not only did i complete an interview in spanish - they actually hired me!!!!

As evident from the title of this post, I got a job! I will be working in a new hostal as a receptionist and a bartender. I start tomorrow, which is pretty exciting. After three months of doing whatever it is I feel like doing and two weeks of legendary laziness, tomorrow I actually have something to do, somewhere to be.

This optimistic title and first paragraph were written before I worked. Now, the morning after -

It was difficult. And very, very stressful. The actual job is pretty great. Check people in, answer questions, grab beers. When you don't have anything to do, you are supposed to go socialize. All fantastic. And after staying in hostals for two months, I know what information is important to people. I know what they need to hear, what they want to know. It's basic. It's customer service. It's what I excel in and what I really like to do. In a few hours, I pretty much mastered the computer system, which is strikingly similar to OpenTable (a restaurant reservation system that I have essentially had a love affair with for the last five years). However, even with all this know-how, there's this small thing called a language barrier that is hindering me from being as helpful, polite and funny as my personality in English allows me to be. The frustrating thing is that I would be really good at this job if I could switch my tongue as easily as my sexy co-worker Martín, who I saw speak German, English, Portuguese and of course, Spanish.

Yes, this opportunity should be excellent to develop my language skills, but I still don't feel like I'm at the point where I can easily pick up new vocab and get better every day just through practice. When I got there, Martín and I had the obligatory initial language scramble, in which the people involved in the conversation, through a mix of body language, translations and explanations search each other to find out if - my second language, Spanish, is better than the other person's second, third, fourth, fifth language, English. This is a game that I have played countless times since being in South America and one which I, more often than not, lose. So, I was trained in English. Guests would come in, speak in Spanish, I would do what I could, then turn to him and he would explain it to me in English, which seems absolutely preposterous to me. So, now after one day, I am wondering why it is exactly that I got hired so obviously unqualified for the job and when they're going to figure it out and give me the old boot.

And, just to rub a little salt in the wound, I haven't yet found out how much my hourly wage is. It's a phone conversation (which is sooo much harder, by the way) with a man who doesn't speak English that I'm putting off right now by writing this blog post.

I'm going to go ahead and agree with Abby on this one, "I really hate doing stuff that I'm not just.. good at." Right away. And now it's been three months. And sure there's improvement, but not enough. I don't understand when this celebrated "click" that I've heard so much about is going to occur. When I will stop translating Spanish to English and back to Spanish in my head, when words will just fall out of my mouth. When I will get over my fear and embarrassment. Learning a foreign language is by far, the hardest. thing. I. have. ever. done. in. my. entire. life. By comparison, after five years at Drexel, there was this big to-do that I'd done it, I graduated college! But honestly, I was challenged far less in that time that I have in the three months that I've been living down here. If and when this ever happens, it will by far be my greatest accomplishment.

One of the things Tori kept saying to me while she was here was that I need to stop being so hard on myself and I know she has reason, but it's so hard not to call myself stupid when for the 50th time, I make the same mistake, I falter, I forget a word that I know that I know, someone doesn't understand me or I don't understand them. Josh, another friend, who've I've mentioning a lot recently had also some other very kind and encouraging words for me.

"Moving to Uruguay, barely speaking Spanish, and getting by the way you have is truly impressive. I know you're frustrated by this job, but you got the job...that counts for something." and "I know its taking a long time to learn Spanish, but its going to." He reminded me that that's why I'm doing this. To be challenged. And for that, I guess it's going to feel extra amazing when my laborious efforts pay off.

For now though, one step at time. Phone call now, work tonight.