Direccions en Espanol!

I've always wondered if Spanish speaking schools teach their students English. I always wonder how hard it is for them, and if the students ever feel the same way I do when I'm trying to learn their language. Then I wonder what it would be like if my official language was Spanish, and how different my life would be. I received a GPS this year for my birthday. When my mom and I were setting it all up and figuring out how it worked, I saw their was an option for it to be in Spanish. I then began wondering how hard it would be for Spanish speaking people to travel in the United States. Yeah, the GPS had Espanol as an option, but would every Spanish speaking person have to buy one in order to travel? I then thought, yes, because speed limit signs, exit signs, and every other signs along the roads and highways don't have English and Spanish on them! How would they completely understand where they were going? It'd be nearly impossible! And if they don't know for sure where they're going, it could be very dangerous and scary for them, and it wouldn't be their fault entirely. I hear the English language is the hardest to learn. So, I'm glad I speak English and I'm okay with staying right here in the United States!

Senor Temple :)

I love speaking Spanish and being able to know a different language! Sometimes I feel like it's a secret code language, because not everyone knows it! Many times in composition class my teacher Mrs. Temple says things in Spanish. She's really good at it because she use to teach Spanish. Sometimes we even connect some of our vocabulary words to Spanish words to help us remember them. When Mrs. Temple talks in Spanish I love answering back confidently, because not everyone in our comp class took Spanish, and especially didn't take four years of it. I like when people in the class respond with "what?" and I know what she's talking about! It makes me laugh. One day, I answered, "Si senorita." But then i realized she's married, so I can't call her senorita, it's senora. Then I began wondering how different Spanish class would be if we called our teacher "Senora" instead of "Senorita" because we don't call our Spanish teacher, now, anything else but Senorita. I'm glad Senora Temple is my English teacher and that Senorita is my Spanish teacher! It just seems right that way! :)

Arizona

When people think of Arizona they think of Mexicans or many other different cultures. Soemtimes. I do the same. I think that is because of the extremely hot weather and the location of Arizona. It's located near Texas and New Mexico, which are both thought of as having a Mexican population as well. My mom was born and raised in Arizona, my sister Annie and I were born there, and my grandparents lived there for many many years of their lives as well. My mom didn't move to Iowa until I was three. When Annie or I want to study Spanish vocabulary or talk to each other in Spanish, my mom can't even help or understand us. My sisters and I thought this was very weird, considering where she grew up and spent mostly all of her life. She said she never learned Spanish and didn't have to. She even told us that there were only a few Spanish speaking students in her whole school, most were white, American. I found this odd as well. My grandma said she doesn't know any Spanish either. She said she was around Spanish speaking people quite a few times, but didn't need to know it and didn't bother learning it. I'm glad I know Spanish, because the world is becoming more diverse and I know it will come in handy sometime! :)

YeeHaw!

My favorite subject throughout high school has definitely been Spanish. I love the fact that I can speak a different language...well kinda anyway. For awhile I thought about minoring in Spanish when I got to college. After, I looked up what colleges offer Spanish, I found out that my dream school, Mount Mercy, didn't offer it. I was so sad. :( I began to look at other schools close to home that offer Spanish and the major that I wanted. Once I found Loras I thought I was set. I could study everything I wanted to. Then I realized that I really wanted to go to MMU and that Loras wasn't for me. So, I let go of the fact that I wouldn't be able to study Spanish like I wanted to. Recently I went on a college visit to MMU where they told me I CAN study Spanish! I was so happy that I will be able to go to my dream school and minor in Spanish! :)

Subway Espanol

Since I have been working at Subway many Spanish speaking families have come in and ordered from us. Once there was this family who came in and none of them spoke any English so I had to translate for them. I had to individually make everyone of their Subs by myself because no one else understood a word they were saying. I patiently waited and conversed with them and even had a few laughs because of my mispronunciation of some words and from a joke one told me(which I barely understood). I served everyone in the family only speaking Spanish and we actually understood each other. I enjoyed the time I got to talk to them and learned a lot from how fast they talked and how many times I had to ask please slow down. I learned a lot from the experience. My boss was proud of me for taking on the challenge when no one else would.