My Journey Learning Spanish

So here I am, less than three weeks till we move to Chile, a Spanish-speaking country, trying to get serious about studying Spanish again. This is a cycle that I have come to know intimately. It goes something like this - get motivated one way or another, make a plan, start studying, slowly lose momentum, then wake up one day and realize that I haven't done anything in over a month. After that comes the terrible guilt and questioning if I will ever be able to stick with it long enough to speak fluently. Those feelings used to really get me down, and sometimes they still do, though lately when this happens I am learning to forgive myself for losing track of my goals and not harping on it - I just have to get back to work. It’s not easy, it never is, but I know I have to keep moving forward.

Of course, my primary reason for moving to Chile is to teach. Though I’m also hoping, as a result of living in a Spanish-speaking country, I will be able to propel my Spanish skills far beyond what they are now. I know from experience that it won’t work by osmosis (if only). There will have to be a lot of effort put forth on my part if I’m going to make significant gains. Part of the reason that I’m writing all this here is to keep myself accountable. But the other reason is because I’ve been on this journey for a while (actually, an embarrassingly long time) and it can be a lonely road sometimes. It's nice to hear that other people are trudging along the same rocky path, getting those annoying pebbles stuck in their shoes too. I feel ya.

While I’m in Chile I’ll be working with students and helping facilitate their journeys to learn English. One of the reasons that I love doing that so much is that I can completely relate to them. Our backgrounds and experiences are different, but I know what it feels like to be completely lost and not understand a word of what someone is saying. I also know the indescribable delight that comes from communicating effectively (even in broken Spanish) with someone in another language. My heart does not stop smiling for days. I remember one of the first times that I felt that. I was at the post office mailing a package, and as I started to leave I overheard the lady next to me having a really hard time communicating with the postal worker. Before I could think too hard about it, I walked over and said "¿Necesitas ayuda?". She looked at me with desperation in her eyes and nodded her head. I proceeded to attempt to interpret what she wanted to get across to the postal worker. I was scrambling, piecing together the bits of language that I understood and trying to make some sense of them. Looking back on it now, I don't know how much help I really was. I probably just confused things even more. But she was so grateful. And I walked away thinking I had done it. I had communicated with someone in Spanish, in the real world. It was exhilarating. That was five years ago, and to this day I still get that same excitment when I get to use Spanish in the real world to communicate with real people.

Everyone’s path to learning a language is unique, and admittedly this is my very personal one, but I’m putting it out there for whatever it’s worth.

¡Vamos a aprender español!

(And if you're looking for a place to start, this is a great resource.)