In 2019 I took a year off to try to achieve fluency in Spanish by traveling Latin America.
This blog captures the first 3 months of the journey.
I traveled overland through Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador for nearly a year, until Coronavirus hit. In that time, I learned tons about Latin America, about the Spanish language, and about myself, too.
What's up with the photos?
I edited the photos to look more like art, hoping to enhance the nostalgic effect. And to cover for poor lighting, bad framing and awkward faces – I wasn’t always much of a photographer.
Though I’ve updated this title page, the blog posts have been left as-is, capturing my first impressions exploring Mexico those first 3 months. I wanted this blog to be a fun keepsake of the experience, and while it doesn't document the entire trip, I believe it still provides an accurate cross-section of my journey.
Read the stories
I volunteered with a family, dated in a new culture, made innumerable friends, learned reggaeton bangers, scored epic waves, pushed my comfort zone, seriously studied salsa, and notably improved my Spanish. The posts were meant to be read in order, and if the above sounds interesting, please start with my first: a deeper dive on my motivation to take the trip and my strategy to learn Spanish along the way.
My trip, Mapped
Arrows on the left and right side of the map allow you to follow the trip step by step, with dates and brief notes. You can also hover over each circle to see the same. In cases where a location corresponds with a blog post, you can visit the post by clicking the link hidden below the text.
More About Me
I am a global learner, problem solver, and adventurer. I try to cram as much life as I can into any given moment, and I occasionally go on “jags” where I dive in to learning something new. For the past year, my jag was Spanish.
Before this trip, I built a skill set tackling enterprise-wide challenges in strategy, operations and analytics for large organizations in the private and philanthropic sectors. I’m looking forward to putting those skills to use in my next role, and I’m particularly interested in the food, transportation, fintech and sustainability sectors.
I’m also passionate about health, hip hop, and improving my dance skills. Motto to live by: “Never miss a chance to be fabulous.”