Using Your Native Tongue

It was Jon's idea that we travel to a Spanish speaking country.  I don't say this in a blaming way, I love it here!  And I love being somewhere with people and places that are different from my daily surroundings.  I say this, because prior to traveling to Italy last year, I learned a little - let's keep it real - very little Italian. But while we were there for 10 days, I had enough Italian and Spanish to get us meals, rooms, purchases, and some new friends.  If you know Jon, you know that he is a quiet man in general and tends to let me do the talking. So when he mentioned that he wanted to spend two months in a Spanish country, I suggested he learn the language.
In true Jon fashion, he went all in.  While we were still in Maine, he spent an hour a day using Rosetta Stone. He also worked with a Skype tutor from Mexico for an hour two times per week.  Arriving in Puerto Rico, we quickly found a teacher, and we now have lessons with her for an hour twice a week.

Jon and our Maestra, Elsa

As anyone will tell you, learning a language has many pieces to the puzzle.  We work with our teacher, we have workbooks with exercises, note cards and post-its label the entire apartment, and we are still using Rosetta Stone several hours per week.  The other challenge is to get out there and speak.

Verbs for use in the kitchen

Some adjectives

And don't forget useful expressions.

I took 4 years of High School Spanish and two semesters in college.  The most impactful language experience I have ever had was 10 days in Ecuador when I was 15 years old.  Immersion is a trial by fire in learning a language.  Your brain needs to stop translating and searching for words and you are forced to open your mouth and speak and use sign language/mime and listen actively for phrases.  And so, I am comfortable doing just that when we travel to a non-English speaking destination.  Jon, well, he took Latin. And remember the part about him being quiet in English?  Yah, this has been way outside of his comfort zone.  But, I must say how genuinely impressed I am by him. The truth of the matter is, you do not need to speak Spanish in order to get around here.  90% of the island is bilingual.  Jon could have taken the easy way out, but he knows he would have missed out.

Learning a foreign language is a selfless, generous act, that really serves one purpose: to get to know
people, places, and things that are different.  People around the world learn multiple languages in order to learn more about different cultures.  To understand a different point of view, or in some cases, be able to better argue their own.  The point is, learning a language is stepping outside of your world and stepping into someone else's.  I have been blown away by young people in Italy who spoke perfect English, and invited us to dinner and drinks and to talk politics and lifestyles.  And our ability to speak Spanish here, albeit broken and in the present tense only, has created moments at the SanSe Festival, in Plaza De Armas, at Aqui Se Puede; with perfect strangers whom we now call friends.

NOT USING GOOGLE TRANSLATE:  Esta mucho trabajo.  Pero es necesario cuando viaje aprendir el idioma de la pais.  Muchas personas va a los Estados Unidos.  Y hablamos con ellos en ingles.  Entonces cuando Americanos van a las paises no habla ingles, nececitamos hablar les idioma. O aprende "Hello" "Good Day" "Thank You" "Please".  Cuando trata, muchas personas ayudate y va a aprendir y tiene muchas nuevos amigos y tiempos felices.

From Puerto Rico: "Open your mouth and speak!" Elsa Gomez, Maestra De Espanol