Nervous Smiles

We weren't up to anything - just nervously waiting for our turn to take an Oral Spanish Exam! This is my (Ingrid's) Spanish for Foreigners class at a university in Mexico City. There are seven levels in this Spanish program and our class is in the third level. In the photo, we are are missing two young women (one is from China and the other is from the Ukraine) who were coming and going from their exams. Other students are from Germany, Quebec (French-speaking province of Canada), and France.

For our test, we chose a card with a scenario written on it. Mine, for example, was about having an important job interview. "After fidgetting with your pen, it broke and spilled ink on all the documents of your presentation. What would you say or do next?" In Spanish, there is a special way to say "I would..." The exam wasn't too hard except that, being nervous, I did forget some of the exceptions to the rule that I had memorized but didn't apply correctly. My teacher was encouraging today, telling me that though the other girls chit-chat more, she knows that I know a lot of Spanish. After each essay style homework assignment, she hands back my corrections with a big smile and tells me that I should be a writer. It's an appealing idea after struggling to speak in Spanish at the level of even a preschool child.