Sweet Home Alabama

Currently, I am procrastinating working on my Spanish deberes (home work).  As we speak, my Spanish father is singing "Sweet Home Alabama" in the kitchen.  His version is slightly different from the American one...

Swee home A la bam a
Where the sky is so blue
Swee home A la bam a
Nino I come home to you.

Just imagine the Spanish accent and their pronunciation of English words and you'll easily be able to visualize the Spanglish lyrics above. 

I hate to say it, but I think the Dad knows English better than I know Spanish.  This whole speaking in Spanish thing is really hard.  There's so much I want to say to my family, but I have no idea how to say it.

For example, this morning, mi madre was talking about going to the movies in Sevilla with my friends.  I had no idea why she kept asking if I had ever been to the movies in Spain since it was not the normal tourist thing to do.  I realized about an hour later that she was referring to the free movie that plays in the park every Sunday night.  How do I tell her, I was confused about the movie thing before, but now I understand it??  Normally, I would tell the person I had no idea what they were talking about.  But there is no Spanish translation for that.  If I say "yo no se" they just think I don't know what they're saying. 

I was told Spanish is supposed to be incredibly easy to learn.  I beg to differ.  It's easy to memorize, which is what I've been doing my entire life.  But to understand it, is completely different.  And to be fluent, you need to understand it.  

So as my time in Sevilla is slowly coming to an end (I leave for my teaching town on Saturday), I am starting to panic about my lack of Spanish.  How do I translate all of my American questions into Spanish ones regarding my new apartment?  How am I supposed to talk with Spanish people who don't know English?  Will there be any TV's where I can watch Sponge Bob and learn Spanish that way?? (Sponge Bob has been a savior here in my family's house.  My "sister" watches it in Spanish, and I've seen the American version of it, so I can listen to the words and know what's going on.)

On another note, it has allowed me to see the perspective of my future students who I will be teaching English to.  I can appreciate how hard it is to learn and understand another language.