“Written Language & Literacy”

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela. 

This quote brings me back to when I was in Ecuador over a summer. A country where English is rare. A country where Spanish is spoken with many emotions. When I arrived in Ecuador my thoughts and mindset were that English was a language that was spoken very commonly. Thinking we all spoke the same language. I was innocent. Clueless. I was 14 years old. On the plane on my way to the beautiful motherland with my mom, my grandma, and my siblings. I was 14 at the time so my little siblings are more innocent than me. Also, clueless. My brother was 11 years old, and my little sister was 8 years old. I was there seated in my assigned airplane seat. Patiently waiting to see some sort of land of Ecuador. I was extremely excited to greet my family members whom I have never met in my entire life. Waiting to have nice conversations about the United States and how life is over there. 

Seat belt lights begin to warn. Land, I see land. The plane begins to vibrate, and tires start to come out as we prepare for landing. The feeling and emotion that is running through my entire body. The feeling of not seeing a view of city night lights like the ones I have always seen and lived around my entire life was a bit overwhelming. Seat belts are being fastened as the tires of the plane grift the ground on the airport’s runway. “Hello everyone, I hope you all had an amazing trip, and we would like to thank you for choosing JetBlue Airlines. Welcome to Guayaquil, Ecuador” was announced on the speakers of the plane. Everyone gets up and grabs their belongings from the carry-on storage compartment as the doors open. 

Skipping to twenty minutes later, we get our luggage’s from the baggage claim and start to breathe the fresh air of Ecuador. Factory pollution free air. Hands are waving at us. My mother and grandma wave back. Are those our family members or just salespeople around the airport? The amount of confusion that was being expressed on my face of not knowing who these people are. 

The word “HOLA” screamed at us as my mom and grandma ran to them pulling their wheeled luggages with them. Hugs and cheek kisses were shared. So now I am very convinced that these people are not just people but more like my blood lined family members. Spanish was being spoken everywhere. Not a single bit of English was heard or seen on signs. My expectations of English usage in this country were not there. I knew how to speak Spanish but extraordinarily little. My Spanish was very choppy. While I was in Ecuador, I had an uncle who always made fun of my Spanish. There were times when I was over there, and he would just tease me on how I would say “la pollo con arroz” which means “the chicken with rice.” This is not how you would say it correctly. It would just be “pollo con arroz” which means “chicken with rice” but without the “la.” Sounds more correct especially if you are ordering at a restaurant. My uncle would also want to learn English. The only words he knew were “what’s up” and “how are you.” The way he said these words sounded very choppy as well. It was the horrible little accent he had which made it hilarious and hard to take seriously. So, we made an agreement. We can teach each other how to speak, read, and write. I would read newspapers he had in his room, and I would make him read some articles I had on my phone on social media. I would also teach him some basic words and phrases like good morning and have a wonderful day. But it once again his accent was what took over his way of speaking English. He would say “Good é morning” and “Have wander day.” My family and I would laugh hysterically. On the other hand, I took learning Spanish serious as time went on when I was in Ecuador. You may never know. Thoughts ran through my head, knowing a secondary language fluently can be beneficial in my future. And throughout time while I was in Ecuador my Spanish would improve dramatically. I learned how to read and speak very well. The only weakness I have is writing in Spanish. Now that is a little tricky. 

I am incredibly grateful for learning how to speak, read, and write Spanish because fast forwarding to know to a 20-year-old man, I can really say that knowing a secondary language has brought me many opportunities like jobs and better family bonding. It is amazing how I entered a country thinking English was going to be used very commonly but it turns out that it is used very poorly. Rarely any signs with English words on them or people who speak it. But now when I go back, I will be more prepared and ready to use my Spanish speaking skills thanks to my amazing uncle. He never got to master English sadly.