Don’t ask me why because I am not sure I can give you a compelling or cogent answer. But every day I spend ten to twenty minutes on either my phone or iPad on an App called Duolingo. I follow a set set of modulated steps to teach me Español. (Impressed yet?). Today is my one year anniversary.

The mechanics of the site are amazing and just a tad annoying. Amazing that they give built in reminders to keep you on track and annoying that they know too much about my study habits. (They also have this set of sounds that mark your progress from one lesson to another, from one success to the next and when I make a mistake later in the lesson they will repeat the same word or phrase in a different format to reinforce your learning. The sounds tend to grate just a tad.)

I pay for all of this annually and it might be the only app I am financially committed to. One of the stars of the app is Zari. She pops up to encourage and congratulate you with fairly banal attempts at humor and motivation. It’s definitely working. I can be dead tired but will remember at 11:00 pm that I forgot to study and will take my iPhone to bed and do my daily ministration. Zari then has some comment like: “Wow, you’re up late.” The app is pretty comprehensive but there are a couple of things I would like it to do differently. Like I would prefer learning a personalized set of phrases and vocabulary on my terms. Like do I need to know how to say “I shower before breakfast?”

But you don’t get to choose what lessons life is going to teach you nor in what order you will become proficient in living. So, why Spanish. Because I live in South Florida and do I need to say more. Because South America is on my bucket list. Because I love paella but minus the chorizo. Because why not? They say learning a language is great for your brain. And anything that helps. Sometimes I think I should be perfecting my Hebrew. A friend of mine is doing Duo for Arabic. But I remind myself I’m “unplugged” and that means I can choose the “shoulds” I listen to.

Buenos Días Mis Amigos. Gracias por leer.