languages

Okay, time to catch everyone up. The past couple of weeks haven't presented anything too crazy, but I have had a couple of small adventures. About a week ago I was given the opportunity to meet up with some friends and go swimming at a waterfall on the land of a coffee farm in southern Belize. Yes, it is as cool as it sounds, even though I explain it so nonchalantly. So we hiked a little ways to a small waterfall and took a dip for the afternoon. We were able to ride the waterfall down into the water below like a slide, which was exhilarating and fun, and we were able to jump from a ledge at the top of the falls into the water, which was exhilarating and super scary. We were even able to explore up the river and found a second waterfall and swimming area. All in all, it was a most relaxing and enjoyable afternoon, as I'm sure you can imagine, and a perfect end to the work week.

at the waterfall

My other recent adventure was to Chetumal, Mexico for a weekend shopping trip with my landlady, Mrs. Sewell, and one of my roommates, Rosita. If you know me, you know that I'm not really an avid shopper, in fact I don't particularly enjoy shopping at all, but I figured that a shopping trip in Mexico might be worth the experience. And I did find the weekend entertaining for a couple reasons. 


Now you must understand that Belize doesn't have luxuries like malls or giant shopping centers or even Walmart, so it would have been a fairly exciting trip for them anyways. However it also happened to be Rosita's first time to ever set foot in a mall, or even a department store for that matter, so she was on cloud nine all weekend long. It was a lot of fun to watch her flit from rack to rack and store to store, admiring all of the different treasures. But another reason it was an amusing weekend for me was because I was given the opportunity to practice my Spanish for the first time in several years. 


Okay, before you begin picturing me as an avid and fluent espanol speaking whiz, let me clarify. I have taken Spanish classes since middle school, and theoretically should consider it a second language; but unless you have the chance to practice a second language in a real life setting, taking 6 years of classes doesn't account for much. So I would rate my current Spanish skills at survival level, but little more. However, Mrs. Sewell doesn't know any Spanish, and Rosita can be pretty shy, so I was left to do most of the conversing and translating while we were in Chetumal. I must say, even though I really am very poor at holding a conversation and most likely have a severe Texas twang when I speak, I felt really intelligent and important every time I was called on as the translator. And I really enjoyed finally practicing the language for which I'd spent so many years memorizing vocabulary words. I had a lot of fun with it, and as nerdy as it sounds, it was one of the highlights of my weekend. 


I know it seems like something a professor might say, but I think learning languages is really important, especially if you enjoy traveling. It seems like English is spoken almost all over the world now, but I think it shows a great deal of respect for the culture and the people when you make an effort to learn their primary language. I believe that they really appreciate the gesture, even if you are as terrible as I am (at the very least it will probably make them laugh). Besides, it really comes in handy for situations like mine last weekend, when it's necessary for someone to have the ability to translate. Language is a major aspect of the culture and history of a society, and it's a wonderful way to understand the people and make a connection with them. And let's be honest, we could do with a little more understanding in the world today.