I have always had a good relationship with Spanish ever since I took my first Spanish class in 7th grade. I remember having to choose whether I wanted to take Spanish or French in Middle school and it was such an easy decision. I enjoyed the way my teacher taught the class and I always did well. My relationship only grew when my brother got a job at the local ski mountain. He worked with a bunch of kids from Argentina, Peru, and Brazil. I was so amazed at how nice and welcoming these people were. They would meet someone once and immediately become their friend. As a result I started to work at the same place and made some friends of my own. While these things contributed to my decision, my love for Spanish really endured during high school.

I took Spanish classes all four years and I was lucky enough to have two effective teachers that taught me everything I know. During my sophomore year of high school, my school offered a “community service trip” to Nicaragua. Originally I wasn’t supposed to go because I was only a sophomore and they were going to give spots to the juniors or seniors. I got lucky and was given a spot on the trip. We spent time in Matagalpa, Masaya, and Managua. In Matagalpa I stayed with the sweetest host family where I was able to practice my Spanish and I was given 3 meals a day. We also took various classes like dancing and a massage class. My favorite part of the Matagalpa section was scoring a goal against the local soccer team they had there, and everyone there cheering for me. Next we went to Masaya where we spent the weekend staying on a mountain side overlooking the most beautiful lagoon I had ever seen. The water was warm and the food was outstanding. Our last stop was in Managua where we spent the majority of our time with locals doing community service. We did things like roadside cleanup, painting a mural, and helping on a farm. This was when we were closest to the locals the whole trip, besides our host families, and it was truly amazing getting to know the people we were working with.

Needless to say this experience had a huge impact on my decision to pursue a career with Spanish. I loved speaking with native speakers that probably aren’t used to Americans being able to speak with them. I am traveling abroad in Spain next semester and I can’t wait to practice, learn, and enjoy myself as much as I possibly can.