another hobby I’ll enjoy doing way more than working. Yeah, that working thing is going to have to be postponed a bit longer, I’m just not too into it!