Janet Lowe

Teaching painting in Spanish

I have been meeting twice a week with a young woman who needs to pass a fourth level English test so that she can enroll in her final year of university, where she is studying Psychology. We spend an hour each on English for her and Spanish for me. We have been reading children’s books in each others’ language and doing exercises in grammar books for almost two years. Last week, Samantha told me my head was about to explode with all the conjugated verb tenses, prepositions and grammar that has accumulated there. She said what I need is to get it out: to talk. So, Samantha found me an outlet.  She has a friend working nearby my home in a laundry who wants to learn to paint. Adela knows very little English so I will have to speak about what I love with her in Spanish. We begin tomorrow morning and will continue twice a week. I am very excited about this activity; sure I will be frustrated and spend time with my nose in the dictionary, but I hope art will help bring me out of my books.