Republic of Panama

Hi, I purchased the Rocket Spanish program because I am moving to Panama within the next two years. I was born in David (my mom, a Swede, and my dad, a Panameno, met while attending college in Boston, married, moved there) . My parents divorced when I was three and my mom moved back to Massachusetts with my sister and me in tow. I finally got to meet my dad after about 40 years of living in the States. One of my first memories is being surrounded by a group of children who spoke funny and kept laughing at me. My first language was Spanish and it didn't take me long to know what it's like to be different. I learned English so well that I blocked Spanish out of my brain apparently. After taking Spanish classes in junior high, high school and then a semester in college and receiving my lowest grades, I kind of gave up on it. I visited Panama last month and my dear family has given me some land to build a house on. It is imperative that I learn Spanish now and I'm hoping that this course will help me to remove the mental block that has hindered me for so long. I'm looking forward to getting to know you and, hopefully, learning from you along with the program. Thanks for reading this! Dottie

Hi, Dottie! I hope you enjoy Rocket Spanish. I think that the best way to get over a "mental block" is by enjoying the experience of using Spanish to get to know others! So often, we're taught Spanish in schools in a way that focuses on getting all the grammar right, and we're punished if we don't speak it perfectly. Mauricio and I think that this is the reason that not enough people actually end up speaking Spanish after studying it! We're not taught from the get-go that the point of learning Spanish is to *enjoy talking with others*. How many of us actually speak English perfectly when we're chatting with our friends, anyway? The great thing about learning Spanish is that you'll be able to have experiences with native speakers that you couldn't have had in English. Speaking another language will help you enter an entirely different world, full of meanings that can't really be expressed well in English. You'll see how beautiful Spanish is when you're *using *it ... because Spanish was meant to be spoken, not studied! Good luck to you! :-) Amy

Thank you, Amy. I am greatly encouraged and don't intend to give up this time. I'm so glad that you have this message board!

Hi Dottie, So have you moved to Panama yet? I am a single mother of a 5 year that is tired of the US and considering relocating there. I'd love to know how this course helped you learn the language and if you are there, how is life?