Turning Frustration into Motivation

Nearly one month into life in Costa Rica, I feel pretty well acclimated to my surroundings and feel pretty comfortable in my new home. To state it another way: I am getting by just fine.

Getting around

I can make my way around the city without many issues:

• I can walk to a number of stores, malls and the downtown area.
• If I don't feel like walking to certain locations, I feel comfortable riding the bus (though I've only taken a few and do not have the whole system down yet).
• When I don't feel like walking or working through the bus system, I enter taxis with complete confidence that I will get to where I am going.

Communicating

Whether in a taxi or at a store, I have learned some of the more important Spanish words and phrases I need to know to get by. I am not afraid to make mistakes or work my way through things so eventually things work out okay.

Put to the test

I was put to the test yesterday. I sprained my ankle a few weeks ago after falling pretty hard while running. It's been taking longer to heal than I had anticipated, so I finally went to the doctor to make sure there is no structural damage.

After some friends guided me to a doctor's office, I was on my own. Thankfully the doctor spoke enough English to get through the appointment without much hassle. She ended by telling me in Spanish that the next appointment will be completely in Spanish (with a smile).

After that, I got into a taxi and communicated well enough to get me across town to the place where I needed to get my X-ray. I managed to follow the Spanish directions well enough to have the X-rays taken and then had the consultation in English. (My ankle is okay, by the way).

Finally, I got into a taxi and made my way back home.

I did all of this without any real complication. Some may consider that a success. To a degree it is. But it also left me frustrated.

The frustration

As I said in the beginning, I can get by here without any real issues. But I don't want to "get by." Back home in the States I don't merely "get by." I'm educated and communicate without any complication whatsoever. Here, I do my best to simply "get by."

I would be lying if I said this didn't frustrate me. It frustrates me a lot. We all have things that frustrate us in life. The key is not in the frustration, however. The key is what we do with that frustration.

Poco a Poco

I have determined to allow this frustration to be a motivation for me to push myself hard to learn the language. I will not take my learning lightly. I will continue to force myself into situations that require me to progress in my Spanish. I'm taking my doctor's challenge seriously. Next time I go there I will have my consultation using mostly Spanish.

We have a saying at the language school: poco a poco (little by little). I will not wake up tomorrow fluent in Spanish. But little by little I will learn. And I will take my learning seriously. I will be fluent sooner than later. I will do more than simply "get by."