By Jasmine DePompeo
My husband and I have been together for a little over 4 years. The first night we met, I told him about this epic “World Tour” that I was planning to take one day and he was ALL about it. Fast forward a few years to early (“pre”-pandemic) 2020: we were celebrating our wedding and looking forward to finally making our World Tour dream a reality… and then COVID-19 happened.
At that point, we had already sold all of our furniture, ended our apartment lease and made irreversible arrangements to leave our jobs for a 14-month sabbatical. In a time of so much uncertainty, we knew two things for sure: 1. we were definitely still going somewhere, and 2. that “somewhere” was not going to be where we originally (painstakingly, obsessively) planned to go.
CAVEAT: Obviously, traveling during a global pandemic is not without its challenges and is a very personal decision. I’d recommend checking restrictions often and adhering to all local guidance and safety measures. If you’re interested, here’s a few of our lessons learned from traveling in the time of COVID-19.
Long story short(ish), we re-evaluated our trip goals and decided to focus our energy on learning a new language together- in our case, Spanish. Now 11 months into our travels, I can honestly say that it was one of the best decisions we made together. Here’s why:
It’s cool to have a shared goal
It changes the way you travel
It gets you out of your comfort zones
It keeps things interesting!
1. It’s cool to have a shared goal
Before setting out on this trip, I had serious delusions about the person I would magically transform into upon starting a life on the road. Turns out, I’m still the same type-A control freak enthusiast that I was before we left! I’ll spare you the details of my existential crisis (“What is the point of all this? What are we even doing?!”)... in short, I needed a purpose. That’s where learning a new language came into play.
We both have always wanted to learn Spanish. Between the two of us, several half-hearted attempts with Duolingo, Rosetta Stone, and Pimsleur were just not going to cut it. We needed to immerse ourselves and make it a priority if we wanted any lasting results. Once we decided on this goal, it was like a switch flipped. It gave us both valuable insight into what actually “sparks joy” for us- in this case, feeling like we’re learning or accomplishing something meaningful. And what could be more meaningful than unlocking an ability to form connections with millions of other Spanish speakers? Especially starting as beginners, we were able to see tangible gains in our ability to communicate and express ourselves (albeit, in very rudimentary ways).
In this learning process, we both have discovered a ton about each other's strengths, weaknesses, and preferred learning methods- where one of us may be more comfortable throwing caution to the wind and chit chatting with any and everyone who would listen (correct tenses and vocabulary be damned!), the other may be more focused on the finer details of grammar rules. Like anything worth doing, it takes work! But together, we’re bringing different things to the table and working through the language learning process as a team, which directly translates (no pun intended) to other challenges we’re bound to face in life. With a shared goal, we celebrate each other's successes and lament with each other's frustrations (looking at you, subjunctive tense...).
2. It changes the way you travel
A sincere attempt on both our parts to maximize our Spanish language learning has significantly altered the way we travel. We’ve traded up a whirlwind “let’s try to see as much as possible” approach for a slower-paced immersive type of travel that favors quality over quantity. Instead of exclusively seeking out the highlights of a particular city or country (which is still great, by the way!), we’ve found ourselves searching for opportunities with the goal of helping us improve our Spanish language skills. Of course, there will always be differences in longer-term travel versus a shorter-term vacation, but I think our newfound preferences favoring immersion will likely continue to drive any future travel we decide to take, no matter the length of time.
For instance, we specifically chose to spend a month volunteering through WorkAway at Spanish Adventure- a Spanish language immersion school in San Carlos, Colombia. Situated about 3 hours from Medellin in the rolling green hills of Antioquia, there was a very low chance we would have stumbled upon this picturesque pueblo if we weren't seeking out a specific type of authenticity. While there, we were able to form relationships and connections with the people we met and develop genuine friendships along the way- an aspect that we most certainly would have missed or purposely skipped for fear of language barriers, etc. It was undoubtedly one of the best parts of the last 11 months!
Before we started our trip, the thought of this method of travel would have stressed me out immensely (“What are we missing out on by staying put for so long?! Must. keeeeep. movinggggggg.”), but what we’ve discovered is that we actually experience way more than we likely would have on the typical tourist track. Which brings me to my next point...
3. It gets you both out of your comfort zones
If you’re anything like me, learning something completely new and complex can be an uncomfortable feeling! Especially when you’re used to being able to express yourself in your native tongue, taking on a new language where you can’t always say exactly what you mean is a tough feeling to get used to.
Having a partner who knew how the other was feeling and could encourage the other to push past the discomfort or frustration was truly invaluable. Over time, we realized the types of reinforcement and motivation the other one responded best to. To that end, we actively tried to take turns navigating through even the most basic tasks, making sure it wasn’t always the same person ordering arepas or asking for directions.
In an effort to help push each other to expand our horizons, we also learned to balance each other's interests and priorities without forfeiting or limiting our own. Whether it's fumbling through the correct usage of the past imperfect tense or jumping off a 10 meter cliff into water for the first time, you always have a personal cheerleader there to have your back.
4. It definitely keeps things interesting!
Did I ever think our pillow talk would include an in-depth discussion on the differences between por and para? Absolutely not. Yet here we are, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Spending 24/7 with any person for months on end, even if it's your favorite person, has its share of challenges. Sometimes you just run out of things to talk about in that moment and embrace the silence. But since we started learning Spanish together, we’ve revealed a whole new world of activities and thought experiments to pass the time on seemingly endless bus rides, long hikes, or any old time. Since-forgotten games from our childhood, like “I Spy” or “20 Questions,” just got a whole lot more fun when we’re trying to muddle through them in another language!
Besides the fact that we always have someone to practice speaking with, we’ve recently discovered the joys of watching Netflix in Spanish (hellloooo telenovelas) and listening to music and podcasts in Spanish for extra auditory comprehension practice. The next frontier that we’ve talked about is having legitimate “Spanish-only days” where (you guessed it) we can only communicate in Spanish. It might not be pretty at first, but it will definitely be interesting!
Final thoughts:
No matter how much time and effort you put into any goal- whether it's planning a trip or trying to learn a new language, everything isn’t going to be perfect- and that’s okay! Many times, when things are challenging or your plan isn’t going exactly how you thought it would go, you’re making the most poignant memories. Either way, both you and your partner are finding ways to think outside the box and grow together, which are valuable skills that will come in handy long after your travels are over.