Open House & Meet the Parents (in Spanish!!!)

No, this blog post is not in Spanish....but my Open House presentation to parents was!! Last year I was terrified just to do my personal introduction in Spanish and my first year I wouldn't have dreamed of uttering one word. However, after conducting four rounds of parent-teacher conferences in Spanish over the last two years, using it on a daily basis without problem, and transitioning from that "think in English, translate to Spanish, then speak" to "just speak in Spanish" brain, I figured I better give it a shot.

Spoiler alert: It was fabulous!! Had to run over to Rob's (7th grade math teacher who teaches next door to me) room after 2 of 5 sections to tell him I was a Spanish rock star. Naturally.

In summary, so many parents mentioned to either me or my principal how great it was that I was using my Spanish, how comfortable they now feel in approaching me, and how much my Spanish has been "Colombianized" in that I now speak Spanish with the unique slang or idiosyncrasies of Colombian Spanish. After starting the first section a bit nervous, I got a big thumbs up from the elementary school principal who has a daughter in 8th grade and it was smooth sailing for the rest of the night.

I have been studying Spanish since 7th grade, continuing through high school, college, and studying abroad for a summer in Spain, so it is so nice to finally feel proficient in the language. Learning a second language is hard (just ask my roommate), but so completely rewarding when you master it. I still have a lot to learn in terms of grammar so that I do not sound like a four-year-old when I speak, but my confidence is definitely there. Now I just have to continue brainstorming ways to keep up with my Spanish when I move back to the United States!!