Dos Cervezas Or Something

A year ago--or maybe longer than that now--I'd mentioned I wanted to learn to speak Spanish. I did some research on the computer programs available and picked the one I thought would do best for me, but I didn't buy it.

You see, I was working on this story with two characters who both spoke Spanish fluently and I was afraid it was one of those things I'd picked up from them. I can't even tell you how many weird interests I've developed because my characters have them. Then, when I'm done with that hero and heroine, the new interest wanes. Rapidly. Since the Spanish software wasn't cheap, I thought I'd let this one stew for a while. Just in case.

I was successful at letting it rest for a while, but I had the software on my wish list and I kept checking the price. Regularly.

Keep in mind that the price per disk to buy Spanish 1-5 was considerably cheaper than buying just Spanish 1 or even Spanish 1-2. The difference was huge enough that I knew I'd be buying the 5 disk set. This also meant that if I didn't follow through and use it, I'd feel like 5 times as guilty.

I managed to resist the urge to buy the software, and the price was a big deterrent. Then, at Thanksgiving, it went on sale. It was marked down $80. I tweeted about it, but the enablers on Twitter encouraged me to buy it.

Despite this, I couldn't quite pull the trigger. Even with the sale, it was still a lot of money. I hemmed and hawed enough that it went back to regular price without my buying it. And for the next week, I regretted this so much that I knew the next time it went on sale, I'd have to buy it.

Not only did the strong remorse help make up my mind, but it had also been more than a year since I'd written anything with my Spanish speaking hero and heroine. Definitely long enough for their interests to leave.

But this was the first time the software had been on sale and I resigned myself to waiting until Thanksgiving 2013.

And then I came home from Christmas in Minnesota and breezed through my wish list. The Spanish software was on sale again for the same price I'd passed up in November. This time I bought it with only a small hesitation.

So far I'm on my third lesson. The first two went relatively easy and I'd hoped my language learning abilities had improved since high school and college when I struggled through German. Lesson three convinced me it wasn't going to be that easy.

It doesn't matter. I'm going to learn Spanish. I have five levels I bought and I'm getting through all of them.

¿Habla Español?

I've blogged before about how I pick up the way my characters speak, that I end up with words that I rarely (or never) used myself...until they came. I've also blogged about how I end up acquiring some of my characters' interests--for a while anyway. Yes, I'm definitely influenced by them and I'm aware of it. Which kind of leads me to my problem.

I want to learn to speak Spanish.

I did some research and found a computer-based program that comes highly recommended. They have a trial lesson up and I ran through that and I did learn. Not perfectly, but I wasn't going as carefully as I would if I was really doing the class.

My problem? I have a hero and heroine who are both fluent in Spanish. What if I'm only interested in learning the language because of their influence? I've had a bunch of interests crop up in the past that waned rapidly after that particular character left.

On the one hand, learning some Spanish would definitely help with this book. I wouldn't be able to use much of the language because I couldn't assume most of my readers would be familiar with it, but I could drop little bits in. At the very least, it would give me a flavor for how people are speaking even if I never went far enough to get good at it.

On the other hand, this program isn't cheap. If I buy units 1 through 5, it's a little over $500. That is a lot of money. I thought about only getting unit 1 and then buying the others if my interest remains, but to buy the first segment on its own costs nearly $180 and unit 2 is well over $200 bought alone. The next bundle is 3, 4 and 5 together. So I do want to continue, I'll be paying considerably more than if I'd bought the full bundle.

So this is my dilemma--do I try to learn Spanish for real? And if I do, do I assume I'd go beyond the first unit? Or is this another character-induced interest that will wane after I finish the proposal for this hero and heroine?

It makes me crazy! I wouldn't mind (too much) spending the money if I really did have an interest in learning Spanish. I believe that education is an awesome thing and that all of us should continue learning long after school is over. However, if this is because of my h/h and I lose interest, I know myself well enough to understand that I'll quit doing the lessons, especially when each one takes over 2 hours and time is so tight for me as it stands.

Now I just need to figure out who is interested in Spanish. Is it me or is it my characters? Sigh.