Why learn another language abroad?

English in Los Angeles California

Photo: FLS Students

A year and a half ago I decided to change the environment and completely stop what I was doing. I attended an exchange conference with the United States and from that day my great experience began. I had never traveled outside the country alone, much less to another continent. Even more disconcerting was to realize at the last moment that I DID NOT KNOW THE LANGUAGE. I did not know anyone and I did not even have my family there. Who would wait for me? I was already halfway to Los Angeles, California when I started thinking about this.However, from my experience, I can tell you that it was very fun to learn English in a country where such diverse cultures coexist. My exchange program lasted 6 months during which I met many people, each with an accent very typical of their native country. Colombian, Peruvian, Argentine, Japanese, Chinese, Arab, Russian, European and, especially, Bolivian people made this trip more bearable and entertaining.

Therefore, I leave you in a summary of 10 points, the benefits of studying another language abroad:

1. Not only is the language studied, but it is practiced in the LIVE JOURNAL The fun is learning on the road without the need to memorize verbs or words. It costs but it turns out that, sometimes, making mistakes can be very funny.

2. We acquire idioms, phrases, words of the CULTURE Oh, my God! It's the most fun! More than once I was looking strange to my friends because I did not understand what they were referring to with their phrases or expressions. They, in turn, looked surprised when I changed the words. Each country has its ways of naming things, types or times of day, and in this coexistence there were several moments of funny disagreements due to these differences.

3. We lose FEAR to speak in a different language After three weeks, I was tired of eating at home. One day I got the courage to go out and eat a hamburger at McDonalds. After making a fool of myself and taking fifteen minutes to complete my order, the girl told me that she spoke Spanish! But she liked my accent and that's why she let me do the order.

4. We leave books, videos, music, courses, etc. to LIVE THE LANGUAGE People say that you learn by watching movies or listening to music in English. Well ... yes, but unfortunately the cinemas in California did not have subtitles in SPANISH or ENGLISH. The first time I went I understood 40% of the movie, but buying since the ticket until the popcorn was my best experience.

5. In addition to learning a new culture, we also LIVE it There is absolutely nothing more beautiful than watching the July 4th fireworks in the United States, eating a "pumpkin pie" with ice cream, devouring some hamburgers from IN-N-OUT, going to "barbecues" with friends, drinking green beer on Saint Patrick's day , give away decorated cookies on Valentine's Day, enjoy the Super Bowl madness or give candy to children on Halloween.

6. We make friends from different parts of the world and we know new CULTURES Having studied abroad I had the pleasure of meeting beautiful people. So much that I came to form one of the most beautiful friendships with a student from Peru, I fell in love with Japanese food thanks to my roommate who was from Japan. Not to mention Arabic pita bread or Thai food. To this day, I still remember the crepes and sweet desserts of my good friend from France.

7. You appreciate your country and get a new perspective After 4 months of exchange I missed my family, my country, my friends very much. Even more, I missed Bolivian food. I missed eating organic food and it does not hurt to pay for it. I realized the joy we have of being able to feed ourselves with food with or without a few chemicals, of getting a variety of fruits for $10 or less and, above all, being able to be in a family environment.

8. You learn NEW things As a beautiful experience I learned to cook, to drive, to save, to use coupons, to use applications, to earn my own money and, better yet, to value myself as I am.

9. You become INDEPENDENT It cost me, but I had to learn to make my own decisions. I changed three times from host families, I made trips with friends, I visited incredible places, I applied to different study programs, I lived alone, I lived with friends, I lived with my boyfriend. After all this, I can stand on my own.

10. And ... above all you have a NEW EXPERIENCE. Summarizing all the points: knowing, learning, valuing, loving, discovering, snooping, missing and living is part of the human being and develops more when you leave the comfort zone.

An experience like this is definitely the seed for more future opportunities.