Spanish Immersion Student Zack Barrett

Zack is a fishing guide from Eastern Idaho who spends a few months a year in Punta Allen, Quintana Roo. Punta Allen is a small fishing village in Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve at the end of the Boca Paila Peninsula in Tulum just a few hours’ drive from Carrillo Puerto. After spending too much time using Spanish phone apps and struggling to grasp the language fully, he found Na’atik’s Spanish Immersion program through a friend and decided to “buckle down and learn” the language. 

Here are some of his highlights of Na’atik’s Spanish Immersion Program:

What were some of the positives of enrolling in an immersion program through Na’atik?

In my process of trying to learn Spanish on my own, I was playing with some apps using Google translate to come up with words or phrases, but I was really missing the base of the language, which is grammar. One of the positives I’ve  already seen during my two week class with Na’atik is really being taught the importance of the grammar, the conjugations of the verbs and past, present, and future tenses. I feel like in the last two weeks I’ve learned more than I have in the last 4 years of playing with apps. 

Do you have opportunities to practice?

The fortunate thing I guess for me, as someone who spends a few months a year in Mexico, is I’m not taking this course and getting on an airplane and going right back home. I get to go to Punta Allen and practice my Spanish, whether it be with local people in town or on the boat with my fishing guide. So, I have a lot of opportunities in the next couple months to practice a lot more and use this base that I’ve acquired through Na’atik. 

What are your first impressions of Carrillo?

Well when I first arrived in Carrillo I didn’t know exactly what to expect, I hadn’t been to Carrillo before but I had heard quite a bit about it from my stays in Punta Allen. A lot of the guides I fish with there actually work in Punta Allen as guides but most of their families are back in Carrillo. I showed up and just started walking around and riding a bike to get oriented to the town. I really got more of a big town vibe than an actual city, which was good. The people here seem extremely friendly and most people will wave and say hello. And a little hola buenas días or hola buenas tardes seems to go a long way with the people in Carrillo. So, I felt very welcome during my stay here. 

How was your Homestay Family experience?

I stayed with a Homestay Family and had a wonderful time with them. I wasn’t sure exactly how that would go down or how comfortable I would be in that setting but the people were so nice, very hospitable to my needs or wants. It was a very relaxed situation. I knew going into that situation that the family was a part of the school, or they know that I am coming without a lot of Spanish knowledge. So, you know it’s different than just walking into a family that’s not expecting you. The family was expecting me to come and know very little Spanish. So it was a comfortable environment for me to practice and generally, just to make mistakes and not worry about what they thought of me making these mistakes. As someone who really really enjoys food from all over the world, one of the best parts for me was being able to sample the food that was cooked daily by the host family. 

How were your classes?

The classes were interesting and I think I got better at them as I went along. I’m 45 years old so it's literally been 30 years since I was in a classroom environment. Luckily for me on this trip I was the only student, so it was one-on-one and it was very relaxed. I felt like the class was catered to my learning speed very well. 

What was your favorite aspect of the experience?

Besides the obvious of coming to Na’atik for learning, I would say the homestay was just wonderful and as someone who enjoys to eat, the home cooking of local dishes was really exciting for me to see what I get to eat every day for dinner or lunch. Past that even was getting to know Carrillo. Most of the town is totally accessible by walking, and it was a great way to pass the time to get out, take a walk, and feel welcome in this small town. 

Would you recommend Na’atik?

YES. I would definitely recommend Na’atik to anybody else, anyone younger or older can benefit from coming to Na’atik and studying Spanish for a couple weeks. I enjoyed the two weeks and it was actually exhausting but so beneficial. 

Note: Zack has already signed up to return to Na’atik for another two weeks!

For more information on our immersion programs please reach out to our amazing Spanish and Maya Language Program Manager, Dafne, at say@naatikmexico.org, or read more here