Late.
      It is late as I write this, which is odd, because normally 2:04 am is quite in my ‘mid-day’. C’est la vie (why not add some French into my Spanish post?).
      Anyway – I am now eighty or so days into my Spanish Language exploration and dang it – I have found that there is a very specific problem with Duolingo’s system. Grammar. At some point, rote memorization of words and such really requires some actual explanation. Like, a lot. Why do I use ‘a’ sometimes and what exactly is a personal ‘a’?
      Which is why, starting this week or next, I’m going to do some reading online but I’m also going to break down and get a basic grammar book. Because I want to know the whys and wherefores of all my hard won español vocabulary.
      So far I’ve learned a bunch of household objects, clothing, sizes, animals, foods, family… but where I am getting tripped up is when adding in adjectives and adverbs and time modifiers. UGH.
      So I need some cerebral assistance at last. Explain it to me, grammatically, in English, so that I can apply that to the Spanish. I hope it works that way.
      Anyway, at eighty or so days, I can say (and know what I mean) things like:

La bicicleta está entre los coches.

      The bike is between the cars, fyi.
      Or things like:

Nosotros tenemos bolígrafos.

      We have pens.
      I mean, those are basic things from an older lesson. But really, sometimes when watching TV and when a Spanish character is talking, I hear and understand actual phrases and can often get the gist. Which is like, miraculous. So even though I may end up having to move beyond Duolingo to get “speaking” fluent (definitely, that is) I am going to keep going – practice the vocabulary with Duolingo every day.
      I’m seriously considering making up some flash cards (old school) and signing up for one of those “WeSpeke” websites that lets you Skype with native speakers so better learn their language. Whee! Old people, especially, would be nice for me. I like old folks.
      Okay – off to practice my Adverbs. It took me like, two weeks to get through the initial 9 lessons (I do one daily and some days I was fed up and did other reviews instead – don’t judge me, LOL) and it is already showing as ‘weak’.
      Bummer.
      But you gotta work at it, right? Right!
      Sayonara!

      …er, I mean… ­­¡Adios!

Note: Image is “Spain Map 2″ by (dariuszman) from SXC.hu.