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Don't Hurry - Enjoy 2019

As I sat in my usual morning spot, on January 1, 2019 I had to force myself not to hurry. Hurrying has been part of my DNA for as long as I can remember! Don’t be late. Try the new thing first. Don’t get left out.

Yet, my morning routine of reading a passage by Marv and Nancy Hiles in The Almanac for the Soul, started the year with the call to “Take thought in the silence of your heart’. Most of us spend little time in silence, and even less times away from a screen, including me. Longing to get outside and take a walk I fell into hurrying, again. Stopping and starting my brain - drifting into the work week. Thinking about my resolutions.

Last year I resolved to read two books, preferably non-fiction, each month. The internet and work have taken me away from reading for pleasure and I wanted to feel the excitement of visiting places and times I have not been. Using the NYTimes Book List, PBS and asking friends and family helped me to find titles that were well worth the read and challenged some of my ways of thinking. 

Exploring the unknown was the highlight of these reads. I found myself on journeys through Korea, China, Latin America and the deep South of the US. The challenge was well worth the effort - so I hope to keep this habit and add another!

Since I work with World Languages - I thought maybe it was time to get serious about really learning and using a language! So today, I will start my journey to really speak and communicate using Spanish. I hope to explore some podcasts, use Duolingo and some other free apps and encourage my Spanish teachers to hold me accountable. The whole use of authentic materials and comprehensible input has gotten me past the idea of memorizing verb, etc. Maybe I will show up a little more often to those courses!

Hurrying won’t help this along, I don’t think. Just slow and steady progress. Listening to my heart. Watching a movie or YouTube video, trying to talk to native speakers on Skype. Learning about someone else's culture. I look forward to learning, and like last year, I will begin a bit intimidated. Now, as I look back on all the new things I learned, I am sure once I get past my initial fear of failing, I might just be planning a trip to Spanish speaking country!

Stay tuned for this adventure in learning to be conversant in Spanish… and maybe a few good book suggestions (I really enjoyed Pachinko by Min Jin Li). Happy New Year!! I hope you have as much fun exploring something new this year, too!

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