The reason I say this boot camp was accidental was because I initially planned for the experience to last only for the month of September to coincide with a looming deadline for a big writing project (read about the book I'm co-authoring on the legendary All Jokes Aside comedy club by clicking this link: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/09/all-jokes-journal-avoiding-predictable.html). I figured, I'm challenging myself to buckle down and meet this writing deadline, so why not challenge myself in my self-improvement effort to learn a new language as well?
Halfway through September, I realized it was the start of Hispanic Heritage Month and decided to extend my boot camp through Oct. 15.
What did I do during my Spanish-immersion boot camp? More of what I'd already been doing: watching movies and TV shows in Spanish (read my review of The Blue Diner by clicking this link: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-blue-diner-offers-refreshing.html), listening to Latin music, including songs with Spanish lyrics such as Gloria Estefan's "Mi Tierra" and/or songs by Latin artists with lyrics in English, such as Sheila E.'s slammin' new dance track "Fiesta" (read my review of her new album Icon at this link: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/08/icon-sheila-e-releases-new-album-memoir.html and my review of her new memoir, To The Beat of My Own Drum, at this link: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/10/some-beats-about-sheila-es-memoir.html ).
I also listen to songs in "Spanglish," combining Spanish and English lyrics, such as Dark Latin Groove's "Gotcha," which has the catchy chorus "gotcha, gotcha mi muchacha." (Read my blog post about whether Spanglish will eventually render both formal Spanish and standard English obsolete: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/10/will-spanglish-make-spanish-and-english.html).
During the boot camp, I tried to limit myself to only watching movies and TV in Spanish or on networks geared toward Latin American audiences that broadcast in English such as Fusion and Fox News Latino. Why didn't this work? Because I don't have cable and can only access these networks on their websites, which feature miscelleanous video clips but not the full slate of programming.
Since I didn't
totally want to cut msyelf off from the English-speaking world, I allowed
myself to watch news programs such as ABC's ThisWeek with George Stephanopoulos
as well as some of my favorite "all-American" shows (read my experience of re-discovering the
'70s sitcom "What's Happening!!" at this link: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/10/finding-out-whats-happening-is-retro.html).
Did I become fluent in Spanish by the end of my boot camp? Of course not - that's going to take a lot more time (read my previous blog post about how I'm trying to overcome a sense of frustration over not picking up the language as quickly as I'd like: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/10/learning-spanish-aprendiendo-espanol.html).
But the experience did help me to re-focus on my goal of becoming bilingual. And I made cultural discoveries that I wouldn't have otherwise, such as the serene, relaxing classical music of Spanish composer Federico Mompou and the thought-provoking drama Green Card Warriors with Manny Perez and Vivica A. Fox (read my review by clicking this link: http://chrisbournea.blogspot.com/2014/09/green-card-movie-raises-more-complex.html).
Would I do the Spanish-immersion boot camp experience again? Yes - or should I say, "Si"? As I continue to study Spanish, I'll pick a day or two or maybe even a full week here and there to step it up and "go all out" again.
The boot camp experience showed me that you don't have travel to a foreign county to immerse yourself in another culture.
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