•  What will be your topic of conversation be? 

La tomitina y San fermines.

•  What are 5 questions related to your conversation goal that you can think of ahead of time to ask your partner?

 - Do you know what La tomitina is?

 - Do you know what San fermines is?

 - Have you ever been to either of them?

 - What kind of people go?

 - What is the atmosphere of the event?

•  What are you looking forward to about this conversation? 

I'm looking forward to learning about these events from a local. It will be interesting because from what I know these are mostly tourists events. 

•  What are you nervous about? 

I'm nervous about finding someone who has attended these events or even knows what they are. 

After:

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person? 

I spoke to Antonio, 19, from Spain. I didn't choose to talk to him. He started a conversation and it worked out. 

• What did you learn about them? 

I learned that he is a student and he knows of these events but has never attended. He wants to go but he can't afford it. 

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal? 

It helped me because I learned about these events and Antonio also helped me with my grammar a little bit. It helped become a better spanish speaker in general. 

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations? 

I learned about la tomitina and san fermines. 

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again) 

I should make sure I check my grammar before I send a message. I continue to make simple and silly  mistakes. 

What did you learn about your partner? 

I learned that Johnny lives in Colombia and is still in college studying computer engineering. He lives in a dorm and enjoys hanging out with his friends, hiking, playing guitar and drinking wine. Johnny also sent me a remake of the Black Eyed Peas song "I got A Feeling" it was really good, and I enjoyed listening to his music.

What did you learn from them?

I learned that a lot of the music that I listen to in America they listen to as well. The thing is that I think the music takes a little while longer to get to them. I also learned how to conjugate irregular verbs in the future, present and past. I also learned about the culture of Colombia, many of the people are huge fans of Shakira.

What did you learn about yourself?

I learned that when I begin to screw up a bit, I mess up things that I already know because I get nervous. I also learned that I need to relax and not take things so seriously when I'm speaking and if I make a mistake it's okay.

What were you surprised about?

I was surprised that we had such a long conversation but I was also glad that we got the opportunity to talk and that he agreed to help me out.

What are you proud of?

I'm proud that I was able to hold a conversation in Spanish for a good amount of time.

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person?
  -I spoke with a girl name Adriana. She was from Ecuador. I chose her because she was young like mean and she seemed interesting. 
  
  
• What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?
  -I learned that she wore the same style of clothes like us. Which I thought it was interesting because she was from Ecuador so I expected her style to be different. I also learned that she doesn't have the same stores as us over here in the USA. 
  
  
• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal?
  -Well, my goal was to talk about fashion. It kinda worked but at the same time, the conversation went to a whole different project. So I don't really know if this was considered helping me achieve my goals?
  
  
• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations?
  -I think I did well on asking her questions about things that described her. I didn't want to talk about me during the whole conversation.
  
  
• What specifically do you need to improve on? 
  -I think I'm doing great!

I will investigate about the politics and government of and the role it plays in people's lives.

•  What are 5 questions related to your conversation goal that you can think of ahead of time to ask your partner?

1. How many states/provinces are in Costa Rica?

2. What are the different political parties in your country?

3. How are the people represented?

4. How often are elections held?

5. How does the government help improve the lives of people?

•  What are you looking forward to about this conversation?

I am looking forward to learning about the role that the government plays in the lives of the people. This include how the government helps the poor and even student who want to go to university.

•  What are you nervous about?

I am not nervous about anything since this is my fourth blog post and I have had a lot of time to practice and improve my skills. I am prepared with all of my questions, so there is nothing to be nervous about.

Post-Conversation:

Reflection:

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person?

I spoke with Carlos Huertas and I chose him because he lives in Costa Rica. I also choose him because of his age. Carlos is 38 years old and this means that he might know more about the government and its polices that a younger person.

• What did you learn about them? What did you learn from them?

I learned that there are 7 provinces in Costa Rica and Carlos lives in San José, which is the name of the province and the capital city. The name of the other provinces are Alajuela, Heredia, Cartago, Guanacaste, Puntarenass and Limon. San José is located in the center of the country. There are many different political parties in Costa Rica. The main ones are the Liberacion Nacional, Partido Accion Ciudadana, Movimimento Libertario, PUS and the PASE. The political system is largely bipartisan and Congress is made up of multiple parties. Carlos also told me that election are help every 4 years in Costa Rica. The government has many programs to help its citizens like such as student loans to student so they can go to university and housing programs. There are also food stamps and employment programs run by the government. 

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal?

I was able to learn about a topic hat I was interested in while at the same time sharing information about the government of the United States. Carlos was also very enthusiastic about the conversation and this helped to drive the conversation even more. I learned a lot of new vocabulary and I got to use vocabulary that I never even knew I had. I also had to substitute words that I wanted to say with words that I actually knew how to say in spanish.

What did you learn about your partner? 

I learned that Kike lives in Mexico and completed his studies as a naval engineer. He lives with his mother and grandmother in a house and takes care of the both of them. He also works at a shipyard and because of his studies he has more flexibility with his job than everyone else.

What did you learn from them?

I learned that a lot of the music that I listen to in America they listen to as well. The thing is that I think the music takes a little while longer to get to them. I also learned how to conjugate irregular verbs in the future, present and past.

What did you learn about yourself?

I learned that when I begin to screw up a bit, I mess up things that I already know because I get nervous.

What were you surprised about?

I was surprised that we had such a long conversation but I was also glad that we got the opportunity to talk and that he agreed to help me out.

What are you proud of?

I'm proud that I was able to hold a conversation in Spanish for 30 minutes. I struggled a little bit I was surprised and happy with myself.

•  What will be your topic of conversation be? 

This conversation is about movies.

•  What are 5 questions related to your conversation goal that you can think of ahead of time to ask your partner?

 - Do you like movies?

 - Do you have a favorite actor?

 - What kind of movies do you like?

 - What is playing in theaters right now?

 - Do you have a favorite movie?

•  What are you looking forward to about this conversation? 

I'm excited because everyone has a favorite movie and it will be interesting to hear what these people like. 

•  What are you nervous about? 

I hope I know what movies the person is talking about so I can't think of something normal to say about them. 

Reflection:

• Who did I speak with and why did I choose that person? 

I spoke to Jacobo from Mexico. He was 26. I didn't choose him but he started talking to me and it worked out. 

• What did you learn about them? 

I learned he likes Harry Potter movies, but he likes the books more. Jacobo's five favorite movies are Amelie, Love Actually, Bridget Jones Diary, Las Listas de Schindler(Schindler's List), Inglorious Bastards. 

• How did this interaction help you move towards achieving your personal goal? 

I learned that almost every movie we have here is also all over the world. I always thought we had our movies and other countries had theirs and only rarely was a movie shown in more than one country. It just surprised me. 

• What specifically did you do well according to your goals/expectations? 

He told me about his favorite movies and what was playing in theaters in Mexico. 

• What specifically do you need to improve on? (Quote specific things you said or did and what you would have done or said if you could do it again) 

At one point I got confused and tried to correct myself but I said "wait" in english by accident. That was a mistake of mine. I just have to be more careful and not immediately reply every time.