Oral espanol
I really need to improve my Spanish pronunciation, because it's just not working for me in China. And it's not complex phrases that aren't understood; the most basic attempts at conversation are met with puzzled stares.
I say "Hola" to a group of my students as they pass me on the street, and they just can't make it out. I ask, "Cuanto cuesta?" at the dumpling stand, and the dumpling guy seems confused. I get in a cab with Manabu and announce, "Vamos a la universidad," and the cabbie for some reason doesn't know where to take us.
I speak better Spanish in China than I ever did in America, use it more frequently, discover a vocabulary I previously didn't realize I had. And yet, for whatever reason, it just isn't an effective communication tool, probably owing to my poor oral espanol.
And so I've proposed, and Manabu's agreed to, a 4:30 Spanish conversation every morning, followed by our 5:30 Chinese lesson. Now, I have to find us a good tutor. Shouldn't be a problem finding one in Zhuzhou City, I figure.
