Speed bump ahead

Learning Spanish is like anything else. If you don't use it, you lose it. Just watch any Jeopardy episode or Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader, and you'll pound your fists with frustration: I knew this! Where did all that information go? Let alone peek at your high schooler's or college kid's textbooks if you dare. That calculus is frightening! Biochemistry - I used to know something about that because I passed the course - it's on my transcript. The mind is like a metal sieve with big holes, only the really important stuff stays in. The rest is runoff.

I returned to Rosetta, a bit sheepish because I had neglected her, again, for a week or so. First thing she does is throw a pop quiz at me. A review from previous weeks. Like I still remember that! I turns out I did okay, but, the nerve! Then we go over some finer points in pronunciation: ve - "bay," vo - "bo," que - "kay." Why can't we keep a "v" a "v" and a "b" a "b"? Oh well, who can I complain to - move on Jane...

Today's lesson was about more clothing. un sueter (sweater), una corbata (tie), calcetines (socks), traje (suit), and jeans (you guessed it, jeans). Then we add some new colors. No big deal, right? Wrong. You try saying marron (brown) or naranja (orange). I got dinged so many times that I was getting mad. I need oral surgery to pronounce those words. Next, hair colors. We started with the phrase, "Somos canosos," with a picture of two old guys laughing. I had just learned that the color gray is gris, so I surmised that canosos meant old or laughing. But, a quick consultation with my dictionary said it meant gray-haired. Rosetta likes playing with you. I don't blame her - I'd be having fun with the foreigners if were her too. Pelirrojas (red heads) and rubias (blondes) were featured in the next pictures, fondling su bonita pelo.

Here's where I hit the wall. Too much information. You've got to be fresh while doing this and allow enough time. Otherwise, it's going to end up like biochemistry facts - down the drain.
Hasta manana, Rosetta!