Spanish lessons are pretty good. We have our first test on Wednesday, and I'm nervous. It seems silly to be able to speak in the past tense if you don't know how to say "She's at the supermarket now." Still, this is something I'm doing entirely for myself, without the pressure of needing an A at the end of term. I'm learning, and that alone feels great. Yesterday I stood up in front of my class and blithely declared: "On Saturday I went to a barbecue at the beach with my girlfriend." A giant leap for mankind...

The other kids in class are overall nice but of a totally different calibre than I've been around for years now. It's nice to meet people who want to coach PE in elementary school, or who are doing something that isn't geared towards reaching that upper echelon of New York society. I feel like the odd man out, which is amazing, because for once I just shut up and listen to everyone else's thoughts. A new guy came to class yesterday - Jonathon. He wore a shirt with cutoff sleeves. He's of Cuban descent. His accent is spot-on. Instead of saying "yo fui" he says something like "zjho fui" and despite my irritation with him at being a constant wiseass, he did know who Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario is, and even knows that she's not a singles player anymore but that she competes on the doubles circuit. I struggled not to be swayed by his tennis trivia, but it was hard to remain aloof. I don't know what this says of me. Probably that I'm a fool, and not in that 'charming quirkiness' kind of way.

This entry is dull and I'm losing steam on it. Plus it's hot and I have to practice using the preterite. I love Spanish!