Speaking two languages.

I’m often asked “What is it like to speak two languages?” 

I think people ask me this a lot because I did not always speak two. I’m not one of those people who spoke two from birth or even as a toddler. 

The reason I’ve chosen to write about this is because I do blog so much about traveling here (going to Mexico on 27 December! So soon!! Then I’ll be able to update you guys with some adventures). Speaking another language is often a big part of travel, especially if you do travel for more than just luxury (but I do love me some luxury travel – I’ll be on a Royal Caribbean cruise in June – the Allure of the Seas. sigh.) 

Anyways, back to what I was talking about. I’m going to break this into bullet points of questions I often get asked and what I usually respond with or what I should respond with.

(By the way the two languages I speak are Spanish and English – I’ve taken French, Portuguese, and Russian classes. I’ll resume French in the fall.)

1. When you speak Spanish do you think/translate in English?
Not anymore. When I was learning Spanish I always had to listen to what someone said, then translate it into English, then think of what I wanted to say in English then translate it into Spanish before the words came out. Now I just hear things in Spanish and understand them. I don’t know how to explain it. But when people speak to me in Spanish, unless it’s a very specific word I’ve never heard, I just understand. There is no thinking involved. It’s become second nature.

2. How long did it take you to learn Spanish? 
This is hard for me to answer because I’ve taken Spanish since I was 11. Mind you, when you begin language classes in middle school it’s VERY basic. Colors, greetings, numbers, simple present tense. My classes were not fully in Spanish until Spanish 3 (my sophomore year of high school). We began to read in Spanish in Spanish 4 (junior year) but I had a hard time understanding things. I have always had AMAZING Spanish teachers. Except for my 7th grade year but it’s cos the guy didn’t speak English so he couldn’t explain anything and all we did was make piñatas. Literally.

3. But umm…so how long did it take you to learn Spanish? That didn’t answer my question.
I know, I know. I’m sorry. I could really actually SPEAK Spanish fluidly after going to Guadalajara for a week during my senior year of high school. In AP Spanish (that same year) my teacher always made us speak only in Spanish. Of course she made us in previous years, but this was the first time I became confident in my ability to do so. So I could speak Spanish around age 17/18. However, if I had been immersed sooner, I would have learned more quickly. You have to keep in mind that in school you go to Spanish class 2 or 3 days a week and that’s all of the exposure you have. Or you have it every day for a semester and then nothing for the entire next semester. Practicing continuously and sin miedo (without fear) is what helps more than anything.

4. Why don’t you have a heavy American accent when you speak Spanish?
My accent is still definitely American. It’s marked and obvious. However, I know that it is not AS strong as most Americans. It has taken me so much practice and I have so much further to go.

5. How did you get rid of it then?
Honestly, a lot of my friends in Mexico made fun of the way I said words. Not to be mean, they just thought it was hilarious. But it irked me to no end. So I would practice saying words as I walked home from school. Under my breath, but still out loud. I felt like an idiot, mumbling under my breath on the side of the highway – but it helps. For example, I can roll my r’s but I don’t often do it because it’s not natural. So I would just walk along saying words with the double r in them or a word with an r followed by a consonant because that’s what I struggled with. I would just go “Arrrrrgentina” “Arrrrgentina” over and over again. I also had to practice shortening my vowels. In English we pronounce our vowels in a very elongated way. In Spanish there are very short. It’s not hoooolaaa. It’s oh-lah. Very cortada. Very short and to the point. I still work on words I have trouble with, especially when I drive because no one can hear me, haha. 

6. What are your tips for learning a foreign language?
Learning a foreign language is like losing weight. For it to happen, you have to COMMIT. If you truly want to learn a foreign language you will not be satisfied knowing how to order more beer. I watch TV in Spanish, I listen to music in Spanish, I read in Spanish, I work in Spanish speaking countries, do exchange in Spanish speaking countries. Something tricky is finding people who speak a foreign language in the US and who want to speak to you. With Spanish I can definitely say it’s hard to see someone Hispanic and NOT want to speak Spanish to them. But you can’t assume that A) they even speak the language or B) that they will want to speak it to you. Often, Spanish speakers speak very good English. But for example, in my work there are LOTS of women who speak Spanish better than English. Upon meeting them, I would throw in a bit of Spanish to test the waters just like “hay chicken?” (is there chicken?)  and “con permiso!” (or – in it’s diminutive form – permicito which means excuse me). Eventually they caught on to me speaking Spanish and those who didn’t mind always spoke to me in Spanish but I still threw in English occasionally because I knew they wanted to practice as well. 

