Wait, Was I Just Thinking in Spanish?

   After three days of classes behind us, I find myself forgetting that the teachers and people around me are speaking a different language. Suddenly I am no longer thinking and translating to English. I'm taking notes in Spanish, asking questions in Spanish, and understanding (most of the time) lectures taught completely in Spanish. Es Increible! That's not to say that it's always easy, or I am anywhere near fluent, but I feel like my knowledge of the language has increased exponentially during the short week and a half we have been here. Although I have taken Spanish since sophomore year of high school, I have never used Spanish every day until now. When taking classes at home, you're only in class for an hour or so and not every day. I also never practice outside of the classroom. Here I live with two people who know zero English, have professors that speak zero English, and interact on a daily basis with a community that speaks entirely Spanish. The hardest part in learning to speak a new language is getting over the fear of speaking. It's easy to feel like you're going to say something incorrectly or embarrassing, but that's all part of the learning process. You make mistakes to learn. Not to mention a lot of these mistakes lead to funny stories. (Like when Hillary told me she needed to "shower me"). I have always wanted to learn Spanish, but I never know the learning process could be so enjoyable.  At home when it's simply endless worksheets, grammar charts, quizzes and exams learning Spanish is just another annoying task on your to do list. But here, it's like a whole new world that has been opened up to you. When you find yourself thinking in Spanish, accidentally writing in Spanish when you're meaning to write in English, having a complete conversation with someone who knows no English, it's an incredible feeling. They say immersion is the only way to truly learn a language and I completely agree. I feel like a 2 year old that can finally convey what they have been trying to say before through "baby talk." And while I still make mistakes, can't think of the word for something, conjugate verbs incorrectly, and continully ask people to repeat themselves, I definitely know I'm learning. And I must say, this is one of the greatest learning experiences I have ever had.