Taking Spanish 394 with Luis has made me think about why exactly I became a Spanish major. I had never been in love with Spanish and despite a lot of exposure I had never really excelled in learning the language either. Growing up I can think of three main places my exposure came from and how each one of those affected my outlook on Spanish and the benefits of learning and studying the language in college.
My earliest memories of exposure to spanish was with my childhood babysitter Daniela who lived and helped my parents take care of my brothers and I. Daniela, who is from Mexico laid the foundation just by exposing me to the language at a young age. Although I do not remember those early days so well, I do remember when Spanish became mandated in our public school system in the third grade, I always felt like I was a step ahead in class. So to my foundation in Spanish I have Daniela to thank.
The most important and most extensive exposure to Spanish was at 11 years old, when my parents told my brothers and I that we would be moving to Seville, Spain for a school year. My brothers and I were all devastated, we loved our home in Brookline and did not understand why we were being uprooted to live in some country halfway across the world.