The Importance of Learning Languages

Honduras, Guatemala, or Nicaragua? Or all of them? Have you ever considered traveling in Central America. Think about it. It is not very far and it is beautiful. I spent 6 months in those countries and I enjoyed it very much.  When I arrived in Nicaragua I hardly spoke any Spanish. Before I left Germany, I hadn’t given that much thought because I was sure to be able to survive with English. After all, everybody speaks some English everywhere. But not so much in Nicaragua and Honduras, which made it pretty difficult to find places to stay, the right buses to take to the next destination, and the like.

So, after a week or two I started taking Spanish classes which helped me a lot to travel to all the beautiful places in Central America. I spent time trying to surf in San Juan del Sur, I hiked up a volcano on Ometepe Island, which is an island consisting of two volcanoes in the middle of the Lago de Nicaragua.  I went on an adventurous trip to Little Corn Island in the Caribbean Sea. It was the most beautiful island I have ever seen. No cars or electricity or running water. Just turquoise water, great snorkeling, romantic beach cabins… But as I said, getting there was an adventure. I had to take a so called “chicken” bus till the road ended. It took 8 hours. Then I had to take a little motorboat for another 2 hours till I arrived in Bluefields. There I had to catch the ferry which took us overnight to Big Corn Island and then it was another little motorboat to Little Corn Island. Without Spanish I probably would have ended up somewhere completely different because nobody I met on that trip spoke English. So I was very happy that I had decided to take some Spanish classes at the beginning of my trip, but looking back, I wish I had taken Spanish classes before I left, I wish I had prepared myself better for my travel experience instead of wasting time in Nicaragua for something I could and should have done before.

And that is what you can do here at the Orange County Lingual Institute. You can prepare for your vacation to different countries by learning the language. You are going to Central or South America? Learn Spanish! You are going to Japan? Learn Japanese! You are going to Germany, Switzerland, or Austria? Learn German!

Not only will it help you to find your way around, it will also give you access to the people in the country and their culture.

One Reply to “The Importance of Learning Languages”

  1. This is very true, I think it is more interesting if you visit the place, and you can learn more about the language and see if you like it or not. Plus you get the see the place that you wanted to speak in their language!

Comments are closed.