Expanding Worldview- Dos

For my second expanding worldview, I’m going to go into great detail about how I really wish i knew how to speak Spanish! Throughout the entire trip, I just kept wishing I would've took Spanish in high school instead of Latin, which is a language i can’t even use. I went to school kindergarten through eight grade where I had a Spanish class every year. I wish i would've stuck with it throughout high school instead of complaining about learning another language and how pointless it was. Because it’s not pointless. It can really help you later on in life. For those of you who are taking a language now- stick to it! I promise it’s worth it. You have no idea how hard it is to order food or a drink in another country without knowing their language until you get over there and you are staring at the waitress and she has a very confused look on her face. I just kept asking for water (aqua) in every restaurant because it was the only thing I knew in Spanish! And don’t even let me get starting on trying to order food. I just stared at the menu for 30 minutes wondering what the heck I was going to say(or just point to) and if it was going to come out and actually be tasty enough for me to eat it. For the majority of my trip, my friend and I had to ask if the restaurant had English menus before we could eat there. We also had to ask if they had Wi-Fi in case we needed a translating site. I feel like it really hindered my experience because i wish i could’ve gone into a really authentic restaurant and carried on a conversation with locals. 

Don't let not knowing a language keep you from traveling abroad because I made it so anyone can. However, just prepare yourself more than I did. Write down key phrases or words that will help you throughout the trip.