Proctor en Monteverde: Spanish from a Different Point of View

As six Proctor sophomores wrap up a term abroad in Costa Rica, Freya '26 and Kyara '26 reflect on how perhaps the most challenging part of living and learning in Monteverde: speaking Spanish with their host families. Check out photos and student writing below!  

Freya ‘26

Coming to Costa Rica in March, I knew just the basics of Spanish; I could barely form sentences or communicate my feelings. In the first few weeks, I felt illiterate, as nearly everyone else was in much higher Spanish classes than me at Proctor. I was so nervous that my host family would have trouble understanding me and make fun of my Spanglish. However, instead of taunting me for my lack of Spanish, my family helped and laughed with me along the way.

At school, daily Spanish classes come with studying verbs or topics like animals and professions. Through these regular lessons, and living in a Spanish-speaking home for nearly two months, I have become especially confident in communicating with my family and surrounding locals, no longer in Spanglish.

Kyara ‘26

When coming to Costa Rica, one of the first things I was nervous about was speaking Spanish. Everyone always tells me since I’m really good at Spanish I won’t have any trouble with understanding what they're saying. But within the first week, my host family was speaking incredibly fast and using Spanish words I’ve never used before which frightened me and made me feel like I wasn't advanced enough. As time went on I realized I needed to take my time, relax and get used to them. By the next week, I was already having long dinner conversations with my host family. Talking about their jobs, the news, the weather and so much more. I felt right at home. When starting our classes, Spanish class was one thing I felt pretty confident about. With learning vocabulary like fruits, vegetables, and things in the kitchen I felt positive about my Spanish speaking skills. Some things that were really frustrating were the lessons on animals in Costa Rica. When hearing about the lesson, I couldn't understand some of the things due to the challenging words I’ve never used nor heard of. But with the help of my classmates, I get a bit of a grasp on what's going on. Within my Spanish class, I always like to help out my classmates by translating and helping them understand the work they are doing.

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