Portuguese Language Training continues

This is my eighth week of Portuguese Language Training.  Monday morning (segunda-feira) I was feeling pretty good.  We had a new teacher and we all had to introduce ourselves and tell a little bit about ourselves.  I felt very good about what I said.  I was able to explain who I was and who is in my family and where we live now and where we used to live and even what I had done before this and why I had changed and joined the Foreign Service.  All in portuguesa! 

Then we had our Monday Morning Chat.  The Portuguese Department gets together every Monday morning so that we can all have casual, informal chatting to warm us up for the week.  It's a great idea and really helps us warm up the Portuguese part of our brain for the week.

But then, after lunch, my brain crashed.  I couldn't think of anything I wanted to say and none of my words were coming to me.  I know that these things happen all the time and it's part of the process - but it can be pretty demoralizing.  It's so hard to feel like an idiot and feel like you're failing. 

For some people, feeling like they're slipping can feel like a challenge and helps them step up the pace.  For me, it makes me feel awful and like I want to give up.  I have to keep reminding myself that this is all part of the process and that I just need to keep plugging away at all my tasks and that eventually I will get there.

Luckily, last week I had met with my language learning consultant and together we had devised a study / homework plan for each day.  Not only does it have many tasks to work on that cover all the areas (reading, listening, grammar, writing, vocabulary), but it's divided into smaller parts (30-40 minutes each) with choices.  I took the plan and set it up in a spreadsheet with big boxes for me to check off (or paste a gold star) as I complete them.  I know - call me a nerd, but the boxes to check off or paste a gold star really work for me.

So I've just been plugging away and then, as I was taking a break from my vocabulary games, I decided to read some of the blogs I follow in Google Reader.  There's one that's written by a member of the FS community who lives in Recife.  Occasionally she writes her posts in Portuguese and today was one of those posts.  For the first time, I was able to read her post!!!  I feel so much better.