Lolita and Loli*

One of the high points of my week is the Tuesday Spanish conversation class with Lolita. It can only be called a class because she gently corrects us if we stray from proper grammar, and fills in the gaps when we can't come up with the proper word. (Whenever a new word pops into our chat, I quickly scribble it down in my notebook and show it to her to check the spelling.) It also differs from the usual conversation in that at 4:30 the guests dip into their handbags and come up with fifty pesos, which we place discreetly on the coffee table. Somehow it seems gauche to discuss the financial part of the arrangement. But after a couple of years of meeting like this, it feels like a get-together with old friends, very comfortable and sometimes hilarious. In summer, it's only Brenda, myself and Lolita, but in winter three snowbirds from Washington and Canada join us.


What do we talk about for a whole hour? Yesterday Lolita and Brenda talked about how they got together with their mates. I missed some of Lolita's story, since she talks faster when she gets animated, and sometimes I have to confess, "You lost me." But what I took from it was that she met him when she was 12 and he kept her supplied with comic books and chewing gum. (Brenda, you may have more details.) Later on, when they began to show an interest in each other, one of her older sisters was assigned to chaperone.


Brenda's story was that she suggested a seafood restaurant for their first date, after he assured her he liked fish. It wasn't until years later he finally owned up to the fact he didn't like fish at all!


Then I shared una historia muy triste, about the armed takeover of Tenacatita, formerly an ejido on one of the most beautiful beaches on the southern coast,  now in the possession of a corporation planning to build a golf course resort. Brenda pointed out that such land grabs are not unheard-of in the US and Canada, too. When a rich man (or city) wants a choice piece of property, nothing can stop him.

I just stumbled on a blog by a gringa writer learning Spanish in Argentina. Her all-female group's approach was to read and write love poetry and letters under the tutelage of a sexy male tutor, hence the name Sexy Spanish Club.  Sometimes we just need a little extra motivation...

Today I'm going to enroll in an intensive new Spanish class along with a few friends, all of us hoping to polish our Spanish conversation skills. Loli, the teacher is widely known to be one of the best in this area, and she has developed some new techniques we're all curious to learn about. Will she use flashcards? Videos? Will she put us to sleep and play tapes to train our subconscious? 

Tune in tomorrow... 
*Lolita and Loli are both apodos or nicknames for the name Dolores.