The Municipality of El Carmen
If you would
like to improve your Spanish at a very economical rate and in the comfort
of your own home, please read my personal story.
In my work as an educational-vocational
specialist with a social agency, I was in daily contact with people who speak Spanish
only. During my vacations, which lasted 30 days, I would take trips to South
America with Perú being my home base. On the way down and on the way back, I
would arrange convenient stops in nearby countries, and take advantage of long
layover stops in other countries. Thus, I got comfortable mixing with
monolingual Spanish-speakers.
The Main Plaza of El Carmen, Perú
Today, through lack of
funding, that wonderful job is now history. Since that time, my opportunities
to use my Spanish has been limited, and I try as often as I can to encounter
and interact with monolingual Spanish speakers, but things are just not the
same. I’m still planning more Latin American trips, and I feel my Spanish-speaking
ability dwindling and a need to do something about it.
Guyabo, a residential district in El Carmen
I then thought about my Afro-Peruvian
friend Milton. He is a medical doctor who is having trouble finding a steady
job. In Perú, blacks are generally restricted to certain types of jobs, and the
medical profession is not one of them. Milton lives in the predominately black
District of El Carmen in Chincha, Perú where the local medical facilities have no
blacks on their staff, and those staff members come from outside the area.
Thus, Milton tries to get work wherever he can on a temporary basis until he
can build his curriculum vitae (CV) to a level that will finally lead to breaking
stubborn racial barriers and obtaining a full time job of which he has been
educated and trained.
Hanging out in El Carmen
Recently I contacted Dr. Milton, and arranged for private Spanish lessons for 75% than
what it would cost in the US to get the kind of help I need to improve my
Spanish. He is not only happy to do it for me, but is willing to take on more
customers. The way it works is that I
use my Latin American phone card to call his home once-a-week. We chat about
any topic I choose. While we are chatting, he to corrects my grammar, increases
my vocabulary, and teaches me Latin-American etiquette as I am learning more about his community. I have
already had my third phone session with Milton and am absolutely love the experience.
An Afro-Peruvian dance performance in an El Carmen home
If you are reading this blog
post and would like to improve your Spanish with a native speaker, I can
connect you. However, there is a “catch,” of course! The catch is you must have
an intermediate command of the Spanish language. Dr. Milton speaks only a few
words of English. If these types of arrangement interest you, send me an e-mail
at billsmith510@gmail.com
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