Translation... slowing down to smell the "rosas"

Translations can be tedious. Translations can be challenging. But translations can also be beneficial and, in time, can yield joy.

I love to translate texts that really move me, because when I slow down to think about each word, savor it, and select a word in another language as it's "equivalent", I have taken the time to enjoy the text and meditate on it.

I encourage my students to write essays between classes, as optional homework, and to try translating something from Spanish into English from time to time. Pick a text you love, or ask for a text that your teacher thinks you will learn to love...and then get to work!

Benefits include:
*A tired brain, to help you sleep well.
*New vocabulary words you didn't even know you didn't know.
*An opportunity to meditate on a text that you want to understand better.
*The finished product: a text you love, translated, that you can share with others.
*An alternative to watching TV.
*A job... if you get good at translation, you can charge people for your services.

Find something that you want to turn into English, or into Spanish, and get to work!

Fall Classes

Coming this fall and continuing classes are listed here:

Spanish for Travel: a class for adult beginners, hosted by the Munster Parks Department, and held in Munster, Indiana.

Spanish for All Ages: continuing in Highland, Indiana.

Mommy and Me Spanish: continuing in Porter County, for toddlers, preschoolers, and a caregiver or parent.

Spanish for Ministry: Location and times TBA

... as well as private tutorials and small group classes in people's homes.

Querido Amigo: Writing Letters in Spanish

Querido Amigo,

This week, in two Spanish classes, we are writing letters.

One group, that meets at our church, is writing letters to children who attend school in Guatemala, with A Servant's Heart--a Lutheran ministry to families who live on a garbage dump. Four children have been receiving support from Redeemer's Sunday School, and now our group of Spanish students are writing personal letters to them: in Spanish! We really hope they will write us back.

The Mommy and Me kids are learning about el correo also: and I'm writing letters and mailing them to their houses. It's exciting to get a real letter in the mail, especially when it is addressed right to you, and has handwriting on the front of the envelope. We will be talking in class about sobres, and sellos, and about cartas. Last week we drove small cars around on a mat on the floor, and delivered mail to various houses around town. This week, we're checking our real mailboxes at home, just in case we hear from our amigos.

Un abrazo,
Sarah