Stuggles With Spanish

My struggle to learn Spanish has been a long, arduous task that has been worth every ounce of effort that I have put into it. At this point in my life, having successfully arrived at the stage where I can comfortably read, write and speak the language has opened my eyes to a whole new world. A world that without having gone through this struggle would have never been available to me.

Starting in the 8th grade, I attended Spanish classes as a student in MCPS. Leaving in the 12th grade, I knew little more Spanish then when I had entered the system 5 years earlier. I attribute that lack of success to not caring and being a classic case of “doing just enough to not have the teacher notice my failures”.

In college I began to see the professional and cultural importance of learning Spanish. I was an International Relations major and not only was it a graduation requirement, it was a means to end. I wanted to study and live abroad.

Arriving in Spain and being forced to communicate with the natives made me realize how much Spanish I didn’t know. Throughout my travels during that year, making friends with Spaniards and attending classes at the Univ. of Alicante I picked up the language relatively well. However, as I learned a few years later, that was not the case.

Arrive to 2004. Stepping off the airplane in Tegucigalpa, Honduras was an entirely different ballgame. There, as a Peace Corps Volunteer and a representative of the United States, the expectations were much higher. I quickly realized how limited my language abilities were and how much effort and practice it would take to have a meaningful and productive experience. Fortunately the language program was stellar and provided many hours of experiential training with a small teacher to student ratio.

At this point it all seems worth while. The benefits of knowing Spanish and understanding Latino culture has raised my awareness of the world and of myself. Hopefully, as a Spanish teacher I will have the opportunity to inspire others and to open their eyes to how vast the world can be.