u/mrshorsecake

I am up for a great position at the VA, but I am having reference issues. They require 1 supervisor reference. The reference I provided works in academia and I worked for her as a graduate student. The VA responded that this reference was not able to provide adequate answers regarding the role I am applying for and requested a different professional reference. I've only had 2 jobs in the 5 years since I graduated. I cannot get a hold of my 1st manager because he moved and changed his phone number (I've tried texting, emailing, linked in, etc). I can't ask my current manager because I still work there, even though she would give me a great reference. Any other job I had before college was so long ago, I don't have any contacts. Any suggestions on what I should do?

Level 5 Update

Read my level 2 update here. 
Read my level 3 update here
Read my level 4 update here.

I reached 600 hours on April 30th and as of today have 639 hours. My progress is aligning with the roadmap quite well. I’m happy with my progress, but I am ready to take it to the next level and push myself a bit.

I went to Spain in Jan at 415 hours. I was able to rent a camper van and understand how to use all of the features in the van. I could order food and respond to questions about my order. I was able to ask for medication at a pharmacy. I took a cave tour and a self-guided audio tour at the Sagrada Familia and could understand ~85-90%. The nice thing was that even though many people knew English, they continued to speak with me in Spanish so I could practice. 

I recently moved across the country and have been living with my parents while my husband and I wait for closing on our first home. There’s been quite a bit of stress and I don’t get a lot of alone time. My Spanish has suffered a bit since we got here a month ago. I’m not listening as much as I usually do and I’ve not done many italki lessons either. Lately I've mostly been listening to intermediate/advanced podcasts and watching dubbed Friends.

What I can do:

• I feel like I can understand almost everything at this point. I struggle with native shows and movies a bit, but as far as talking to people, they can speak normally to me. I also find myself unintentionally eavesdropping on conversations in public.
• I can understand a lot of lyrics in songs which is cool. 
• I continue to audit medical appointments at work in Spanish and can understand 100% of those.

 

What I struggle with:

• Speaking is SO HARD. This is something I want to really dive into in the next few months. I only have around 2 hours of speaking practice so far. I’ve not yet figured out how to incorporate lots of speaking into my routine. 
• Native movies and shows, mostly because of background noise/music or they’re whispering/mumbling. 
• Reading is super slow. I’ve read a few Disney books for kids, and even those are difficult.

 

Next steps/Goals:

• Figure out a way to add more speaking to my routine.
• Read 1 kids book per week.
• Goal to reach 1000 hours by Dec 31st.
• Goal to go to a language school in Guatemala at the end of 2027. I would like to get a lot more speaking practice in before I go.

If anyone has any tips on how to get in lots of speaking practice that doesn't cost an arm and a leg, let me know!