Mission Accomplished?

I caught a cold earlier in the week so this afternoon, between the congestion, coughing, and slight homesickness after Brad's departure last night, I was feeling a little sorry for myself. But during my private class with Cecilia (morning classes this week are with Ciro, so I have a new teacher for my one-on-one sessions), I got just the pick-me-up I needed. At some point she made mention of the "fact" that I had already attained "legendary status" within the school, in particular in the teachers' lounge. When I pressed her for details (who wouldn't?), it appears that the reasons are twofold -- (i) they get just as much a kick out of my blowing the assembled 19-year olds out of the water as I do, and (ii) although nobody ever quite knows what I am likely to say next, they can be sure it will be entertaining, fluent, and grammatically correct.

I can't tell you how happy that last part made me feel. I mean, that has been the whole point of this exercise, hasn't it? I'd been feeling pretty good about my progress, but it felt really wonderful to receive that kind of validation.

(I'll spare you my little swelled head fantasies about hiring myself out for parties with the slogan "equally charming in three languages"*)

Although I still plan on going to Madrid for November, I am seriously questioning the value of taking the advanced DELE exam. It seems to me that maybe I have reached the point I wanted to get to. Do I really need a piece of paper, that I will never use, to prove it?

*: note that, despite my having been the only non-native speaker on the All-Ireland champion Irish debating team in high school, I cannot in all conscience include Irish on the list. Not that would really affect one's marketability, I suspect. Time to revive Flann O' Brien's infamous escort service, perhaps.