Spanish or French?

economiss
Tue, 09 Jul 2013 10:12:36 +0000

I’ve thought about taking the four semesters of French, studying abroad, then taking Spanish after that.

I think a lot of it boils down to where a student wants to study abroad. As a part of my parent’s career, I spent two several month periods in Costa Rica as a little girl. I loved the experience and the people (because I was a child, there was less “gringa” bias attached to me (though I look about as Anglo-American as they come), I think, and my parents say I was pretty confident and conversational in Spanish). But I’ve never been to Europe, Africa, or the Middle East, and I think that French might afford me that opportunity.

I’m stuck in an endless loop haha. I want to take French and study abroad in a Francophone location, but I don’t want to lose what Spanish I still possess in the years I devote to French. Another element is that it’s tempting to, amid what I’m sure will be a challenging semester of adjustment to college life and the academic rigor of Wellesley, take a subject that I have some exposure to as opposed to starting nearly from scratch with French.

I’m probably just funneling all my anxiety about next semester into this issue. Heh