Rediscovered Catan

So the past two weekends Matt and I have spent playing the German board game Catan. I'd only ever played it on xbox live, and it was less than thrilling. The physical card game is so much better! We've had some heated moments playing this game! When I got home tonight I decided to find Catan and redownload it so I could try it again with a fresh appreciation for it. ...

Well, the game format still kinda sucks, but at least I understand some of the strategy better. It's not quite the same, and it's a bit more cutthroat, but I like it. I do think I've found a game where my achievement whore mindset reaches a breaking point.... 1000 victories for 20 achievement points? I won 1 game out of 4 tonight, so I'm thinking that getting to TEN is going to be enough of a challeng.

Next weekend will be spent at art galleries in town-- free entrance to so many wondeful collections (plus, one of them is a donor to the orchestra I conduct outside of school, so I want to be there to meet someone who is helping us). Looking forward to a good weekend with (hopefully) good weather.

I'm taking a Spanish for teachers class--- there's a lady in there who is TRYING but failing miserably at pronouncing things. I mean, it's not like it's Tagalog or Welsh where hardly anyone around her speaks it...It's Spanish for cripes sake, and this is Texas (also known as North Mexico). Has she never really listened before? I'll give an example: the word is trabajo (pronouced trah-BAH-ho). She says "tra-BRACK-co".... Where's the "C" or "R"?? THe teacher repeats it for her and tries to get her to break down the work into syllables but she just can't do it. It's like she can't listen and repeat something. I find that very odd, and very frustrating to listen to her struggle. How about "escandalizados"?... Yeah it came out "es-can-duh-lee-see-dos-a-dos". I mean it's not really even close. I don't know if I pity her or am angered that we have to slow down for her. (Did I mention I'm judgmental sometimes?)

Anyway, last week we learned some grammar that helped me fill in some missing info from when I last studied Spanish (which is one of the reasons I'm taking this course-- the other is professional development credit hours). I am learning some new vocabulary that is specifically teacher/student oriented and is helping me formulate better conversation points with parents who have limited English skills. My Spanish is already pretty good, but this is going to help (provided I can keep my eyes from rolling visibly  and keep my tongue in check when I want to snap at slow learners).

Now for some homemade curry and a fresh caprese with herbs from my garden (which is really enjoying this weather change!)

Happy work week.