In my mind, knowing the language of a country is the deepest way you can connect to that culture because it connects you with people. I want to be able to travel to India and experience the country as an insider and not just a tourist. I also want to be able to communicate with Indian friends in this country as well. Most Indians already speak English, but I want them to be able to speak to me in the language that makes them feel more at home. I also really love Bollywood movies, and my challenge is to be able to watch these movies without subtitles.

Hindi is such a beautiful, rhythmical, and melodious language, that it's such a joy just to listen to the language. I am having a lot of fun in my Hindi class, and Vaneep is a great teacher. I came into the class with no prior knowledge of Hindi, and I'm really surprised about how much I'm learning and how quickly I am absorbing the language after a few classes."

--JS-- [Read Less]

[Jane remembers that Hannah was in our very first summer camp. She was about age 5 and is now 15, going on ...]

For the past two and a half years, I have been volunteering as a tutor for Karen refugees living in Carrboro. The Karen are an ethnic minority mostly living in Burma who have been undergoing a genocide by the Burmese for the past few decades. Some have been able to immigrate to the US and other countries. There is a cluster of Karen--several hundred of them--living mostly under the radar in Carrboro. They are poor and most have very limited English. There is incredible need for volunteers to tutor in English and just help the families get acquainted with life in the US.

I had been picking up some Karen words while I was tutoring, but I wanted to learn more. So I asked Jane, and we decided to start up a Karen class. There was overwhelming interest-people who have worked with the Karen through volunteering or in jobs like ESL teachers. A teacher, Christine Wei, who has been in the US for many years, was found, and she's fabulous. She is a lab technician at UNC, and a true inspiration as to what the Karen can accomplish.

I'm now in Karen 4, and we've moved from Ghaw ler ghay (good morning) to talking about health, hobbies, and more. Whenever I use a Karen word with a Karen person I'm working with, their face lights up. They aren't used to people making an effort to speak their language, and it makes them incredibly happy that someone is. This is the only Karen course for Americans in the US, and it being so successful is astonishing and inspiring." --JS-- [Read Less]

I ended up studying in Japan as an undergraduate and graduate student before taking my first 'real' job as an internal auditor (what was I thinking?) for an international manufacturing company. Though I never unearthed a similar passion for finance, I did get to travel quite a bit, and spent time in places I never would've seen otherwise at that time in my life.

All that travel and excitement about other cultures led me back to grad school, where I studied foreign language education (specifically Japanese) and also teaching English as a second language (TESL). We moved to the Triangle about four years ago, and I've been working at CHICLE and meeting wonderful people ever since.

One of the best things about CHICLE - and one that I plan to take greater advantage of as my kids get older - is the exposure and opportunity to study so many languages. My husband, Matt, and I just took Mandarin classes to prepare for a recent vacation to Shanghai. So, here's hoping for many years of international adventure to come!" [Read Less]

I was in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua where, starting from scratch with Spanish, I reached the highest foreign service level before native fluency. I was obsessive enough while I was there that I kept a personal dictionary by writing newly-learned Spanish words in French and German as well.

I am a professional artist, a participant in the Orange County Artists Guild Open Studio Tour each November. I've lived equal amounts of time in Illinois, California, and New York before moving here in 2001. Besides learning at CHICLE and singing in Women's Voices Chorus, a local group directed by Allan Friedman, I've been taking writing classes through UNC's continuing education. Maybe the writing will tie all of this together someday." [Read Less]

"After receiving a PhD in biochemistry at the University of Bordeaux (France), Patrick obtained a job at UNC as a Postdoctoral Fellow and, after six years of research, became an Assistant Professor. Judith went to law school at the University of Sorbonne, Paris (France), before becoming an Attorney in Belgium. On arriving in the U.S., she obtained a Master's degree in law from the College of William & Mary in Virginia, and has been a licensed attorney in North Carolina since 2003. She is a partner at the law firm of Bell & Vincent-Pope in Cary (www.bvplaw.com), which focuses its practice on personal injury and medical malpractice cases.

As Judith wanted to learn Spanish in order to be able to communicate with her Spanish-speaking clients, and Patrick wanted to improve his Spanish for cultural reasons, we found CHICLE a relaxing place to learn, at convenient hours that accommodate our work schedules. Since we started our classes at CHICLE, we have had a variety of teachers from different countries, including Ecuador, Cuba, Peru, Spain and Mexico, and have enjoyed conversing with them about the specificities of their different cultures.

