Mastering the Spanish language has always been a goal of mine. I envisioned being able to travel and speak the native language in Spanish-speaking countries. I soon realized, however, that I am terrible at learning languages. Nevertheless, I persisted in my Spanish education because of my goal. I expected Spanish IV to be very similar to my previous three years of high school language; filled with conjugation, grammar, and vocabulary. Behold, I was delighted to realize that Spanish IV was about history and culture.
In my first class, I met my new teacher Senora Torres who is originally from Puerto Rico. I remember her telling the class on the first day about how in Puerto Rico oranges are not called naranja, but china. Because oranges were shipped to Puerto Rico from China, the packaging was labeled China, and the name for oranges developed from that. The following classes taught me about the differences between Spanish-speaking countries and their colonial past. I felt naive for not understanding how truly different the cultures are.
Spanish IV opened my eyes to the Spanish-speaking world. Because of this class, I chose to go on interim to Puerto Rico for a Spanish immersion trip, where in the past I would run the other direction if I was faced with having to speak fluently for a week.
In taking this class, my passion for fluency was fostered and supported. I felt refreshed to learn about topics other than tenses and realized that I was learning about history in Spanish. My ability to comprehend lectures in Spanish developed and I feel more confident than ever. I still have room to grow especially in speaking, but as I am pushed out of my comfort zone, I am able to learn more and more about the depth of Spanish and the world around me.