My 12 days of Spanish immersion has come to its completion. Bridgett and I both began at zero fluency and I have had successful conversations with shopkeepers and people at bus stops.

I enjoyed the school. It was the place to set up bus trips to the beach and recommended museums and interesting places to go around the city. I spent my study time playing grade school board games and practicing with flash cards. We spent a lot of time just chatting in Spanish and this was legitimate exercise in speaking the language.

Our last day was a field trip to San Jose. We visited el Museo Nacional, which was a military fort that was converted after the abolition of a central army in 1948. It now contains a butterfly garden, an exhibit on Pleistocene mega fauna, and artifacts of pre-colombian societies. I tried to get a butterfly on my iconic hat but they were too busy eating.

After we visited the central market. It was like walking through a scene of blade-runner. It is a huge building with different shops and meat markets. I even found a cart of medicinal herbs that had a root or leave to be steeped for ANY ailment. It was really interesting but I could get lost easily in a place like that. The alleys and corridors had no structure and with people moving back and forth a person could get caught in a wave of shoppers and lose them self.

We tried to visit the volcano Irazu but no bus ever arrived. So instead I played fusball and air-hockey with Christian for an hour. That was a great way to take an afternoon off. And for those who also use Facebook, I have restarted my skating activities. What was more nice was the kids that were helping me learn how for the first half hour. I got to use some Spanish and by the end of my time there this Tico was very impressed with my skating.

I am excited to know Central American Spanish. The knowledge of language will assist me as long as I live in the Americas. There will be plenty of opportunity to use it in Colorado and may even be points on resumes were I will be working with Spanish-speaking residents. Of course, learning is a process that lasts forever and I have the vocabulary of a pre-school speaker but I have a language book and an interest in continuing education.

March is flying by.