“Promise Auntie one thing… That you’ll learn another language. It’s the way our country is going. Believe me now; I’m telling you the truth.”
I’d like to say these words from my aunt gently nudged me to start studying Spanish again but it was more like they GNAWED at me! “Is that You, Lord?”
I started studying Spanish decades ago. First, it was Spanish Club after school when I was in maybe third grade. Then in seventh grade there was this French, Spanish, and Latin class. Now, see, my language of choice was actually French. The 13 year old version of myself thought that it was such a romantic language. The only thing that deterred me was my friend’s sister’s comments about the French teacher and that her sister had to relearn everything when she got to ninth grade. That wasn’t ’bout ta be ME! So, I started studying Spanish and fell in love with it! I liked the food. I liked the drama of the people when they would tell a story. And now, I’ll add that I love that the Latinos I know are LOUD…just.like.me! So, I stuck with Spanish from eighth grade all the way through senior year and even into college! Ya girl graduated with a minor in Spanish and still wasn’t fluent! Ouch!
So, in 2016 when my aunt presented this challenge, I was afraid of failing…Lazy and afraid to mess up during practice, I tried to brush off her comments.
But that all came to an end. When I took my community organizing job, I soon had to at least be able to ask people how they were doing in Spanish as I worked with a large number of Spanish speakers and the one staff person who was bilingual was leaving for law school. I HAD to study Spanish. Also, when looking at projections, Spanish is/will be the 2nd most spoken language in the United States. “I might as well get it together,” I thought.
I hired a Spanish tutor who made me have conversations with her (which I could barely do) and then I took 11 days off of work and took Spanish classes in the country of Panama. Fluent yet? Nah, but practice sure does make confident! I can order my food, make a well-intentioned joke, share embarrassing stories from my childhood, and try to flirt with my next boyfriend!
Chile, I even started learning Portuguese, Turkish, tried my hand at Tagalog, and failed at Arabic after all that. And in case you’re wondering, I’m stillllll practicing Spanish. I don’t want to be perfectly fluent; I just want to be able to connect with people….and not forget the vocabulary I have!
Here are my other reasons for studying languages:
1. I like when I’m able to communicate with people in their native language. They seem to like that you’ve taken the initiative and made the effort. And sometimes that seems to influence them to want to be nice to you!
2. I like the way that it surprises people when a black girl with a clearly Southern accent (proving she’s not “Dominican”) starts speaking Spanish or even greets someone in Turkish! #priceless
3. Sometimes, I like to show off…so I like the effects of #2.
4. This will open up my travel and employment opportunities.
5. Maybe I’ll marry someone whose family speaks another language and have bilingual babies! Speaking the language will help me converse with family members who may not speak English.
6. I like to eat…and people like to feed you when they know you know a lil’ bit of the language. Food and conversation go together like refried beans and rice.
7. If I know enough of the language, I can share the Gospel with them! C’mon, you know I want people to know Jesus! And I’ve had several opportunities to evangelize in Spanish!