{"id":423,"date":"2022-11-09T15:12:56","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T15:12:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/basicspanishdraft2\/?page_id=423"},"modified":"2022-12-08T00:12:53","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T00:12:53","slug":"101-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/rolandodspanish101f\/101-2\/","title":{"rendered":"SPAN 101"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Exploring Culture<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Spanish practice that changed my perspective was the Siesta. It’s odd that a midday nap would have a significant change in me. But after learning more about it and trying it myself I started to notice many of its benefits and why it is still being practiced to this day. At first, I thought it was a big waste of time resting at midday when it could be used for working on school work or any task during the day. However, it seems that the values instilled in my work were hindering me mentally and physically due to working and straining my mind for hours with no break. So after learning about the Siesta, I decided to do it on my own in between classes and it left me energized for the rest of the day. The last class crash never hit me anymore after I started taking Siestas and since then it has been a daily routine. It is amazing how I originally thought this practice of Spanish culture was lazy. When in fact it made my life more productive and lively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engaging in Communities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being in a community doesn’t just help you mentally with engaging with other people, but it helps people understand who they are as a person. People gain bonds, friendships, and family through the community they are in. But engaging in an international community is an amazing experience seeing life from a different perspective, from a different culture. I, unfortunately, have not engaged that much with the Spanish community, but I will make a great effort next semester to get engaged. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interpersonal Communication<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to one another as classmates was a common thing in class for assignments and was a part of our participation. Most of the time it was corresponding to what was taking place in class or preparation for an oral exam coming up.

In my personal experience, the main thing I have to work on is my confidence in speaking to another person. It is always easier to write out what you want to say, but being able to speak what you know is another story. I overthink too much about messing up or trying to plan out what I am about to say instead of just saying it. I think the only way to fix this issue is to gain more experience talking to someone else who knows Spanish as well. I need to get comfortable in that Spanish setting and not have that English safety net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Presentational Speaking<\/strong>
In class, we had one major presentation, and it was to make a video describing what I liked and didn’t like about the university. Overall, it was a very fun and revealing project oh how far I’ve gotten with my speaking skills and what I need to fix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, it was the reveling parts where I noticed the tendencies when I speak. Such as accidentally mispronouncing words when I thought I said them right, my facial expressions, and saying “Yo me gusta” indeed of “Me gusta”. The video highlighted what I needed to fix and the final product showed how I overcame those obstacles. Other than that, making the video was very fun and hopefully, there are more projects like it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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