Tarea

“ ‘Take up your cross daily and follow me’ ” (Luke 9:23).

It is nearly the midpoint of this term of classes at Maryknoll. Tomorrow concludes my third week of studies. Next week I will rotate with my classmate Joshua to two new instructors. So long to Profesores Osvaldo and Óscar, for now. We have an opportunity, tomorrow, to provide feedback to the language school about our learning experience so far. How are the instructors doing? What do you think of the curriculum? How are the assignments in class and at home?

Ah, homework. This is an interesting subject. At first blush, it would seem the instructors are lenient. We do not receive take-home assignments every day. On the other hand, when there is an out-of-class assignment given, I find it challenging. For example, we toured the downtown churches last Thursday. Then we had to write a description of the churches using the grammar we learned. We also had to be prepared to have a lengthy conversation about the tour. Well, I realized I had to go back to the churches again to fill my eyes and memory, so I made another trip on my own on Saturday. Then I wrote descriptions in English first. Then, doing my best not to cheat, I composed simplified sentences in Spanish based on my English descriptions. By cheat, I mean using Google Translate. I did not use Google Translate to form my sentences. But sometimes after the fact I used Google Translate to verify that the sentences I composed were somewhat correct grammatically. I did not make alterations; I still made mistakes. 

Overall, it was slow going. Other assignments I have received were the same: simple to comprehend but whose cost in time and effort were not to be underestimated.

None of this just comes to you. You do need to prepare when you are asked to have a dialogue with the instructor or classmate the next day. And, unlike those calculus or chemistry lessons that you put away forever when you aced the Advanced Placement exams in high school, you never put behind you any language lesson you finish. You do have to keep practicing the use of this verb or that verb, whether or not there are exercises in class the next day or ever again. 

Thus I am finding that understanding the rules of grammar isn’t enough. I understand everything I have learned so far. But I do not apply the majority of what I understand. I still make mistakes matching gender and number. I still drop articles. I get hopelessly mixed up with prepositions; I employ the wrong part of speech; and just for fun I choose the wrong vocabulary. You should see me during the third or fourth hour of class, the expressions of frustration visible on my contorted face when Profesor Óscar corrects me yet again. It’s a lot of fun. You’d enjoy watching my memory fail. Try and keep up with all the facepalms.

And the solution to all this is … do it again. More homework. Convert understanding into practice. (Do you detect an analogy here to living the Christian life?)

Do my instructors give me enough to do? Yes and maybe no, but that isn’t the point. They are not the only trainers I have. My homework comes from many places. I do my homework at the dinner table with the brothers. I have homework in the chapel, and in the church. I have homework when I ride the red bus to school. I have homework when I walk up the street to Cala Cala and the man with the mustache wants to ask me about the Capuchin habit I am wearing. I have homework when I meet Señora Vicky who wants to sell me her artisanal stoles I can’t afford and don’t need. 

School is always in session. Everyone is an instructor. Homework is everywhere. As in language learning, so also with living the Gospel.