Meghan Hawkins, Point Loma Nazarene University

TalkAbroad is an assignment we were required to do both semesters of our GE Spanish courses. I had taken Spanish classes in high school, but I was still not very good at speaking it comfortably, so I was nervous for this assignment. I thought that it was going to be awkward and uncomfortable and that I was not going to be able to hold a decent conversation. The first time, I did my appointment with Sandra Brenes Rodríguez. She was so sweet and made a point to make the conversation easy! We were able to talk about our families, our jobs and our friends. I was so surprised with how easily I could talk to her in Spanish! Her kindness and encouraging attitude really made the assignment go smoothly. She facilitated the conversation without talking the whole time. After the assignment, I felt more comfortable speaking in Spanish and it made me want to keep practicing, so I can have more in-depth conversations with more people. Because of how amazing the first conversation was, I decided to talk to Sandra again for my second assignment. To my surprise, she remembered me right away when she picked up the call, even though it had been months! We were able to update on our lives, about new things in school, with friends and at work. The second conversation was even easier since I had now had more practice under my belt. I did not think I was going to like this assignment in my class, but I ended up loving it. It was so amazing to meet a person from literally across the world and be able to speak to them and learn about them. I am so excited to continue learning more Spanish so that I can interact with more people!