Why do people travel? For the food? For the beach? For the cute guys on said beach? Whatever the reason, millions of
people are drawn to it. It’s a demon that takes over and drags our bodies on a plane. That’s the only explanation. Or is it
deeper than that? Perhaps people love to travel because they find a home in whichever place they go.
I love everything about travel. The plane rides, the different foods, the interactions with people, even the waiting for
things! Each time I get on a plane, before I take off I take a deep breath to absorb that feeling. It will never get old. I
will always crave it for the rest of my life, but why?
The experiences a person gains when traveling is the answer. Right now in our world we have the power to reach every
part of the globe in a matter of hours. We could explore the places we’ve only seen in our dreams. We could climb the
highest mountains or swim in the deepest oceans. The world is literally ours for the taking.
My excitement with the trip to Costa Rica started with a love of traveling passed on from my family, but it really took
flight my freshman year of high school. I walked into my Spanish classroom on day one and could already tell that year
was gonna be different. I will never forget my Spanish teacher; he was so inspiring and I attribute a lot of my growth in
Spanish to him. He always had fascinating stories of his travel experiences and would drop little cultural facts about
countries randomly. One country in particular was Costa Rica. He loved its eco-tourism and people and encouraged us
to visit. So when the opportunity in my school came to travel to Costa Rica, I jumped at the chance. Charlemagne
famously said, “to speak a second language is to have a second soul”. I’m looking for my Spanish soul and I intend to
find it in Costa Rica.
My special connection with traveling and language is how I’ve fallen in love with speaking Spanish. I can talk to native
speakers comfortably and confidently and communicate with intention and feeling. It’s all because I am absolutely head
over heels with the language. Every time I’ve traveled, it further enforced my love for learning Spanish. I talk to waiters
at restaurants, I speak with my mother, I make comments to my friends — much to their aggravation. I simply cannot
stop. I couldn’t if I tried. It has now become a part of me just as much as the other things I love.
That is why cultural immersion is so essential. It’s not just the learning of a language, it is learning an entirely new way
of life through language. Learning a language in a classroom is useless if not used in the real world. Language is the
gateway to understanding an entirely different form of identity people can have.
Additionally, by learning the identity of another culture, people gain a greater understanding of their own. I never get
homesick because when I visit other places and experience their cultures, languages and food, I find a piece of myself in
everything I see. It is crucial for people to go out into the world and learn about other cultures, you never know what
could resonate with you. If you can experience how another culture interacts, you can compare and contrast as well as
reflect on your own. It is in this way that cultural immersion fosters priceless personal growth in people.
Once you enter a new environment that is foreign to yours, it can be scary and jarring. You’ll wish for a friendly face to
guide you and help you understand. Having that experience, a person will understand more when others experiencing a
new culture or place may feel alienated. Being able to relate to others in such a way provides a way for people to access
an open way of viewing other cultures.
Cultural Immersion is an outlet that gives people the space to develop love for a language and culture other than their
own. It makes them curious and excited. A classroom is great but a city market is real. This is why it’s so important to
go places and leave the town you grew up in. Meet new people, eat something new, dance on a random beach at
midnight.
It’s your life, now live it.
This is only the first chapter of Molly’s journey; as part of her scholarship, she’ll be writing a second installment after she returns from Costa Rica this summer. We're already looking forward to hearing about the 'Spanish soul' she finds while exploring the local culture and building connections that go far beyond the classroom!