We travel regularly to Spain, where Patrick's parents live. Patrick's mother recently wrote a book in Spanish, which we were able to discuss in our Spanish class. Thanks to CHICLE, we now feel much more comfortable communicating in Spanish, and hope to further improve our language skills as we continue our classes." [Read Less]

"I began taking Portuguese in college, but never mastered the language. I was thrilled to see that CHICLE offered the opportunity for me to continue learning and practicing my language skills right here in Carrboro. I've always loved Brazil and had hoped to learn the language so that I might some day do some traveling throughout the country. My interest in learning Portuguese, however, took on new urgency when I discovered and began playing capoeira a few years back. Capoeira is a Brazilian martial art in which all the movements and songs are spoken and sung in Portuguese.

Portuguese is also the native language of my mestre (master of capoeira) and many of the capoeira teachers he brings in to visit. Sometimes the visitors speak exclusively Portuguese! The support and small-group instruction CHICLE has provided me in the Portuguese classes has been so helpful in learning a language that is otherwise not so widely spoken in the community. It's also been wonderful to have instructors that tailor the lessons and conversation to topics that are relevent to the students in the class. Thank you CHICLE!" [Read Less]

For both personal and professional reasons, Spanish has been a long-term goal of mine. Not speaking Spanish limits my ability to understand interactions I have with people as I travel, work, and also as I make a home in North Carolina. It has been difficult, however, to find a program that supports my learning style and has the flexibility I need. Happily, CHICLE offers me that support and flexibility.

As a professor and an organizer at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), a major focus of mine is global education. I am committed to education that challenges students to understand the cultural, language, and politics of the other countries. Language is key to not only our ability to communicate but also to understanding the cultural worldview.

Most of my involvement with global education has occurred in Mexico. I have taken groups of students to Cuernavaca, Morelos where we studied the history, social structure, health care, education system, and politics. Then this past spring, I traveled to the University of Guadalajara to participate in a conference and meet with professors and deans of several programs to discuss student and faculty exchange possibilities. Now I am working with UNCG faculty in these programs to develop exchanges. I believe my biggest barrier to developing opportunities is language.

In addition, I need to learn Spanish to work in Greensboro and North Carolina. Many individuals and families come here from Guadalajara and the surrounding region. As a consequence, the problems faced impact both the Greensboro area and Guadalajara. At the same time, the strengths enrich both. The cultures both learn and grow, as do the economies.

On a more personal note, as a grandmother, I am looking to the future. My granddaughters are growing up in a time and a context in which they need to speak Spanish. Fortunately, they have an interest and in small ways are pursuing those. We are all taking Spanish and plan to travel to Costa Rice and Mexico in a couple of years to study the language and more about the culture. [Read Less]

My experience at CHICLE has been wonderful. As the principal of a Dual Language school with at least one fourth of my parent and student population as native Spanish speakers, I was frustrated when I could not have a lunch bunch with my Spanish speaking students or make a good news call to a parent with waiting for someone to translate for me. Our school hosted a team of educators from Uruguay last February and one stayed in my home. As she struggled with her English, it became more and more clear to me that I was running of excuses for not learning Spanish. It took 2 years before I had enough courage to take the first class last May. With two of my children starting in DL at Carrboro this year, I did not feel I could delay any longer.

Since I am not accustomed to doing things that I am not going to be really good at, this has been very hard for me. I have assured myself that my reading and writing have come a long way and eventually my speaking will catch up, probably not until I am able to do a summer immersion program in Mexico or Costa Rica. But the teachers I have had at CHICLE have all been very encouraging and supportive. There have been different teaching styles, and some have been better matched to my learning needs, but overall it has been a very positive experience. I am at a place where I need to work on vocabulary and talking before I am ready for level 5 but I feel confident I know what I need to do to be ready. [Read Less]

They travel a lot -- for fun, as you can see from the photo they sent us, and for work. We miss them when they're gone.

Hortensia writes:

One of the consequences of our currently expanding globalization is the ease with which international personal relationships are formed. Take our example, my husband is from Guatemala but has lived in the USA for 25 years, similarly I am Spanish but lived in Paris an almost equal amount of time and we met in Colombia. Although we speak Spanish at home, CHICLE is helping us perfect our English (mine) and French (his). One of our children was also at CHICLE, but, learning Arabic! We have found CHICLE's teachers to be willing to help us constantly and have become personal friends with many of them. Increasing possibilities of communication in a smaller world is what CHICLE is all about.

What a wonderful last sentence she wrote. You may see that again from us! [Read Less]

Marcus began learning Spanish in preschool with his teacher, Claudia, who came from Chile. He did so well with Claudia, that >when he finished preschool (Claudia moved on to Philadelphia) we decided to keep on the foreign language track with Marcus. We then discovered CHICLE! He began classes at CHICLE around the age of 5 and hasn't stopped since. He enjoys his lessons so much that this is his fourth year there!