But really though you HAVE to commit. If you had told me when I was 11 years old that I would one day be laughing my butt off with friends who speak no English, I’d say no way. No way could I learn Spanish well enough to understand jokes. No way would I learn slang. No way could I be fluent in it.

7. What made you choose Spanish/French/Portuguese/Russian?
I chose Spanish because in high school I had to take two years of a foreign language. I knew this going into middle school and my mom said Spanish would be good. So I just took it. Once I’d finished my requirements in high school I just kept taking it cos I liked it. I even took AP even though no one made an A allegedly (lol I made an A). It’s now my second major. There was never any great desire to learn Spanish as a child but I’m so grateful that I speak it. I know it’s not exactly “twice as many” but for the ease of speech I’ll say this – with two languages I can speak to twice as many people. I can read twice as many books in their original language. I can understand twice as many songs. I can travel to twice as many countries without needing a language guide or some form of a translator. I can make twice as many friends. It’s been incredible.

For Russian I just took it cos I think it sounds cool. French I took it to learn a 3rd language – I only stopped cos I went to Mexico but I’ll start taking it again. Portuguese is required for my major (Hispanic Linguistics). It’s cool but I’m not learning it very well – so I’m definitely going back to French.

And yes! I apologize for that being so long but I’m very passionate about the importance of speaking two languages and it’s just been such a blessing for me.

I’m still alive, kind of.

Some quick points

1. I promise I’ll finish blogging about spring break. It’s just that right now I have TWO ten page essays to write IN SPANISH 1.5 spaced so yeah. I’ve finished seven pages of one thus far! (And they’re each due in a week – nine days so be proud of me for not completely procrastinating!)

2. My friend today who also has the two ten page papers to write lost 1.5 pages of her essay today. I’m totally calling her out but without using a name so she can’t feel too bad if she sees this (love you girl! haha) but that only affirmed to me how awesome I am for always e-mailing myself what I finished after I write a new page.

3. Tomorrow evening I will be on a bus to PUERTO VALLARTA until Monday night. ❤ ❤ We’re staying in the Vamar Vallarta. ALL INCLUSIVE. Dream come true.

4. I lost some friends this year but I gained some INCREDIBLE friends as well and I am so thankful for the past two weekends I’ve had with those amazing guys.

5. Translating from Spanish to English is hard when you realize how much technical-speak there is in your professional project.

6. I have to leave Mexico in less than a month. WAAAH. D: I am so excited to see my family, dogs, friends, Panera, and Target…in that order. Although Panera & Target are at a draw.

7. I love my life. I’ll be back soon to update more!

My host family

probably thinks I’m dead or kidnapped.

I mean I didn’t go out last night…I  just happen to not have left my room yet this morning because of this essay.  Plus I keep reading “Along Came a Spider” which I know is not a recent book but I’ve not read it and it’s on itunes for $7.99.

My thinking is really backwards because I’m sitting here like “No, if I leave my room now they’ll be like ‘Where have you been?!'” But if I wait longer…well, then it will just be a larger amount of time that I’m MIA.

Back to my book…I used to promise I would never read books digitally but alas I was forced to in Mexico. #firstworldproblems (Sorry, I know this isn’t twitter but I had to.) Because books here (in English) are ridiculously expensive. I know I should read in Spanish but right now my whole life is pretty much in Spanish so some English is good.

Anyways, tomorrow is an adventure to San Miguel de Allende and Sunday is an adventure to either La Pena de Bernal or Tequisquiapan.

Stay posted for exciting photos!

VIVA MEXICO.

I typed this last night but here you go:

Right now I am sitting in my bedroom but I’m not actually typing this on word press. The family I live with is switching companies for their internet and phones so I have to wait until all of that goes through to be able to access the internet from home. However, if I go too long then I won’t remember what I have to say and that’s a problem.

I arrived in Queretaro last night around 6:30 pm and it was very stressful. I hadn’t been able to reach my host mom since December 5^th, whether it was by e-mail or phone and I was afraid no one was going to pick me up. When I got to the bus station I wandered around the entire building looking for ANYONE. Finally, I bought a ticket for a taxi and headed outside. Of course for whatever reason she was waiting for me outside by the taxis (instead of by arrivals) holding a sign that said “KATLEEN.”  Her name is Maru and she sold my taxi ticket to some random person so I only lost 8 pesos which is like…70 cents. Let’s go back to Saturday though since that’s the last time I blogged.

Saturday evening was definitely interesting. We all wanted to go out but no one know what was around and actually fun so we stayed in watching Step Up (en espanol) and drinking margaritas and pina coladas. Then we were inspired by Step Up so we danced around, but AT and Eduardo were being lame and just watched us. After a long time debating what to do and some minor sibling arguments, we decided to make a hip hop video. Hopefully I’ll post it soon because it’s AWESOME.

