This month’s Faces of Na'atik interview is our Spanish Immersion student, Blake Pearce, from Oklahoma, United States. Blake was a computer science major and minored in Spanish at university. He realized that he needed an immersive experience to take his Spanish to the next level which led to his discovery of Na'atik. At Na'atik, and with the help of his homestay family, Blake found that he was able to use his Spanish every day and challenge himself to apply his knowledge of the past tense, an aspect of the language he found particularly difficult.

Why did you decide to come to Carrillo to learn Spanish?

I wanted to come to Carrillo because it was in Mexico. I wanted very little English in my daily life. I wanted to go to Spanish class and then be able to practice my Spanish out in the real world and I was able to do that here. It was even better than I thought because the people are so friendly here and wanted to help me with my Spanish and they wanted to learn about me and I wanted to learn about them.

When you came to CaRrillo, what was your first impression?

When I first got off the bus, I saw how beautiful and colorful the town was, then I knew it was going to be a really good experience

Can you tell us about something that surprised you when you got here?

What surprised me the most was how friendly the people were. They were happy to engage in conversation with you and they had a big smile on their face when you would talk to them. They wanted to help you as much as they could and they were eager to learn about where you came from as well as tell you about their culture. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

What WERE your favorite activities and excursions?

My favorite activity was when we went to Chetumal to visit the Mayan ruins. It was so beautiful and interesting and the stories behind it were excellent. Then we visited the lagoon in Bacalar!

How was your homestay family?

The families that Na'atik has selected for their homestay programs are the most genuine, excellent, and amazing people; they are more than happy to help you. The family I lived with, the Tus's. Doña José and Doña Maria, were so happy to help me, they were so nice. Everything I needed, they were there to help. Meals were cooked and always ready. I don't think you'll find a better experience anywhere else.

What did your day-to-day look like?

I would wake up at about 8:00 am and I would go to the cabaña, which is the kitchen here, and I would have breakfast with my homestay family at about 8:30 am. I would sit and talk with them for 40 minutes which I liked because it was kind of like a warm-up for class! Then at 9:30 pm, I would be in class, and I would have class until 1:30 pm. Then, I would either do an activity until about 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm depending on if it was a Na'atik planned activity or something I wanted to do. I would come back and review my lesson until about 8:00 pm. 8:30 pm was always dinner time at the Tus family household. We would sit and. talk for two to three hours, with the kids, young adults, and grandparents. We would stay out and talk until it was time to hit the hay!

Did visiting Na’atik enhance your Spanish skills?

More than I would have imagined! I took Spanish in college; you would take an hour of class and then go back into the English world. Here it was completely different; I had four hours of Spanish class. You learn Spanish for 4 hours and then you're thrown into the Spanish world! I learned Spanish that we didn't even practice in Spanish class. Hearing the locals speak, you learn other words and what they mean and you learn better how to say them because you don't say things in Spanish like how you would say them in English and that was huge to be able to practice that here.

Would you recommend the program to other Spanish learners?

I would highly recommend Na'atik to anybody who wants to study abroad in a Spanish-speaking country or just wants to learn more about Mexico's culture because that was the great thing about here. You were in a Spanish school and you were speaking Spanish with a family but you were also living with them and they were teaching you their customs and you were teaching them too. Based on reviews, you don't get that everywhere but you get that here in Na'atik. I think my Spanish immersion, my Spanish language learning, and my cultural immersion were a complete success here and way better than what I thought it was going to be or could have asked for.

If you would like to read more about Mexican culture, history, cuisine and language, check out our blog page for our latest monthly articles. You can also sign up to our newsletter to receive these straight to your inbox along with the latest news about our non-profit school for local and Indigenous students in Felipe Carrillo Puerto. 

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.