viernes, 22 de octubre de 2010

Learning Spanish along the way

Most people that are learning a language take classes or practice in a formal way. I am not saying I am unique, but I am learning in a slightly different way. Ana(Director of Administration at i.e.) has decided to talk with me only in Spanish from the hours of 8:30a.m. to 12:00p.m. Granted if there is something really important for me to know, she may explain in English, but in general it's only Spanish. This is tough for me because I have not yet begun to think first in Spanish. Currently, I think about what I want to say in English and then translate it into Spanish. Also, I have realized that I have very limited vocabulary. I can talk about most things that concern scheduling classes or other things that happen at the institute, but other than that it is hard for me to communicate sophisticated things. Either way, it will be very good for me to continue speaking only in Spanish in the mornings.


Yesterday, Ana and I went to a tourism fair at Hotel Calacoto. I was very excited about going because I had hoped we would make some business contacts. After arriving, Ana and I realized that the tourism fair was more of an informational fair. Originally, we had thought that it would be many travel agencies promoting their different activities and trips. However, it ended up being more an informational fair that explained the history, benefits, or problems with current major tourist areas. Although it was highly informational, it wasn't exactly what we were expecting. Either way, we turned it into a business opportunity and made some contacts with some future partners. 


Currently, things couldn't be much better at Instituto Exclusivo. The rooms are full in the mornings and we are starting to think about expanding and having another office somewhere around the Sagarnaga area of the city. Just a though right now, but hopefully sometime in the near future it will be a possibility. We need to keep getting more studens who learn online though. Thats it for now.......


Lucas Intagliata(Director of Operations)