I had been wanting to learn Spanish for a long time. Having discovered my passion for languages after my first set of travels abroad, I knew Spanish would be one of the first languages I would tackle. Not only would it give me the freedom to access much more of the world, but it would also open up many other opportunities career-wise.
And so, after many years of dreaming about making my way through Spain and Latin America, fluently engaging with the locals and living the Spanish dream, I finally took the leap. I was going to immerse myself in the Spanish speaking world by spending a few months in Latin America, and would take some formal Spanish lessons as well.
Prior to arriving in San Carlos, I had already spent 5 weeks away from home. While I had enjoyed my time overall, it was at that point that I began to despair a little. I only planned to go home in 4 months, but was already exhausted. Both emotionally and physically. While I had lived abroad before, it was my first time traveling alone through multiple cities and locations for an extended period of time. I was reminded of something I already knew but hoped I would feel differently about once I started traveling: that I crave routine in my day to day, and slow travel is actually the kind of travel I enjoy.
One of the many hidden treasures I discovered by deciding to slow down in San Carlos
A part of me initially felt like I was failing at what I had set out to do. I had hoped to see a lot of Latin America, learn about new cultures, and make great friends to travel with along the way. While that had happened in part, I did not feel fulfilled. I reminisced about my months spent in Italy years prior, where I had a home base, a routine, and was immersed in the language and culture. I wanted a home away from home, a place I could spend an extended period of time and truly give myself time to learn: about the people, the place, and the language. Luckily, I had planned to spend 4 weeks at Spanish Adventure, and it was fast approaching. I hoped it would bring me the type of experience I needed.
On my 6th week of traveling, I finally arrived in San Carlos. Still lacking any sort of confidence with my Spanish despite years of Duolingo, I nervously stood in the town center wondering how I would get from there to the school. It was raining, and I was burnt after a day of travels and a sleepless night. After an hour of standing under a sheltered sidewalk waiting for the rain to subside, I made my way to a RapiMoto (motorcycles that serve as taxis) and asked if he could bring me to Spanish Adventure. The rain pelted down on me and my glasses fogged so I couldn’t see my surroundings. Within a matter of minutes, though, we had arrived at the school. I dismounted the bike, thanked the driver in my broken Spanish, and opened the front gate. The view before me was nothing like I had envisioned - it was 10 times better.
The cows roaming the finca, and the rolling hills surrounding the farm immediately brought me the sense of peace I had been lacking for so long. I knew within minutes that I was where I needed to be. Immediately, I remembered everything I love about slow travel.
Making Connections:
San Carlos is the kind of small town where you start to recognize all the faces. The conversation partners and teachers from Spanish Adventure, the people who work at the bars and supermarkets in town - all become much more than friendly faces. They become connections; people you can say hello to when you pass them in town, and can share an interaction with. This is the kind of thing I really miss every time I move from place to place too quickly, and is what makes travel so meaningful. After 4 weeks at the school, the people of San Carlos are ones I know I want to come back to visit again.
Learning a Language:
Learning a language truly does allow you to enjoy traveling on a whole new level. The ability to interact and hold a conversation with the locals allows you to get to know a culture in a way you couldn't possibly without speaking the language. Beyond that, though, it also builds an incomparable confidence that you can carry with you in life and throughout your travels. You become a citizen of the world; someone who can access so much more of the planet and the people around them. Without stopping to focus on learning a language and fully immersing myself in it, I would never have learned half as much Spanish as I did.
Understanding a Culture:
I have passed through places before, and have enjoyed the food and the sights. While those experiences could still have been pleasant and meaningful in their own ways, they did not always give me the gift of understanding a culture. Slowing down and truly getting to know a place can be just what you need to beat that travel fatigue, while at the same time allowing you to learn so much about a community, a country, an entire culture. Through conversations and deeper interactions with a community that only slow travel can bring, you get to know a culture entirely different from your own.
Let’s face it: travel can be exhausting. It is not always as glorious as it is made out to be, and can come with feelings of loneliness, disappointment, and fatigue. While there is something to be gained from any type of travel, the rewards that come from slow travel are, I believe, so much greater than a quick jaunt through a city. Spanish Adventure brought me more than I could have imagined. It was, very literally, exactly the kind of Spanish adventure I needed to remind me why I love to travel.