Over Spring break, my family and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas and I noticed that there were a lot of Spanish-speaking employees on the ship. I was able to interact with them in basic ways. I could understand what they were telling me even though they had an accent and I could tell them what I needed in their native language of Spanish. It was such a rewarding experience because it showed me and my family just how much I have learned in this course.

During a lunch outing, my sister and I sat down to eat at a Mexican restaurant and I was able to tell my waitress what I wanted to drink, what I wanted to eat, and even speak about how our day was going so far. It was very enlightening to listen to a native Mexican Spanish-speaker talk to quickly and pronounce things differently than I had learned them. I realized that not every Spanish speaker has the same way of saying things.

Another way of practicing and exploring my Spanish speaking skills has been listening to music that is mainly Spanish speaking. I am very interesting in the combinations of words and phrases used. One of my favorite artists is Selena and more recently I have started listening to a new artist called Bad Bunny. It is fun to test myself by translating what I have learned so far in Spanish 101F with new words and music.