¡La Gringa Habla Español!

I have just returned to life from a much-needed vacation in Playa Grande, Costa Rica. The hot weather was a welcome change from the bitter cold of the Big Apple, as was the absence of cell phone, computer, and even television. That's right, folks, you can survive! Being immersed in a culture whose motto is "Pura Vida," or pure life, had the effect on me of a detoxifying system overhaul. What's more, I had the chance to brush up on my Español.

I began studying Spanish in eighth grade, went on to study it extensively in high school, placed out of a minor's worth of college credit thanks to Advanced Placement Exams, and opted to further my bilingual education by double majoring in Spanish in college. I'm somewhat of an anomaly in that I became fluent in Spanish in the classroom, having never studied abroad or even visited a Spanish-speaking country, for that matter. My trip to Costa Rica reminded me how valuable a tool bilingualism can be, not only in order to communicate but also to strengthen one's grasp of the English language.

It has long been my hypothesis that English must surely be one of the most difficult languages to learn. It is rife with exceptions to the rule and words that aren't pronounced like they are spelled. Luckily I didn't have to learn it as a second language. Learning Spanish was actually extremely helpful in my knowledge of English grammar, tenses, and vocabulary, and for this reason I encourage bilingual education, especially at a young age. Spanish, along with French, Portuguese and Italian, are formulaic in structure and therefore can be learned systematically. Spanish taught me several things about English, for instance, what a gerund was (an -ing verb in English, or a verb in noun form), the difference between imperfect and preterite tenses (two forms of the past tense -- imperfect means something was happening while the preterite tense describes a finite event that happened), reflexive verbs (involve myself, yourself, etc.), and the subjunctive, to name but a few. My vocabulary benefited greatly from Spanish, as did my general understanding of both languages.


In Costa Rica I quickly became known as “La gringa que habla Español,” which I did not mind. Despite my unfortunate hiatus from regular practice of the language, I was able to get by. In fact, some of the Tikos (native Costa Ricans, their term) even complemented me and asked where I had learned to speak. For some reason I am usually afraid to use my Spanish in the states because I do not want to make mistakes. I realized that this is ridiculous. How can I ever claim fluency in a language that I do not allow myself to use? The people in Costa Rica were thrilled that I tried, and it certainly paid off.

¡Buenas Noches!