It’s amazing to think that it’s been six years since I was a senior in high school debating what I would do with my life. It still cracks me up to remember the look of confusion on my parents face when I told them I was going to study Spanish in college. They were like, “uh…why, I thought you hated Spanish?”
It’s funny because I didn’t instantly fall in love with the language–it was a love that slowly grew over time. Now, some would say I’m a little obsessed with the Spanish language. But as a senior, I was very practical. It was time to make a decision about my future. Spanish seemed like a great option, and it would open the doors for me to be able to communicate with so many more people than ever before!
I didn’t know it at the time, but that random and sudden decision to study Spanish really wasn’t so random after all. This is nice to look back upon positively because I’ve made some pretty stupid and quick and random decisions in my life. I’m somewhat an “act before I think” kind of person, and it has gotten me into trouble on more than one occasion. However, this “random” decision one day to study Spanish was really God opening doors to a future of me truly finding passion in Spanish and Latino culture.
Currently, I am teaching Spanish at a high school. I have no idea why I, a Gringa, (white person) is teaching a Spanish for heritage speakers class. I mean, many of these students speak better Spanish than I do–most just can’t read or write very well. So I walk into each of these classes as the only white person in the room and try to act like I know what I am doing.
The other day, one of my students asked me, Miss, (yes they typically only call me Miss) why did you start studying Spanish?
I didn’t really know how to answer that question, so I paused for a moment to think. He then asked, “do you have any Latino family members?” I said, “no”. He then asked, “did you have any Spanish speaking friends?” I said, “no”. He then just looked at me puzzled. And I just said, “I don’t really know, I just liked it, was pretty good at it, and so I decided to study it.” He still didn’t really get it. I probably rambled something else to try to explain. He finally asked “do you at least have Spanish speaking friends now?” Finally, I got to say Yes!”
All this to say is that how I got interested in the Spanish language and Latino culture is really because of God. He truly placed this passion in my heart for a purpose, and I’m now ready to use this passion for His glory. I spent a few weeks in Costa Rica working in an orphanage and a week helping a local missionary in the country, but it’s time for me to do more.
That is why I will be spending 11 months starting in August traveling all through South America helping many people all over. I could be in an orphanage in Chile, working with homeless street children in Colombia, or working in the slums in Venezuela. However, in order to do this, I will need YOUR help! Please consider donating to support my cause in South America.
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