I have been “going to study Spanish somewhere” since the mid-90s. The desire took root during my first trip to South America, on a local bus in Ecuador headed from Baños to Riobamba. At the time, I had already visited Spain and Mexico but don’t remember being particularly inspired to immerse myself in the language. The last time I had studied Spanish formally, I was 11. And then in high school and college, French and Latin consumed my limited language ability and knocked the Spanish right out of me. Or so I thought.
I traveled to Ecuador primarily to visit the Galápagos but had a week to kill on the mainland before sailing around the islands. After being in Quito for two days, I got a little antsy, and traveled south to Baños de Agua Santa to visit the hot springs and for a little adventure-climb of the active Tungurahua volcano. It was probably here that I started developing some conversation skills but it wasn’t until I hopped on a bus out of Baños to Riobamba where I met the kind, friendly man who rekindled my junior high interest in learning Spanish. We became instant bus buddies, the result of shy, awkward smiles that often happen when you share a super narrow seat on an overcrowded bus headed for a South American market town. I broke the silence “Me llamo Patricia, como se llama usted?” His name was Alberto. He lived near Baños, worked at a hotel near the springs, had a wife, four children and a grandchild on the way. He was 54. Okay, my turn. I told him where I lived, how old I was and what my job was, where I was traveling in Ecuador and what I was studying in school. And this may not seem like a big deal, but I said this all in Spanish AND he understood me! Did I mention that I didn’t speak Spanish? I mean, I knew some words and maybe a handful of pleasantries I learned in 7th grade. And I probably picked up a bit from living in multi-culti New York City my whole life. Still, I couldn’t have a REAL conversation. But in that first week in Ecuador, constantly surrounded by Spanish-speakers and needing to look up how to communicate things I needed on my hand-held, battery-operated translator, I picked up a crazy amount of conversational Spanish. I also found it generally really easy to understand Ecuadorians, perhaps it’s because they speak Spanish so gently. So with countless “más despacio por favor”s, caveman grammar and increasing comprehension, I surprisingly began communicating beyond getting directions for the train station/bathroom/hotel/food/beer. And it felt good.
So here I am, 15 years later and finally doing what I wanted to do right after returning from Ecuador. Sure, I’ve taken Spanish classes here, traveled frequently to Spain and Latin America, went through every free lesson on ¡SpanishDict! dot com and watched every Gael García Bernal movie I could get my hands on. I read subway ads out loud, order food in Spanish whenever possible, practice on anyone who’ll let me and I may even speak Spanish with a Scottish lilt from months of Coffee Break Spanish podcasts, but I know there’s nothing like living and breathing a language. So, why not spend 6 weeks in a country I love, in a gorgeous region saturated with Mayan culture, and take an intensive language course and work on an interesting volunteer project? Right? ¡Finalmente!
Okay, I still have to find a school…and finalize which projects, but that’s what the first couple of days are for. And I’ll be blogging about the experience, mostly in Spanish to reinforce what I learn and build casual writing skills, but lots in English too. Would love input from other Spanish speakers, travelers and friends. Thanks for following.
Deséame éxito!