A typical language school. I arrived at Casa Shalahu, the Spanish school, at 8 a.m. I come into class and sit down. I'm very

enthusiastic about learning Spanish.

Last night I did all of my homework,

plus I studied extra.

The teacher says,

Ola, she doesn't smile.

She already looks bored. She wastes about 10 minutes going through papers

while I wait. I'm the only student in the class so I have no one to talk to. Finally,

she asks for my homework. She reads the essay I

wrote and corrects it. This is useful. I'm happy to get feedback on my writing.

Next, she asks me to talk a little about what I did yesterday.

I start talking, but she gets a call on her cell phone.

She takes the call and starts chatting.

She hangs up and then says, I need to get some coffee.

I'll be right back. Ten minutes later she comes back. I suspect

she was actually talking on the phone. She asked me to start talking again. She looks totally

bored. No smile. No interest in what I'm trying to say.

Next she gives me a picture and tells me to describe it. I do my best while she sits in the

corner looking bored.

Occasionally she corrects my mistakes.

After this, she tells me to read a paragraph.

Then I have to do a worksheet and fill in the missing words.

...