Hayden Bicknell

Learning another language is something I think everyone should try at some point in their
life. Spanish is one of the most spoken languages in the world and is the second most spoken
language in the U.S. I’ve been taking courses about learning Spanish for a long time but have
never been able to practice it in the real world. Any practice I had was with teachers or peers or
occasionally a word exchanged with my father. This is why I chose to take this course instead of
other options given to me. Because of this most of my goals and expectations for this were to
improve my language skills while also looking to improve my traveling skills. I want to travel a
lot when I get older and trips like these where I can have some adult guidance before I throw
myself in are very valuable. However with traveling comes some fears and worries. While I have
had trips without my parents, I’ve never been out of the country without them, and doing that for
the first time without them was scary. I was worried I’d forget my passport or not be able to
make it through. Another fear or worry was that I wouldn’t be able to speak in Spanish to anyone
and make a fool out of myself.
The course and the trip didn’t go quite as I expected. Not to say that it was bad, but it
went in unprecedented ways that were sometimes good, sometimes bad. Even though it didn’t go
as I expected I still managed to meet some of my language goals. For example one of my goals
was to have a conversation about interests, family, and my hometown. I was able to meet this
goal by the end of the trip and I know this because when I was talking to the primary school
students on Monday, we were able to talk about our families and what we liked to do. We didn’t
just sit in silence the whole time or I just didn’t only read word for word the sheets that I was
given. A language goal that I didn’t quite reach was my goal to ask for items and quantities in
stores. While I was able to ask how much something cost, most vendors could speak a little
English and used that with me because I looked like I didn’t know how to speak Spanish at all.
Because of that, it was very easy for me to slip into English mode just because it was simpler(at
least for me, for the vendors it wasn’t).
One of the biggest challenges that I faced on this trip was having roommates. I have had
an experience where I had to room with one of my close friends but we had known each other for
a long time and our personalities and temperaments are very similar. However, this time I
roomed with friends I was less close to and who are very different from me and each other
personality-wise. Unfortunately, it was less learning to overcome them and instead learning to
navigate them. This is because till the very end, I was trying to satiate both parties and what they
needed. I learned what roommates I’ll want in the future and the ins and outs of what sharing a
space with someone means. However with challenges come successes, one of my biggest
successes on this trip was being able to connect with the kids at the primary school. I say connect
instead of communicate because connecting doesn’t always involve long discussions.
Connection is about language but it’s also about other ways we as humans interact with each
other. This was one of my biggest successes because at the kids’ recess when we were planning
to leave soon I had all these drawing supplies next to me. It started with one kid asking to draw
and slowly more accumulated. Many others at the end when they had to go back to class handed
me their drawing and thanked me even though few words were exchanged.
My biggest takeaway from Mexico was no matter how different two countries may be
we’re all human and that will always connect us. Meeting the highschoolers was intimidating but
the moment I heard one of them giggle to their friend about something, they didn’t scare me as
much. My biggest takeaway regarding language and language learning is that you don’t need to
be fluent to communicate. Typically with a limited amount of vocabulary I could hold a
conversation with someone through hand gestures and a word or two exchanged. When
communication is wanted, it will happen. What I learned the most about myself is that I know
more than I think I do. Everything I’ve ever learned is stored in my brain, even if someone has to
say it again for me to remember it. My next steps for language learning are pretty clear. I’m
going to continue to take my school Spanish courses and squeeze all that I can out of them. I’m
also going to start watching some shows or movies in Spanish to attempt to further my
knowledge.