I still remember some Spanish

[redbird]

Specifically, I still remember enough Spanish to read a news article on sfgate.com.

The main site is in English, but they have links to a couple of dozen stories under "more coronavirus news," and there are usually a few in Spanish. Mostly those are also provided in English, and a lot of them are sports-related, but today there's ,"Israelíes protestan por repuesta a crisis causada por virus" "Israelis protesting response to crisis caused by virus", and I was curious enough to follow the link. (The protests were about the economic effects of COVID-19, and how they're hurting independent workers and small businesses.)

I could have googled and found something in English, but decided to try out my high school Spanish, and am pleased that it's still good enough for this. Reading things in Spanish may even help me retain/refresh my knowledge of the language.

Comments

[sonia]

Thanks for the link! I can also read Spanish, from growing up speaking it and then taking a class in high school, but it's definitely work. I can feel that part of my brain creaking, and I have to almost read it aloud to make sense of it. I have relatives in Tel Aviv, so I'm interested in the content, too.

[athenais]

I'm impressed. Swedish displaced most of my French which I was once fluent in. I think I am not a person who can remember anything if I don't use it regularly. I certainly haven't got a brain that facts stick to, like so many of my friends.

[sonia]

Yay for learning Swedish!

[redbird]

Makes sense. Part of why I retained as much Spanish as I did is that I was living in New York City, and specifically in a part of Manhattan with a large Dominican population--so some of the billboards, subway PSAs, and overheard conversations were in Spanish, and the newsstands carried El Diario.

The Duolingo French feels somewhat aspirational right now--my user profile there says that I'm studying it because I go to Montreal moderately often, but I have no idea when that will be possible again.

[randomness]

Fun! Glad you were able to get a chance to practice your Spanish reading comprehension.