Anyways, we practiced that for like 2 hours but then at 1 am Erick and his dad came over to the house. It was while we were practicing so when Arturo opened the door we were all in the midst of dancing to Lecrae. We all got ready and went to Erick’s house until 4 am. I felt bad because they gave me this drink that was beer, tomato juice, and lime and well….I don’t really like beer and I SUPER don’t like tomato juice. I awkwardly drank most of it then gave it to Ally haha.

Needless to say, we all slept pretty late the next day. When we woke up we went to the centro which is basically downtown. It was pretty awesome because we went to a bull fighting place like where the toreos are and we met a guy who worked there so he gave us a tour. We got to see all the little tiny bulls and then the huge scary ones. We went to go eat hamburgers before going to church which lasted forever. Don’t get me wrong, it was cool…but I was getting really restless sitting in a church in Spanish because I don’t know a lot of religious words in Spanish.  After church we went home to work on the video some more. We thought it would only take like 30 minutes but two hours and three recordings later we finally had it perfect. This is good because it was about midnight and Ally and I had to wake up at 5:30 am the next day to go to her school.

Waking up was quite terrible. It took all of the will power in the entire world to get up and get ready. I was so jealous of everyone else still sleeping but I was super excited to go to classes with Ally. When we got to her school her professor didn’t even show up for the 7 am class! Ally’s school is a lot like middle school – everyone in your major is in the same classes so only the professor changes, not the rooms. At 9 am there’s English, which Ally doesn’t have to take so we went to eat.  At 10 she had her math class and everyone was staring at me because I’m American. We played this game and then went around in a circle introducing ourselves.  When it got to me the prof was staring at me pretty expectantly and one guy goes “en ingles!” but Ally said “sabe espanol!” (She knows Spanish.) So I was like “Hola, me llamo Kaitlyn y tengo 20 anos.  Soy de los estados unidos y Ally dice que tengo acento.” Which made everyone laugh but I’m not sure if it was in a good way or a bad way haha.

I met tons of Ally’s friends and I don’t really remember all of their names but they all seemed pretty nice. Most were surprised I spoke Spanish.

After school Dalia came with her padre to pick us up and we ran back to the house to get AT and Eduardo. Normally Ally doesn’t go to their basketball practice but I really wanted to spend as much time with all of them as humanly possible so we went to the Marlyck gym. The guy who owns it is American but he’s spent 60 years in Mexico so he speaks Spanish perfectly.  He wouldn’t even speak English to me!  I was super sad because this was my last night in Aguas. L That night I stayed up until 1 am talking to AT and Eduardo about pretty much everything on the planet.

The next morning Ally had to go to school again but I obviously stayed at the house because I had to leave at like 1:00 and she doesn’t get out of school until I think 2 pm normally. We said goodbye but I was pretty much asleep so I left her a note in her room so hopefully she’s seen that by now. I got up at 8 am when everyone else was still sleeping and showered/packed then went into AT’s room and was like “GET UPPPPP.”  That took an immense amount of effort because he got up and then went and sat on Ally’s bed that I had just made and laid down on that. After everyone got moving I went to the park with AT and Dalia. We went on the coolest slide ever and did swings, seesaws, and the jungle gym. Dalia said we had to enter the “Mexican way” so instead of going through the very open main entrance, we squeezed through the bars of the park.

Saying goodbye to the Morenos was quite sad because I was so nervous about traveling alone by bus through Mexico but it turned out to be okay. PrimeraPlus is a really nice line and they played movies the whole way. I didn’t watch any though because I prefer to watch movies in the language they’re filmed in.

Anyways, I suppose I should let you guys read this before I do a further update. Right now I’m in Starbucks and wifi isn’t even free here! What?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mexico update!

Hola!

 

So right now I am in an internet cafe with Dalia and Ally. As most of you know, internet is a bit more limited in Mexico so I might be updating a bit infrequently but Ill try my best.  Also, Im not using apostrophes because I cant figure it out on this keyboard.

Im trying to think of where to start…hm.

After I updated my blog last time, I found out that one of the bottles of foundation had completely shattered in my quart sized bag so I was rushing to clean that up before I boarded as I stabbed myself with glass from the bottle. My flight was pretty good, I sat next to this American lawyer who lives in Mexico City currently because hes taking some kind of Spanish immersion course.

When I got off the plane I went through the basics – immigration and customs before becoming really confused. The airport in Mexico City is HUGE.  I had to take some kind of Airtren to the other terminal because it was 2.5 miles away. I rechecked my bags and shoved food in my face/tried to look more decent. I also met some dude who thought it was amazing that I had a US passport.

