Just like everything else those old crazy dreams just kinda came and went - John Mellencamp

August calls for A-100 have been extended without one showing up in my email box.  Damn.

Once again, I think I was really close.  I think I was ranked in the mid-40's at the beginning of the calls, and ended up ranked in the mid-30's.  The offers came as close as the mid-20's, so I was within 10 people of a call to the show.  I'm getting the sense that the offer will continue to be close but not close enough, so I'm looking into some Spanish schools to go for the .17 bonus points.  The extra points would move me up 15 places or so in the register rankings.

I've been looking at the following schools in affordable Guatemala:

http://www.plqe.org/  --  Five hours a day in a non-tourist destination town.
http://learncsa.com/  --  Four to eight hours a day in a tourist destination town.

I'm also considering Oaxaca, Mexico.  One positive aspect of Oaxaca is that I've been there before and loved the city.  One negative aspect is that most schools there offer classes of 2-5 people rather than one-to-one that the Guatemala schools offer. 


The State Department takes 24 weeks (600 hours of instruction) to train its employees in Spanish from zero ability to the level needed. 

I think it would take me three months to get to the level needed to pass the State Department's exam.  I put that level at being able to communicate the Wall Street Journal in Spanish.  Most recent takers of the language tests have said they were asked to speak about some current event, like the oil spill or Iranian nuclear proliferation.  I need to be able to converse on any range of topics.  I get the sense that most English speakers wouldn't be able to pass the exam in English.

I'm guessing that with my long but erratic history of Spanish study, I'm about half way there.  If I do an intensive study in Mexico or Guatemala for 6 hours a day, it will take 10 weeks to get 300 hours of instruction.  It's obviously not just a matter of studying for the designated number of hours, but a three-month timetable seems like a logical estimate.

The other major thing going on is my house sale.  I own a two-family house.  I can sell it as is, or I can convert it into two condos.  There is a current market inequity with two-family houses in the area.  If I sell it as a two-family, I'll get 15-20% less for it than if I convert to condos.  Converting has its costs for architects, town fees, registration fees, lawyers fees, but that stuff doesn't close the market inequity.  So, I'm in the process of converting to condos.  There are lots of hoops to jump through, and each of those takes time, but I'm hoping to have them on the market by Sept. at the latest.