My dad immigrated to the US from Argentina, and my mom came from India – they were both children when they arrived and didn’t know English.
I’ve been learning Spanish forever, but in my school growing up, language was an elective, it was not seen as a necessity like math or English. Also, before I came to Duke I was learning the language in a “white way,” like Americanized Spanish.
But I’ve become more motivated to learn Spanish since coming to Duke. I’m taking Spanish with native Spanish speakers, and other students are actually interested in the language and history.
This summer I went to Alicante, Spain. It was two semesters of Spanish in 6 weeks! This semester, I’m in a service-learning Spanish class. We have a cool project interacting with local Latin restaurant owners. We also had a field trip on a Sunday. It was amazing. We went to this event called Fiesta de Pueblo in Raleigh, and they had performances, food vendors, arts and crafts, and resources. It was super cool how all these different organizations had come together to celebrate Latin heritage and offer resources. I also volunteer weekly at Lakewood Elementary School, in the bilingual Spanish program with 2nd graders.
It’s super important to me to learn a language, and I hope I’m fluent by the time I graduate. My dad is a public-school teacher. In his school, there is a Latinx population, so because he speaks Spanish he can connect with the students in a unique way. My mom speaks Gujarati, a language from India, and she’s an immigration lawyer. Having another language helps immigrants who can’t speak English to trust her.
I hope that whatever I end up doing, I can use Spanish to connect with different groups of people. It’s so clear with my parents that having another language is important. I see that firsthand, and it’s awesome. – Annika Aristimuno #Undergrad #HumansofDukeSanford #HispanicHeritageMonth
Annika is double majoring in Public Policy and International Comparative Studies. Spanish is not a major or a minor, just a passion.