After taking 4 hours of Spanish a week for over a year in Washington, D.C., I decided to take the next step with Spanish immersion in Bocas del Toro. After much research online, I picked Habla Ya due to the great reputation of the school online and recommendations from my Spanish speaking colleagues, and its ideal location near some of the best beaches in the region- a welcomed change from the cold and dark winters of the American Northeast.
With less than a month to go for Carnivals, Bocas Town immediately offered a colorful flavor of the cultural immersion I've been looking forward to.
It's never too early to start practicing for Carnival in #BocasDelToro #hablaya #learnspanish #travel #panama
Posted by Habla Ya Spanish Schools on Monday, January 11, 2016
I began my first week of Spanish classes with a placement test at Habla Ya. During the placement test, I quickly realized that the 3 months I’d spent traveling abroad without ever cracking open a Spanish book or watching a telenovela had seriously impeded the progress I’d previously made over the course of the past year. So back to square one: a crash course in the basics with private lessons with Ricardo.
Like most of the teachers at Habla Ya, Ricardo is a native Spanish speaker, but he doesn’t speak English. This means that I have to be attentive and ask questions when I need further explanation. Ricardo was unwaveringly patient as I reached back into the recesses of my memory to remember verb conjugations, the use of possessive adjectives, and lamented the 2 versions of “to be” in Spanish: estar and ser. Spoiler alert: Learning them is just as painful the second time around.
Ricardo and I.
Not being able to speak English with your teacher could sound frustrating (and it can be if you let it be), but according to Habla Ya, it's the most effective and fastest way to learn. Using another language beats the purpose of the immersion experience. In case you need more convincing go ahead and check out this post that they made me read...
Habla Ya had all the materials I needed: textbook, dictionaries, and other study materials. However, for someone like me that likes to review what I learned in class and learn through repetition, I found it useful to have a notebook to jot notes in, a highlighter, flashcards, and pencils handy. This way, I could always refer to my materials if I was in a bind: “Como se dice…?”
Luckily, everything I learned in class was immediately useful in my daily interaction with Panamanians. I could easily walk out of class to the beach to listen as local children played an impassioned game of soccer in the sand and teased each other (“pritty” in Panamanian slang means cool). And it’s useful to be able to conjugate your verbs when ordering food from local vendors and restaurants!
Local kids playing soccer on the sand at Bocas' Town Beach.
Making time to study, however, is the most challenging part of being in a place surrounded by beautiful beaches, pulsing music, and friendly faces. After realizing how quickly I could forget a year’s worth of Spanish classes, I wanted to ensure that I took full advantage of everything I am learning at Habla Ya and take my Spanish lessons as seriously as one would take surfing or diving lessons (which you can also join).
With sprawling balconies at Habla Ya as well as most of the hostels in town, and plenty of palm trees near the ocean to sit under, I’ve found it relatively easy to find a quiet spot to dedicate time to homework and studying. Now, with the basics under my belt, I’m ready to face week two!
Habla Ya Bocas is only a block from the Caribbean Sea, so when you're doing your homework on the balcony you'll get to enjoy a calming breeze.
The end of the dock at Playa Istmito is a nice and relaxing place to do my Spanish homework after class. Playa Istmito, also known as "Las Cabañas", is the closest beach to Bocas Town and only a 10 minute walk from Habla Ya.
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