Learning Spanish as a Snowbird

Living the snowbird lifestyle typically means that you split your time between Canada or the United States and somewhere warm. Typical snowbird winter residences include places like Palm Springs, Phoenix, Mexico, or South America. This lifestyle is less of a vacation and more of a relocation – but let’s face it, escaping the winters of the north are pretty vacation-like.

For many snowbirds, the winter may be spent in a country where English is not the first language. It may be critical for you to learn the language of the country which could very likely be Spanish. Across the world there are 559 million people who speak Spanish. Roughly 53 million people speak Spanish in the United States!

Learning to speak the native language can make day to day activities and errands simpler but also more enjoyable. Being able to wander down to the local market and engage in friendly conversation with the vendors and locals can be a delight. Having confidence in your speaking skills can eliminate some of the stress that can come with living in a strange place.

If nothing else, learning Spanish as a snowbird can help fill your days. Among the numerous ways to keep busy as a snowbird such as picking up a new hobby or sport, learning to speak Spanish can keep your mind occupied.

A huge lure of the snowbird life is the gift you can’t get back – time. So why not take the time to learn Spanish as a snowbird?

As a young snowbird, our winter residence is not in the tourist area of the country. It is even more important to learn to speak Spanish as a snowbird than our Palm Springs or Phoenix peers. Without the ability to speak Spanish, we will be limited at stores, restaurants, and conversing with our neighbours. In order to communicate, we would have to rely on Google translate (not always accurate) or broken conversations and gesturing (can be frustrating for all parties involved).

So where to start on this mission of learning to speak Spanish as a snowbird? Our first stop was with Duolingo. To be honest though, we found learning Spanish isn’t an activity you can do on your own. Spanish is an incredibly vibrant language that begs to be shared. Learning with a teacher or from living in the area is such a more enjoyable experience. Plus, Spanish is very different than English. There are a lot of differences in grammar and the masculine/feminine use that is very different.

Spending six months of the year in a place where the language was Spanish and us not knowing conversational Spanish (at least!) was not something we wanted to do. After learning the very basics online, learning the nuances of the language screamed for a more personal approach such a Spanish tutor.

Learning Spanish from someone who speaks fluent Spanish every day and knows all the rules is much nicer. It is nice to be able to ask someone why one word is masculine versus feminine or why an accent is used. We expect that our Spanish skills will increase exponentially over a very short time frame!

With the magic of the internet, you can be connected to hundreds (thousands!) of Spanish teachers at very reasonable rates. Even better is that there are teachers who may live in the same area as you. While enjoying the sunny life, you could be learning Spanish as a snowbird!

To start on your Spanish journey today, contact Sally at Spanish Step-by-Step to organise tailored, private classes at a competitive price and adapted to your schedule.

By Jennifer Jennings - Guest Author

Jennifer is breaking the traditional retiree age snowbird mold and is a snowbird before the age of 30! Jennifer and her husband, along with their two senior dogs, spend their summers in Prince Edward Island, Canada and the winters in Baja California, Mexico. You can find more of her writing on their blog www.Dashboarddrifters.com or on Instagram for daily inspiration and adventures @DashboardDrifters