First Alejandra and now Barbie make learning Spanish fun. He enjoys his time there and doesn't even realize that he's learning! Now that's good teaching!

We also like the fact that there are Spanish camps through the summer at CHICLE. This allows him, through the summer, to hold onto the things that he's learned during the year. No rough starts in the fall!

We're glad to be living in Chapel Hill and feel fortunate to have access to organizations like CHICLE. Marcus will continue his Spanish language education at CHICLE. It's such a positive and wonderful way to set our kids up for a lifetime of "the love of learning". [Read Less]

I had been trying to keep my Italian alive by talking to myself in Italian, renting Italian films, and listening to songs. It had, however, become apparent that my already limited skills were declining fast.

When I learned that CHICLE offered Italian classes, I started a class and have not stopped since. I've been pleased in may ways. The teachers have all been excellent-effective instructors, fun and interesting people, and informative about Italian culture. Fellow students have been serious about learning and able to do so in a relaxed atmosphere. The classes have been able to accomodate diverse skill levels and scheduling needs. Being able to speak some Italian has made my now annual trips to Italy immeasurably richer. I will continue studying at CHICLE as long as they offer classes and recommend CHICLE to anyone interested in learning a language."

Confession: Kerry was a neighbor of Jane's in Glenn Heights for many years, but we assure you that in no way has that affected his testimonial. We'll also tell you that he is a clinical psychologist practicing in Chapel Hill. Thanks, Kerry. [Read Less]

Furthermore, we are both committed to working with Spanish speaking patients through service organizations in Latin America.

CHICLE has been an incredible resource for us. Because of our unpredictable schedule, we have utilized the private tutor services. Travis has been attending weekly tutorial sessions for the last 5 years. In addition we have made several trips to Latin America during that time. As a result of both his hard work and the excellent instruction he has received, he is now essentially fluent. In fact, last year he passed a test to function as an interpreter at the hospital in which he works.

My utilization of CHICLE has been more sporadic, secondary to my busy schedule during residency. However, now that I have finished my training, I plan to start a more intensive study. This will certainly be in preparation for a medical service trip to Guatemala next spring, but also for the day to day care of hospitalized patients. We continue to appreciate the phenomenal resource for language education CHICLE provides to us and our community. [Read Less]

Judith Rizzo:

I have been studying French at Chicle for a few years, and have participated in French 22 and in the intermediate conversation classes. It has been a joy improving my language skills and meeting wonderful classmates, many of whom have become friends. We learned about French history, customs, art, architecture, food, traditions, current events, always in a relaxed and supportive atmosphere. I found that my end-of-workday blahs quickly evaporated as I entered a new world of ideas and experiences. Because my experience with French classes was so positive, when I learned that Italian conversation was being offered, I jumped at the chance to participate. I am so glad that CHICLE exists; it is a real treasure. I am so happy that I found my way into this wonderful family of learners.

William Nadel:

In the mid 1990s I went on vacation to Paris after having taken a beginning level French class as the Alliance Française in San Francisco; I spoke just well enough to make myself understood. I fell in love with the city and have since been back at least a dozen times. I now have friends and a godson who live there and being able to communicate with the people there makes my visits even more fulfilling. CHICLE has been the perfect place for me to study. I had used the translation services for a work project and learned about the classes via the electronic newsletter. I have benefitted from excellent instruction and have made many friends in class.

Mark Scroggs:

I am an ophthalmologist and am trying to learn French to speak it with my wife, that I really like CHICLE and think Bernard was an excellent teacher.

Julie Bielski:

I am a computer professional, but enjoy the study of languages and had always had a desire to learn French. I started my studies a few years ago through Durham Tech, and when I had completed their offerings, went on to a series of tutors. Last year I decided to try CHICLE. I placed into what was then French 17, taught by Bernard Luscans, and I shared the class with 4 other "regulars". I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the focus on both grammar and conversational skills. I hope to continue improving my French language skills at CHICLE and making connections with people who enjoy the language as I do.

[Read Less]

I actually haven't had any specific reasons for learning a language - I just always thought it was fun! I learned French in high school and spent a summer in Metz and almost became a French major in college. In my adult life I've spent much more time on Spanish, which I've taken (along with some Portuguese) at CHICLE. I'm a sociologist, so I'd like to be able to use these languages, especially Spanish, in my research. I seem to pick projects based on what languages I want to learn!