Anyways, I was so hyped up but I had to wait 4.5 hours before boarding my flight to Aguascalientes. The flight itself was super short and when I got off the plane we walked to baggage claim (the airport is tinier than I can possibly describe) and I saw the Morenos!

I grabbed my bag as soon as it came off the plane and I ran like crazy (well as fast as humanly possible because I was rolling about 90 pounds behind me) and as soon as I was past the security guards Dalia and Ally tackled me pretty much. We screamed and they were crying and everyone who wasnt us was laughing.

AT and Eduardo had to stay at the house because they thought there wouldnt be room with my bags but it was just as exciting to see them too!

It didnt feel real at all to be in Mexico and especially not with the Morenos after all the time its been.

The first night we were all kind of in shock. We still kind of are because it feels like no time has passed or that were gonna wake up and it not have happened.

Im trying to keep this short but theres just so much to say!

The first night Ally, AT, Dalia and Eduardo took me to walk around Aguascalientes a little bit. It is SO warm here and I love it. I met a couple of their friends too.

On Thursday we woke up and watched Grown Ups and got ready to go to the mall. Ally and I also made crazy videos while we waited for everyone to get back from basketball.The mall is basically the exact same here except the security is toting huge guns. And when I mean huge guns I mean HUGE.  And the mall had a cool play place like when Jeepers (or whatever its called) was in Concord Mills. We also went to Blockbuster because those still exist here!! And we rented The Last Song and The Other Woman but then I kind of fell asleep during it.

Yesterday we all got up and Ally and I went to the gimnasio where her dad coaches a little boys basketball team. We beat AT in a game and then we played knock out with the little kids. Ally has a little friend who thought it was so cool that I could name all the things in the gym in English.  Last night we went bowling and I killed it! I made a 160 heyyy. Then we saw Sherlock Holmes in Spanish. It was really weird to me to watch a movie that I know should be in English but in Spanish.

Today we made the coolest video ever so you guys will just have to stay tuned for that! And tonight we are going to celebrate New Years!

I miss everyone in the United States, especially my family! I love everyone too but I am so happy that I have the opportunity to be here!

Also, the food here is AWESOME. All of it. Seriously.

 

But January 3rd I take a bus to Queretaro. 😦  Im excited to go but my host family STILL hasnt responded to me!!! I sent them another email just now and gave them the phone number to contact the Morenos but I told them we would call them today or tomorrow. Ive saved all the numbers of safe taxis and ITESM emergency numbers though.

The next time I update will probably be later than January 3rd so Feliz año!!! 🙂

Time…where did you go?

Sorry for my lack of blogging lately, I’m in the middle of finals! 4 down…1 to go! This semester is looking like straight Bs. 😦 It’s not terrible, it’s just kind of blehh.

In less than 2 weeks I will be going to Mexico! I’ve officially compiled a packing list which I think I will post up tomorrow evening for those of you going on extended trips.

Thus far I don’t have too much to talk about related to study abroad since I have another 13 days until I go and I think I’ve pretty much covered the entire process, so hopefully talking about life will suffice for now.

Tomorrow afternoon I will FINALLY be home! Last year during exam time I felt immense relief when it was time to go home, but this time I don’t. I mean, I’m excited to go home but it’s just so warm (66 degrees) that I don’t feel like it’s actually the end of the semester.

After my Spanish Literature class I’m a bit nervous about having all of my classes in Spanish. I can speak and write Spanish really well, but my reading comprehension is not very advanced. I know that seems strange but I can read the news and stuff…but stories and novels just lose me completely sometimes.

With that said, I love learning foreign languages! I think it’s awesome that I can communicate with so many people. Science and math are important, but as soon as I’m tested on them I completely forget all of the material. So to have something that STICKS with me is awesome. Next August I’ll be taking Spanish, French, and Portuguese all at the same time so wish me luck?

If you could learn any language with no problem at all, what would it be?

where are we going?

TO QUERETARO! Do do do do do do do Doraaaa.

Dora la exploradoraaa.

Fah realz guys I bought my bus ticket!

Please take note that I am flying to Aguascalientes (with a 4 hour layover in Mexico City) and staying there for a week. Then taking a bus from Aguas to Queretaro.

There are two things I’m extremely nervous about with my trip.

1. My luggage. I am terrified of checking bags.

2. Being on a bus in a foreign country ALONE for 4.5 hours.

As lame as this sounds…I really hope there’s wifi on the bus so I’ll feel connected to my friends in the US.

Imma be foreign, y’all.

