Aero: Ana Northrop – Costa Rica 2016 – Learning the Language

Creative Commons Image via The LEAF Project

…

Before I left I thought language was not going to be as hard for me due to the amount of people that speak it around me all the time.  However, when I observed people speaking I noticed they talk much faster than who I hear at my job.

…

…

Ana Northrop

I managed to pick out a few words here and there in sentences or was able to answer questions asked by my host family or others.  It was honestly hard even though I have taken a college level Spanish class.  The Spanish I took was all culinary related so when it came to ordering food I was able to do it largely on my own.  The hard part of that was after ordering when I had to pay, and they gave me change. Because colones are in thousands they would speak fast, so I’d have to ask the amount again or show them what I had and they would tell me which bills to use.  I think if I continued to be in an environment where I had to learn the language and everyone spoke it I could pick it up fast.

The hardest part for me of not fully knowing the language was when I was in the hospital and wanted to know what was going on or speak for myself.  It was scary because they couldn’t understand me either, and when I felt sick I had to yell for Michael to tell the nurse what was going on.  In times of need like that or trying so hard to get you message across was when it was frustrating or scary or even awkward.  Marco and Daniel would often translate for us when we were together in public places if we were having a hard time understanding or vice versa.  Being in those situations and wanting to know what people are saying plus seeing the opportunities that come with knowing a different language gives me motivation to learn Spanish.  The only way I think I could do that is by speaking it all the time or else I would lose my skills in the language.

Ana Northrop
LEAF Contributor
ML@FLCC: Costa Rica 2016

…