I love taking classes at CHICLE because of the warm, informal environment and because of the teachers, who have all been excellent. Hearing my teachers talk about they're from - Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, and Brazil - has really made me want to travel to these countries. I moved to Chapel Hill from Philadelphia just two years ago, and CHICLE has also been a great way to meet interesting people who share an interest in other cultures. I'm especially impressed with the broad range of languages that they offer; in some cases, they are the only place in the region, including universities, where you can learn them (e.g., Thai). I think CHICLE is a tremendous resource for our community.

We really didn't pay (or even trade) for this lovely endorsement. [Read Less]

While growing up in small-town Indiana I somehow got it into my head that I was going to study Spanish and be a simultaneous interpreter at the U.N.! Of course, since I had never met a foreigner nor traveled outside the Midwest, I was blissfully unaware that one can only do simultaneous interpreting if you have grown up bilingual. One dream down.

Undaunted, I studied Spanish in high school and then took my first trip outside the U.S. to study five weeks in northern Mexico. I was hooked. But still pretty darn dumb... I thought I would go to college and become fluent in many languages - ha! Eventually I settled back with Spanish and spent a semester in Colombia. After college I worked in libraries with federally-funded programs to serve the Spanish-speaking, in Chicago and Kalamazoo, Michigan.

After a long break of not using my Spanish I discovered to my shock that I had lost the ability to speak, and began the slow process of regaining what I had once had. I first found a private tutor and then began studying at CHICLE almost ten years ago. For many years now I have tried to maintain my Spanish by taking conversation and film classes, and by reading.

About four years ago I decided to travel to Italy and took several beginning Italian classes at CHICLE. I never intended to pursue Italian forever but I discovered I love that language too, and so I now take the Italian conversation class. I haven't decided if studying both languages at the same time enhances my abilities or messes me up. All I know is the night my Spanish instructor decided to practice his Italian with me, I was one confused student!

Now I know that studying languages is one of my passions in life, along with traveling. I am grateful CHICLE is here to indulge me. I may be hanging around CHICLE the rest of my life. Gracias y grazie! [Read Less]

We are from Brazil, and have been here in North Carolina since December 2006. We live with our two sons, Rafael and Gui, in Durham and we are enjoying a lot our time in US. We are a radiologists. Ronaldo is performing a research fellowship in neuroradiology at Duke until June, and Teresa spent one year performing a research fellowship in abdominal imaging at Duke too. Now, she is spending her time at UNC in abdominal Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

English is very important for us and, because of that, we have always studied before. However, our current experience at CHICLE is being so nice and rich. We are enjoying the kind of class and also our teacher. After we found CHICLE, in June 2007, our English looks much better and we can observe it in our work and our social relationships. Unfortunately, we are going back to Brazil next July, but we will miss our CHICLE English class. [Read Less]

My grandmother spoke at least seven languages, and I believe I inherited my affinity for learning languages from her. I grew up in Miami, and studied Spanish all through my school years. I switched to German for a year in college as a nod to my heritage (my father was from Germany; my mother is from Austria). Wanderlust landed me in Europe for several years, where I worked as a nanny in Greece, a volunteer on a kibbutz in Israel and a barmaid in Cornwall, and learned enough Greek, Hebrew, and West Country English (What'll ye have, me fruit?) to get by. I did eventually get an undergraduate degree in Language and Linguistics from Florida Atlantic University.

Peace Corps brought me to francophone Africa to work as a teacher in an idyllic town in Southwestern Chad, until all the foreigners in the country were evacuated because of raging civil war. Reassignment to Niger provided a more peaceful venue in which to teach English as a Foreign Language and train teachers. After my stint was up, I lived in London and taught English to foreign doctors who had to pass a test before they could do postdocs in British hospitals.

At the behest of my sister Claire, I came to Chapel Hill in 1984 to take care of my new niece Hannah, and knew I had found a home when I met and eventually married Andy, the "boy" next door. I also landed a job in Raleigh with a farmworker organization, driving a big Chevy van with a cabover, outfitted as a mobile classroom with fold down seats and desks. With a Haitian musician as my partner, I drove to labor camps in eastern North Carolina, at night, after the workers came in from the fields, to teach English and sing.

Fast forward to the present! (Finally!) I went to grad school in Speech and Hearing Sciences at UNC, and for the past 16 years I've been a Speech Language Pathologist, working in a small residential treatment center for children with severe emotional and behavioral disorders in Durham. I am also typically the go-to person when we have Latino parents who don't speak English, and when I realized how rusty my Spanish had become, I contacted CHICLE, and they arranged for me to study at the Academia Hispano Americana in San Miguel de Allende, where I had a fabulous time - I loved the classes, the town, and the family I stayed with. Since my return from San Miguel, I've been a pretty steady consumer of Spanish language classes at CHICLE. I've taken private lessons, classes on film and literature and writing and translation, and even some French conversation classes. The teachers have all been excellent.

