Cuarto en el Quinto

Felt a rebound today at Maryknoll. I slept more soundly than the night before. Conversation and exercises in classes today did not seem like such a chore, and consequently, time moved more quickly. In the fourth period I had a conversation with the mission center director, Padre Alejandro, and we will arrange for a few Friday morning conferences on the topics of Caribbean and Central American culture, migration, and integration of culturally diverse communities. These meetings will be very useful, I trust, for my ministry at Church of the Good Shepherd. Stay tuned for more information. 

I am glad the week ended on a note of uplift. It was a trying experience, maintaining a dialogue in Spanish for four hours daily with the teachers. Not to mention that studying in the morning never has been easy for me. The teachers and I are floating the idea of a return to afternoon classes. It is possible, given the current roster of students, to make this switch happen. We will experiment for another week with morning classes before making any decision for or against a schedule change. I will speak with Señora Kitty at the end of next week, and we will make an evaluation. She is always willing to try something new and do what is best to improve the language-learning environment for every student. Thus far it seems to my teachers that I am progressing well enough, but they are also willing to try any improvement that will help me excel beyond the level where I am today. For the next five weeks it will be largely about fine-tuning the mechanics I have already acquired while also driving forward with as many grammatical and cultural lessons as we can. Let’s see how far we can go! 

Later this evening, Brother Scott and I will be in the company of the Maryknoll lay missioners, whose home is several blocks north of Convento San Francisco. The majority of them are from the United States, and with them we are celebrating Independence Day with an all-American potluck. Fourth of July on the Fifth? Why not? It is more convenient to have a party on the weekend. And we’re in Bolivia, not the U.S., so we don’t have any scruples about being tardy with our patriotic revels. Besides, we’ll be having some international company with us, so it’s more about having a good time than showing that we’re true for the red, white, and blue. With that said, off now to say some hasty prayers.