Cómo? Qué? ...ah, ya entiendo!

The words were zooming across the room. “mejor que digamos….”, “debemos incluir otros servicios sociales…”, “queremos saber también de su equipamiento…” While my mind was struggling to focus on this foreign language, I realized after this meeting with a local coffee cooperative that Spanish is no longer foreign to me, it has become a second language that I can manage with ease in this sometimes strange country. But my ability and fluidity in speaking Spanish allows me to connect with the people and work in a professional level that previously has been a challenge for me.

It was a challenge for me to keep up as I followed this conversation with three native Spanish speakers and one other near fluent Spanish speaker. My Spanish was definitely ranked 5^th out of the five people in the room. But as we discussed the community survey that myself and another intern have been designing, I felt that my understanding of the survey material, agriculture and sustainable livelihoods, was on par to participate as an equal in the conversation with these professional agriculture and agro-forestry professionals.

Communicating the need for holistic and community based measurements to these specialized professionals was one of the goals of the meeting and myself and my coworker were able to strategically navigate the Spanish and the semantics in order to bring understanding to the importance of these matters.

It is for reasons as these that I have come to Peru for the summer: to learn about agriculture and sustainable livelihoods, as well as how to manage and interact with development professionals that may not fully grasp the concept or importance of participatory community development. 

My energy level faltered, as the continuous need to follow the fast paced Spanish conversation lagged on, but I was energized as well with the skills that I was applying and the additional knowledge I was learning. Along with this I thought back to my first visits to Latin America and the effort that it took to communicate in Spanish. I reflected on how far my Spanish has come, to be able to sit in meetings with other professionals and comprehend the conversation’s details and clearly communicate concepts and ideas of my own.

Being in Peru this summer is also allowing me to grow in my Spanish language skills, something that I could never get in a classroom, and to grow professionally as well as personally. It is an invaluable experience that is as beautiful as the country and the people I am living among.