To begin: I don’t ever say “y’all.” Not that there’s anything wrong with it, however, I never ever ever say it because it doesn’t come naturally to me. However, I felt that it enhanced the title of this post.

Moving on.
Today it just hit me that I’m going to be foreign.

AKA I’m used to being American. Anyone from a different country is the one with the accent. Now it’s about to be me.

I’m really nervous though!!

You know when someone comes to the US and they make mistakes in English and everyone is like “Aw that’s so cute! I love the way he/she speaks English!’

Yeah?

Well, I feel like that’s not going to happen in Mexico. This fear is probably irrational but I feel like I’m going to go to class and people are going to say “WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS GIRL?!?!”

Hopefully not though. I can just feel it though. I speak Spanish really well…but when a large group of people is chattering in Spanish I can’t focus well enough to know when someone is trying to get my attention unless they’re screaming my name at me for about five minutes.

Ooh I’m so nervous!!

I’m going to be in classes with Mexican students and I’m going to  be so foreign and I’m hoping people don’t laugh at me because I don’t speak Spanish as fast or as well as they do.

 

*Further proof I never say “y’all* is I originally spelled it like “ya’ll'” which is apparently wrong haha. Oops.

picking my courses.

Yesterday I decided to take my Spanish placement exam for Tec.

I received my instructions from Tec because even though a certain somebody told me to “not go forward with things on my own” my school in Mexico told me that I need to take the test by October 24th. Regardless of what anyone else says. Since it’s their test I figure that I should listen to them on this one because at the end of the day…it’s only a placement test. Taking it will not end the world (maybe…apparently the end of the world-predicter guy is saying it’s going to end this Friday but that’s a different story).

 

Anyways, it’s basically this:

 

Below 300: Basic level. You can take courses in English and Spanish-as-a-second-language courses.
Between 300 & 499: Intermediate. Same deal with courses.
500 or above: Advanced. You can take regular university courses in Spanish with Mexican students.

 

I placed into the advanced level which I am pretty excited about! It’s also a bit nerve wracking that I’ll be enrolled in courses with Mexican students who obviously speak Spanish better than me. And I’ll be doing all my work in Spanish. Taking notes in Spanish. Tests. Quizzes. Papers. And it’s not a “Spanish as a second language” class. It’s just class.

However, some of the classes in Spanish that I’m interested in are for international students. So I’ll probably end up doing this either A) 2 regular classes with Mexican students and 2 classes in Spanish for international students (i.e Mexican culture, Relationship between Mexico and the US) or B) 3 regular classes with Mexican students and 1 class in Spanish for internationals.

At the end of October I will receive the updated course guide to know what time and day the courses are. Right now I have a list of all their courses but it’s just a guide, the times/dates may be off.

What about you? Would you take classes in English if you studied abroad? Or the language of the country? Why?

new major at UNC! :)

So UNC will be introducing a new major in the fall of 2012 called Hispanic Linguistics!

Currently my two majors are Global Studies and Hispanic Literature & Culture.

However, I really do not enjoy analyzing literature in any language. At all. Ever.

Hispanic Linguistics would allow me the opportunity to study things such as translation, the history of the Spanish language, sociolinguistics, and Spanish in the US.

Also also also very exciting para mi I can take PORTUGUESE! The first four semesters would be crunched down into two semesters (Port 401 and 402 instead of 101, 102, 203, and 204) and it would count toward my major!

I’m already taking Spanish and French but I’ve really wanted to learn Portuguese too. However, I didn’t want to have to drop French to learn Portuguese but now I won’t have to do that! I can take all 3!!

This is really exciting to me because I love languages and while I don’t know if I could ever achieve the same fluency in French or Portuguese that I have in Spanish, it’d still be nice to be at least conversational in both French and Portuguese.

It’s also amazing to me how much I can understand after just two semesters in French. Our classes are conducted entirely in French and we do a lot of listening activities so while I can’t understand EVERYTHING it’s definitely helped me to be able to understand a lot more than I would ever expect in such a short time. I imagine that because Portuguese is so similar to Spanish that I would have no trouble (hopefully) at all picking it up!

As soon as it’s fall of 2012 I will be switching my Hispanic Lit major to Hispanic Linguistics, I just hope I can get credit for some of the courses while studying abroad in Mexico. 🙂

If anyone has any questions about languages they should definitely ask me! I’ve taken Russian, Spanish, and French. The only reason I didn’t continue with Russian is because it’s a very complex language and it is the kind of language that (for me) I’d need to devote all of my time to. I just couldn’t do that with 3 or 4 other classes.

To speak 4 languages though would be very awesome. It’s also kind of funny because people get so surprised to find someone with that kind of interest in that many languages!