Category Archives: Language

Mentor opportunity with local non-profit

Be a short-term mentor for university students from Latin America!!

Every summer in July and every winter in January, a non-profit called ITD (Institute for Training and Development, Inc.) manages and runs a Study of the U.S. Institutes Program (SUSI), a prestigious program that is sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. State Department. The program entails five weeks of intensive academic study in U.S. Policymaking, Entrepreneurship, Economic Empowerment, Leadership, and Politics. The highly competitive scholarship is awarded to twenty undergraduate students each time, all young leaders from Mexico and Central and South American countries. In the summers, the students who come to ITD are from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala; In the winters, they are from Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil. The students live in Amherst for three and half of the five weeks of their program, and attend specialized lectures at Amherst College and at ITD. Continue reading →

Why I became a Spanish major, and why you should too

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Surprising to most people, growing up in a Latino household, I never wanted to speak Spanish with my family. I think it was a matter of my shyness but also a lack of confidence when it came to accepting my culture. Although I never spoke Spanish at home, I began taking Spanish classes in 7th grade. All throughout my school career, Spanish was a class I always excelled in. It was where I felt most comfortable and where I would begin the process of appreciating this beautiful language. I had the most confidence in my listening skills. I could always understand everything my teachers would say in my advanced classes because I would hear my parents speak Spanish on a daily basis. However, when it came down to actually speaking Spanish, I felt like I was missing self-confidence and the native accent of someone more fluent. Continue reading →

My Path to Becoming a Spanish Major

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When I came to UMass Amherst as a freshman I was not originally a Spanish major, I was actually a Sociology major. Upon one or two courses as that major, I quickly realized I didn’t have a passion for it, and I found myself leaning towards becoming a Spanish major. Cut to me meeting Luis Marentes for the first time and talking to him about becoming a Spanish major. I was immediately asked the following questions: Why did I want to be a Spanish major? Why don’t I just use a language teaching app or program to learn Spanish? What did I ultimately want to get out of this major? I will admit that I didn’t know the answers to all of his questions but I just knew I wanted to continue (from high school) learning Spanish because of my lifelong passion for it. Continue reading →

Studying Abroad in this Hemisphere

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As a Spanish Major, I find that the majority of my classmates choose to study abroad in Spain. Spain has a lot to offer in regard to history, culture, food, night life, etc. but I always wonder why more students don’t choose to study abroad in Latin America. There are so many historically and culturally rich cities and countries here in this hemisphere. Also, if you are studying Spanish for your career so that you can communicate with Spanish-speaking people in the United States, the overwhelming majority of them are going to be from countries in Latin America. It will be helpful to know more about the countries and cultures that they come from, and to know how to speak the kind of Spanish they speak. Continue reading →

Going Abroad After UMass

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As a transfer student, I didn’t feel like I had enough time to spend an entire semester studying abroad during my time at UMass. I would have had to start figuring out all the logistics during my first semester on campus and then leave for my second semester. I potentially could have studied abroad during my senior year, but I also had to think about completing my Honors College thesis. While I don’t regret my decision to stay at UMass instead of spending a semester abroad, I am determined to find another way to go abroad after graduating. Continue reading →

My Experience Studying Abroad in Madrid

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Having the opportunity to study abroad in Madrid was truly one of the greatest experiences that I will forever cherish. Now that I am back at UMass, finishing my degree in Spanish, I have had so much time to reflect on my experience studying abroad. As I have written in my previous blog post, studying abroad was something that I always envisioned myself taking part in, even prior to coming to UMass and choosing to pursue a degree in Spanish.

It really is hard to believe that my experience studying abroad is simply a memory now. I really mean it when I say that it went by in the blink of an eye. I know that may sound cliché because that is what everyone says. But really, it does. Continue reading →

Trying (and failing) to sum up my study abroad experience

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As soon as people find out I studied abroad, they immediately ask “How was is?”, “What was it like?” “Did you love it?”, expecting a quick and simple response.

I’ve come to dread these questions, hating the fact that I’m expected to sum up my entire 10 months abroad of innumerable experiences, both positive and negative, full of every emotion under the sun, into a few words or a few sentences. Maybe some people are able to do this successfully; I, however, am not.

I have been back in the U.S. for over 5 months now, and I am still unable to summarize my abroad experience. I actually avoid talking about it. Although I give the typical answer of “Amazing!” or “Incredible!”, a more accurate description would involve the words challenging, rewarding, difficult, and eye-opening. I still am in the process of reflecting on my study abroad experience, on what I’ve learned, and on how I changed. It was a year of incredible growth and countless learning opportunities, pushing me out of my comfort zone to take risks and encouraging me to open my mind to see the world through a different lens.

I’m hoping that someday I’ll be able to summarize it well in an efficient way. Since I am not there yet, I am going to share some of what I learned abroad by introducing you to a few of the people I met in Spain who impacted me greatly and what I learned from each of them.

Continue reading →

Music and Math—Universal Languages?

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I had the privilege of spending 9 months studying abroad in Seville, Spain, an experience I would not trade for the world. It was a time of immense growth and change, and I learned a lot about myself, gained independence, and repeatedly pushed myself out of my comfort zone. During my time in Seville, I pushed myself to become involved in the community and to build relationships. As a person who loves (practically needs) to be busy, I decided to fill my schedule with extracurricular activities, including taking piano lessons, joining a choir, and enrolling in a university physics class for math majors, hoping that the universality of music and math would assist me in overcoming the language barrier… not only did I like these subjects, but I was good at them… and aren’t music and math universal?! How different could it be? Continue reading →

The Spanish major means more than learning the language

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My motivation for choosing to major in Spanish stemmed from how much I enjoyed my Spanish classes in high school. Although the grammar and vocabulary lessons never quite thrilled me, I loved learning about the history and culture of the Spanish-speaking world and still do. I felt that I took to the language well, so might as well major in it.

In this class, however, I’ve learned that the Spanish major means more than a perfect knowledge of Spanish vocabulary, more than mastering the rough terrain of subjunctives, more than sporting the best Spanish accent, more than memorizing the pasts of Spain and South America. This class taught me that to truly understand the language, one must understand its people. Continue reading →

Doubts, Dreams, and My New Adventure

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As the end of the semester, and the first part of the Integrative Experience, draws closer and closer, I have begun to see changes in myself when reflecting on the beginning of the semester. Originally, I had no clue as to where I wanted to go abroad and found myself feeling a bit lost. Feeling lost and being a Junior in college do not make the best mix, and this caused quite a bit of anxiety for me in looking forward. I knew that I wanted to work in translation and interpreting but I wasn’t sure what next steps I should take to make that happen. I began to question myself and doubt if I had chosen the right field.

However, as the semester progressed and our IE class made us reflect deeper and deeper on our drives, our goals, and our passions for learning Spanish, I began to feel more grounded. This class does not just make its students do arbitrary work, every assignment and every minute of class time was used to help us form a plan for ourselves, and understand the difficulties that come with them. Continue reading →