Travelling with a second language
Knowing a language like Spanish is a great way to enrich travel experiences
I knew that the spectacular great green macaws were nesting nearby. But where? Several birds continually flew low overhead, broadcasting their raucous calls. I then saw a man working in his garden who just might know. I quickly reviewed the necessary Spanish vocabulary in my mind, gathered up my courage and walked up and said, “Buenos días, señor. Comó está? Sabe usted dónde anidan las guacamayas?”
Well, not only did he understand my Spanish but he was absolutely delighted to point to the dead branch in a tree up the road where their cavity nest was located. I thanked him profusely and walked up to the nest site where I enjoyed great views of these rare birds perched by the nest entrance. A short while later as I was heading home, he came outside and asked how I’d made out. He then invited me into his garden and proudly showed me the tree where the macaws regularly came to feed. If that wasn’t kind enough, he then offered me a “cafecito” and gave me a tour of his property, all the while pointing out other birds, interesting plants and a family group of agoutis. He was clearly delighted to show off his beautiful property with this gringo birder.
Experiences such as this can be just one of the many payoffs of knowing some Spanish when you travel to Latin America or Spain. For me, it has meant chatting with vendors in farmers markets, having numerous conversations with taxi drivers, being invited into people’s homes to meet their family and getting all kinds of opportunities to see local wildlife — including a huge fer-de-lance snake!
Inspiration
My inspiration for learning Spanish had multiple threads. It probably began with my family doctor who often talked about his many trips to Costa Rica and how he was learning Spanish to make his travels even richer. When we decided to visit Costa Rica ourselves in 2004, I remember going on a group tour from our resort and being so impressed by a young American who was able to chat with the guide in Spanish. Not understanding anything of what they were saying was not only frustrating but also somewhat embarrassing. I remember thinking that as a guest in this country I should at least be able to say and understand a few words. When I’d go out birding, it was also exasperating that I was unable to ask locals for information about birds in the area.
There were other influences, too. My oldest daughter, Julia, had learned Spanish in her late teens while volunteering on a farm in Costa Rica and later in Ecuador. Her stories of the people, the culture and the wildlife had a huge impact on me. I also had the confidence to tackle a new language having learned French while studying in Quebec City in my early 20s. French and Spanish have many similarities.
Learning the language
As had been the case with French, I immediately became obsessed with learning the language of Cervantes. It quickly became an allconsuming hobby. I started by purchasing an introductory Spanish workbook. I remember being so fixated on completing the exercises that I’d even do a few if I happened to wake up in the middle of the night! I also purchased multiple dictionaries — I even kept one in the bathroom and one in the car — as well as bilingual short story collections, magazines, Spanish music CDs and numerous verb and grammar books. I was clearly on a mission.
Over the next few years, I took adult education classes in Spanish, started listening to language-learning podcasts like “Notes in Spanish”, and met up regularly with a native speaker from Colombia who had moved to Peterborough. A major turning point, however, was when I started to attend Spanish classes at the New Canadians Centre (NCC). I’ve been going to these classes ever since. Local native speakers volunteer their time to facilitate Spanish conversation classes in a low-pressure, welcoming manner. Not only have my language skills increased immensely, but I’ve learned a great deal about Latin American music, cinema, cuisine and much more. It’s also been an opportunity to meet numerous other people in Peterborough who are equally obsessed with learning the language. Many have become close friends. I can’t thank the NCC and the many Hispanic language facilitators enough for providing this opportunity.
Travels in Latin America
Knowing the importance of being immersed in the language — it’s how I learned French — in 2008, I enrolled in a two-week Spanish program that included homestays in Heredia and Monteverde, Costa Rica. Offered by the Centro Panamericano de Idiomas (CPI), the program provided small group language classes in the mornings and excursions in the afternoons. The highlight, however, was being billeted with a unilingual Costa Rican host family for one week in each of the locations. Total immersion in a family setting was an unforgettable experience.
To further improve my language skills — and simply for enjoyment — I’ve always made a point of using as much Spanish as possible when travelling. Locals love it when tourists make an effort to speak their language. And, as my macaw story illustrates, you never know what opportunities these conversations might lead to.
One of the challenges you sometimes have, however — especially if you’re a bit of an introvert like me — is finding people to talk with. Over the years, I’ve developed some useful strategies. First, I take full advantage of chatting with servers in restaurants. If they speak English, I always explain that I want to practice my Spanish. Another great language opportunity is taking taxis or even hiring a taxi driver to do a sightseeing tour. In 2022, we spent a wonderful half-day with a cabbie called Laurence who took us up to the Poas volcano near San José, Costa Rica. It was two for the price of one: practising Spanish and seeing one of the country’s natural wonders.
I also take full advantage of speaking with gardeners.
Most anywhere you stay in Latin America there’ll be a gardener or maintenance person who comes by regularly. And, because they usually only speak Spanish, it’s less intimidating than talking with someone who’s bilingual and tends to revert to English.
Developing a relationship with these people invariably leads to wonderful experiences. I always ask them to let me know about any wildlife they might see on the property. When we visited Puerto Morelos in Mexico this past winter, I befriended Mauricio, the gardener at the Airbnb we rented. He proudly showed up at our door one morning with a melodious blackbird that had somehow gotten trapped in his house. He was so pleased to show it to me and insisted I hold it. Over the four weeks he also showed me snakes, iguanas and even a roosting ferruginous pygmy-owl.
My tutor, Sandra
In 2018 when we first went to Costa Rica for an extended two-month stay, I decided to take advantage of the extra time we had available to meet up regularly for private lessons with a Spanish teacher. This is how I got to know Sandra Candela, a Colombian living in Cahuita on the Caribbean coast. Not only has my Spanish improved, but I’ve learned a great deal from her about everything from Indigenous and Afro-Costa Rican culture to cacao farming. Like all good tutors, she’s always open to focusing our conversations on other topics I’m interested in, too, like birds and climate change. I continue to meet up with regularly with her over Skype or Zoom for online lessons. You can reach Sandra at siempreverde67@gmail.com.
Having a tutor is something I’d recommend to anyone embarking on a language-learning journey. You’ll progress much more rapidly and have a lot of fun in the process. Soon, you might even become good friends. There are many websites like www.italki.com/en where you can find language tutors at a reasonable cost.
Next week, I’ll look at some of the challenges involved with learning Spanish but also more of the wonderful payoffs.