Stepping up my game

T-Minus five.

I have five weeks until my EOT (End Of Training) examination in Spanish. If I don't achieve the necessary score, I'll be extended for six additional weeks. The thing to keep in mind is that over half of the students in the Spanish section at FSI do not achieve the appropriate level in the allotted time, so I'll be in good company if I have to stay a bit longer.

Full disclosure: My last Spanish exam did not go as well as I had hoped. Honestly though, it's amazing to me that I can speak Spanish as well as I can after 19 weeks. Considering I entered language training with no more than enough Spanish to count to 10, that I can now actually hold a conversation after such a (relatively) short amount of time is nothing short of miraculous.

Still. I really, really want to pass my EOT on time, so I'm ratcheting up my efforts. I'm watching news in Spanish, reading opinion articles from Spanish newspapers, connecting with online conversation partners, drilling grammar on conjuguemos.com and listening to Spanish podcasts. Yesterday I watched Saturday morning cartoons in Spanish (love you, Handy Manny!) while walking on the treadmill. All of this is in addition to my five plus hours in class five days a week.

Our cats, Calvin and Seamus, generally lie under my chair when I'm at the computer studying, so I'm never lonely. I am, however, beginning to hallucinate just a little - this morning I could swear that their purring was mocking my inability to roll my R. At least their Spanish accents seem to be impressive.

Portrait of Seamus, the Wonder Cat

Winter in Washington

We've been in a bit of a deep freeze here in Washington for the last couple of weeks, but today R and I ventured out into the cold and ice to take in a little history and a little beauty.

We traveled downtown via the metro and walked a couple of blocks to the Washington Monument. I had ordered tickets online last week so that we could take the tour and go up inside the monument and learn its history. Fascinating!

The Lincoln Memorial through the icy window at the top of the Washington Monument.

The White House, from the Washington Monument.

I do believe George had the right idea.

The monument was originally supposed to be a statue of Washington on a horse. How it morphed into an obelisk I'll never know. At 555 feet and 5 inches, the monument is the world's tallest stone structure, and the highest structure in all of Washington.

It was pretty cool to go up to the top and see the view, even if the weather was less than cooperative.

We had a little time to kill before lunch, so we walked to the National Gallery of Art and took a quick look around. I love art museums and feel fortunate that I can just pop into this one at any time - even if I only have 30 minutes. There's no charge, so coming and going at will is not a problem.

I love marble sculptures.

I was struck by the shadows.

My mom would have loved this.

After the museum we walked about two miles and had lunch at Founding Farmers, where R enjoyed the "best fish and chips on the planet."

And then we took the metro home again.