John's Chapter Four: A Summit - in Spanish!

Last week I had the opportunity to represent Na'atik at the 2nd Sustainable and Social Tourism Summit in Cancún. I went with a bit of trepidation because the vast majority of the conference was going to be in Spanish! That's two full days of speakers talking about policy, activism, and business in my non-native language; interrupted by coffee breaks and meals where I'd be networking in Spanish as well! I hadn't put my language skills to such a strenuous test yet, and I wasn't quite sure how they'd hold up.

But I was still excited to go because of the subject matter. Na'atik has been working to put sustainable and socially conscious travel practices at the core of our school since it's founding. This is most prominent in our Study Abroad Yucatán program putting 10% of it's revenue directly back into our nonprofit English language program. But it also comes in the other ways we run our school. For instance, the money we spend running the program mostly stays in the local community. That means hiring local Spanish and Maya teachers, placing students in local homestays, partnering with local guides and restaurants, and using local businesses as much as we can. Environmentally the school also works hard to recycle and compost our trash and reduce our electrically footprint. Soon we're even going to be switching over to solar! Finally, it's the cultural part of sustainable travel that I think Na'atik truly excels at. We work to embody the meaning of our name - understanding - by creating a language community where English, Spanish, and Maya are all valued. Of course, as proud as we are of all these practices we know we still have a lot of room to grow! And the Summit was a perfect opportunity to learn more.

The day before the presentation portion of the conference I arrived to attend a dinner with fellow attendees. Immediately I was swept up into conversation. Nodding along I was surprised by how much I understood even on more technical topics. Even if my responses were not always grammatically correct they were also warmly received. And more than once I shared a friendly laugh while searching for a word or having the person I was speaking with search for a new way to explain what they were saying. What I actually found most surprising wasn't the language but how much less direct the networking was. Coming from DC I was used to business cards and titles coming out almost the same time as the handshake. But at this conference people were ready to talk about all sorts of things before "getting down to business."

Of course I'd been socializing in Spanish with people since I arrived in Carrillo, the next two days were the real test. How would I hold up in a lecture style setting where I couldn't ask for a clarification or for the speaker to slow down? Well, I can tell you it was hard. Not only was I being introduced to new vocabulary but also to new accents from around the Spanish speaking world. (And a few English speaking presenters, which gave me a welcome reprieve!)

Luckily I was able to follow along, especially since many of the speakers had videos or slides that gave extra context to help me piece things together. Throw in Twitter where people were getting into even more detail about the conversation, and I was getting all sorts of clues. In fact, the hardest parts to comprehend were the question and answer sessions. These didn't have accompanying slides or videos to add context. And the questioners and respondents spoke more colloquially than the formal presentations. Sometimes I wouldn't quite hear or understand the question, and then be left confused by the answer.

I was still thrilled to be there though because the talks were so interesting. People explaining the great work they're doing for environmental preservation. Or how they're partnering with and empowering local communities. Activists moving the business community into more responsible practices. Academics reporting on the trends in the sector and research that showed why it made good business sense to be sustainable. Local government leaders talking about the competing pressures they've faced and the innovative programs they've come up with. And on and on it went with tons of energy and variety.

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The best way to experience the Mexican lifestyle is in person, with a Na’atik Immersion experience. Not only do you live with a local Mexican-Maya family, sharing home-cooked meals and free time, but also receive expert instruction in your chosen language at our school. Best of all, every immersion experience helps fund our subsidized and free local education program, helping local students to access opportunities and make their own futures.