Spanish and Salsa

So I have decided to not only fully pursue learning Spanish but also to learning salsa dancing. Salsa invigorates me and is my escape. Just yesterday, I told my housemate that I like dancing so much that I would have no reservations about going to a salsa club solo. Nevertheless, I realize that I need more practice in salsa technique. I really want to have a strong hobby for myself when I return home (as I expect my schooling will cause me to want to escape every once and a while) so I will take this time to work on technique. Learning salsa has many similarities to learning Spanish and the connection is helping me understand how to best learn both.

First, learning takes the humility to admit that you are not a great as you would like to be. We have two perceptions of our self, our real self and our ideal self. The real self is the level of expertise (or lack of) that we are at. The ideal self is the level we would like to attain. Many times, I , and I am sure many others, see and act as if I am at the level of my ideal self. While it is good to focus and imitate the goal you are trying to achieve, being too focused on the ideal self has caused me to see myself more highly than I ought, thus causing me to miss out on valuable opportunities to learn lessons and receive instructions.

Second, learning takes time. Yes, I would love to do a quadruple spin or talk somebodies head off in Spanish like those I see around me, but I must remember that the people around me have had more TIME to get to that place. I can not and should not expect to reach their level of expertise without some practice time. I think this time aspect is hard for me because I have forgotten what it feels like to start learning something from the ground up. When I was a baby I had to learn to walk and talk and now I almost take for granted that I can do so, forgetting the years it took me to get to that point.

Lastly, in connection with time, learning something takes persistence. As I have mentioned before, too often the only obstacle to my success has not been that I haven't pushed hard long enough. With Spanish, I must practice and keep doing so even if it feels like no progress is being made. The same with salsa. I can't just take one class a week and expect to be great. I must practice everyday even if it seems mundane. Why? Because just like with any mountain (task/goal) that we may have there is always the uphill battle before you get to the summit. If you have ever walked up a steep hill you will remember that it seems to get harder to climb and your legs start hurting more the higher you get. Nevertheless, it is that height that gets you over the hump of the mountain to the very top. There you can see things more clearly and breath more easily. After that the rest of the journey on the mountain is easier because it is all down hill.

I remember when I used to play basketball (yes, I used to play ball) the first 10 minutes of practice were grueling!! But it was after that 10 minute point that my breathing had steadied and I wasn't dreading the hustle, I actually was enjoying myself. I believe that same will be for my journey through Spanish and salsa.