Learning Another Language is Hard .... Bribing is Easy

We arrived in Spain with differing levels understanding the Spanish language ....the boys basically have "My name is...." and the colors and can count to 100. And that's about it. I have a bunch of vocabulary and the inability to speak in a normal way with people because my brain just cannot process conjugations in the moment. Pat is probably high intermediate. Which is a goddamn godsend when you are at the airport and trying to figure out how to check your bags. And also when you have to call the supermercado who was supposed to deliver groceries and didn't and they charged your credit card.   Have I mentioned that Granadinos drop the last one or two syllables of almost every word? I'm like "Say what?" to everything everyone says to me. So there you have it. Three out of four Hennesseys batting a low average when it comes to basic communication. 

Last week we walked to Castila, the language school directly next door to the boys' school they will attend this year. We wanted to check the scene and see if they offered tutoring or classes. And that's what we told the kids. "Tranquilo, guys, we are just meeting with them to see what they offer" And then all of a sudden they were whisked to the back area and given a level test. Yikes. I snuck a peek at Leo and poor babe looked like a deer in headlights. And then the language school admin were like, we have a class starting next week for kids from 9-1.  And so we signed them up on the spot. And then this happened: 

They were so mad and upset with us. They were running away from us and through all these beautiful nook and cranny streets I had never seen before and Pat and I were like, oh my god, look at this new amazing street they found and Will was crying and hiding and Leo was going savage on me and I was just taking pics. And then we started talking about what they could earn if they would just go and be brave and try the language camp. And that's how we eventually found an epic Lego store in downtown Granada and Leo's eyes went from crazed rage to crazed devotion:

Just look at his lego-crazed eyes!!!! He has two little lego pieces rotating in place of his pupils at his moment. And don't worry, faithful readers and Hennessey-child lovers. They went to the school, ate paella and gazpacho and made friends with expat Bostonian, Canadian and Australian children. They were alllll good. The real test will be this upcoming week when they start at Gomez Moreno, the local public Spanish school full of Granadinos. Insert the gritted teeth nervous face emoji here. 

Then it was time for Pat and I to look into language school for us. We popped into a recommended school very close to the place we were staying and--you guessed it--within minutes the two of us were taking a level test. 

An 80 question test to assess our levels and I was SWEATING it. We had 40 minutes to take it and it was harder than anything I ever took in high school and college. And then I look over at rico suave and HE was sweating it. So I didn't feel too bad, checked A's for the last 20 questions and was placed in a beginner 2 class with my new best friend, Geoff, a retired firefighter from Oakland. I just finished my first week and my brain feels fried by the end of every day after 4 hours of Spanish in the morning. I also don't feel like I'm progressing, but the teachers say that that is normal (I mean,  I think they are saying that ....like I said, I'm a beginner 2 and don't have a good grasp on the language :))