This is a testimonial by Habla Ya Spanish student Candace McConico from Los Angeles. If you, as Candace, would like to have a shot at winning some free Spanish lessons over Skype, click here for more information about what you need to do...
Hello All... Candace McConico here!!!! You have absolutely no idea how much I miss Panama. I think about my experiences there quite often. To be honest with you, I wish I could come back and study Spanish, and live for a few more months. Since I’ve left Panama, I’ve been trying to establish myself in my career. Its taking longer than I had anticipated. I’m recently engaged and have made my relationship a priority since my return. I’ve also looked into studying Spanish at local language schools. I haven’t done much formal study since I’ve been back, but I use my Spanish periodically. I went to Mexico with my family last month and had to translate everything that was said. It was at that point, I realized how much I really knew, although I know I’ve forgotten a lot. It sparked that fire again, just to speak with the locals. It reminded me of why I wanted to learn Spanish in the first place. Learning Spanish is a priority in my life and it is time for me to commit to continued education.
This is the host family that I lived with during my time in Bocas del Toro. They really took me in as one of their own!
I’ve looked at my Panama pictures a million times, as I miss the school staff, my classmates from all over the world, my Bocas family, and the Bocas residents. It helps me re-live one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I remember "journaling" my Panama experiences on Facebook, so my family and friends back in the States could keep up with me. Some excerpts from my PANAMA DIARIES reads:
“So we are wrapping week two in Bocas del Toro, Panama! It has been a great week. Classes are wonderful as usual, outside of the frustrations of sentence structure and conjugating verbs. We played several games in Spanish and it was absolutely hilarious.”
My classmates, me and our Spanish teacher Diogenes
“This weekend is the FAIR and there are soooo many people here from out of town, its crazy! The town is "hoppin" this weekend. People all in the streets, music playing over the ENTIRE island into the wee hours of the night (4am)!!! LOUD!!! I mean, I could literally have my own party on our porch to someone else's music!”
“The first half of class today was like a brain bomb! Me and my classmate was looking at our instructor out the corner of our eyes, like "Que!?!?!". This is our last class before moving to the next level. Lawd, it gets more intense.”
One thing I will tell you: the Immersion Program at Habla Ya works!!!! I can't believe how much Spanish I’ve learned with only two months study. And in that two months I will admit, I did not take advantage of speaking the language with the locals. So with that being said, I think Diogenes and Aicel did an amazing job of teaching the language. I loved working with them, as they made things clear to me. Diogenes was amazing at adding games, making things fun and relatable. Aicel was amazing at making things clear. I understood the complicated things much better with her. I loved participating in the outings with the school, such as volleyball, dinners, and club nights. I think an amazing part of your program is that you allow your instructors to not only be our teachers, but our friends. You allow them to be human and have fun with us. I also enjoyed my volunteering contribution. One of my favorite things in the evening to do was come back to the school to teach the instructors English. I felt like it was my turn to laugh at the crazy mis-pronunciations and failed attempts at the language. I felt like a 3 year old in my Spanish classes trying to learn, and teaching was my revenge. With that being said, the staff made my classes so much fun and they were so eager to learn and easy to teach. Volunteering there gave me a confidence in teaching I never knew I had. Your program is wonderful and has become an important part of my life. Your program has allowed me to begin the next step of my life, which is ministry to another culture in another language.
This is me and Irasema, a Spanish teacher from Habla Ya. She wasn't even my teacher, but we hanged out here and there.
It would mean the world to me to be able to win these free hours and pick up where I left off. It would be the beginning of me getting back on track with my language endeavor. It would help me financially, also, as I am still not working in my field. Panama has a piece of my heart now (ask my fiancé, as I play so much Spanish music, it makes him sick lol), and winning these hours would continue to keep you all connected to me. HOPE I WIN!!!!!!!!!!!
I love you all, always...
Candace Mcconico
During my time with Habla Ya in Panama I made friends from all over the world. It definitively was one of the best experience of my life and I can't wait to go back!
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