Wittgenstein wrote: "Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt" which means something like "the limits of my language are the limits of my world". I'm grateful to CHICLE for allowing me to continue to expand those limits!" [Read Less]

Every morning at the hospital, I start with a tour of each of my services that I'm in charge of - Pédiatrics, Incubator Room (I forget how to say that in English--where premature babies go??), Intensive Care, Internal Medicine, ER, Isolation, and the Hygiene department. In Isolation, I keep track of the incoming patients with TB, Cholera, and measles. Right now, we don't have a lot of cholera, but quite a few cases of TB (often associated with HIV) and in the last month, we've had 22 cases of measles.

I spend some time everyday with Aimé, the supervisor of housekeeping, who is my favorite person in all of Congo. He's very, very sweet and he assigned himself the job of teaching me Swahili and me the job of teaching him English. His English is coming along a lot better than my Swahili.

There are two displaced persons camps in Kiwanja/Rutshuru, so hundreds of families walked from the area that was attacked into this area, carrying all of their possessions on their backs. It was incredible to see. So sad. At one point on the Saturday after the attacks, when the people were all still coming into town, a man knocked on our door because his girlfriend had gone into labor on top of a truck that was transporting a bunch of people to the camps that had stopped in front of our base. I took them to the hospital with one of our drivers, and THANK GOD she didn't have her baby in the car!! It was nuts-it was pouring rain, Joseph, the driver, was trying to drive quickly over the terrible roads and in between the zillions of goats who run around all over the place, and me, trying to ask this poor girl who just walked 20 k at nine months pregnant in French "has your water broken??" and having her respond by saying something that I couldn't understand in Swahili. But like I said, we got to the hospital before a baby popped out, and I am very; very happy to say that I did not deliver a baby in an MSF car in Congo. :)

Anyway, as tiring as the work is here, I am very much enjoying it and I love the Congolese people. Everyone is incredibly kind, and I'm getting used to being a total oddity to the kids here. Every time we go anywhere, on foot or in the car, you can hear all the kids on the side of the road yelling "Mzungu! Mzungu!"- white person, white person!! I've had many children run up to me and touch my arm or my hair and then run wildly away and I've also had many children see me coming and burst into tears and hide behind their moms. They are so damn cute, so I don't mind being their freak show. [Read Less]

I first started taking German classes at CHICLE about 9 months ago. My partner Wolfgang is German and I want to be able to freely communicate with his family and friends. A year ago, I spent a vacation in Germany and found myself very frustrated at not being able to get to know people better or speak for myself without having Wolfgang translate. This experience really spurred me on to do something about it. I enjoy the CHICLE way of teaching. They place emphasis on oral and aural skills which are very important objectives for me. I never really liked language classes in high school but my experience at CHICLE has really changed my attitude.

On a personal note, I am originally from Galway City on the west coast of Ireland. After completing my PhD in Pharmacology in 2000, I moved to North Carolina for a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park. I spent almost seven years there performing lung research. In July 2007, I left the bench for a career as a science writer and am thoroughly enjoying the new challenge. Wolfgang and I live in lovely Chapel Hill and share our home with our two parrots Lily and Alex. [Read Less]

After college, I didn't touch Spanish again for about 25 years. Shortly after taking on my current job, I was in a local jail waiting to see one of my clients, and I heard some official speaking bad Spanish in a gruff voice to one of the inmates, and addressing that person with tu. That one moment revived my interest in learning Spanish. I began my re-introduction by watching telenovelas, and so I learned the correct meaning of "embarazada" early on.

I don't remember when I began taking classes at CHICLE, nor do I remember how I found out about it in the first place, but I've been coming regularly for several years. I've taken a wide range of Spanish classes here-studying film, literature and writing, among others. In particular, I'm an unapologetic Ruy Burgos groupie, taking his classes the way Deadheads followed the band, and I'm currently studying translation with him.

In 2004, I spent a month at the Academia in San Miguel. In January 2005, I went to Honduras for ten days to serve as a volunteer interpreter in a health clinic, and I've returned to Honduras each year since then. In 2003, my wife and I toured Spain. The photo is from Pamplona, but if I could live anywhere in the world, I'd pick Madrid in a heartbeat.

P.S. Steve comes to class from Raleigh! [Read Less]

Anna writes:

My name is Anna Freeman and I have been studying French at CHICLE for the past year. I grew up in Chapel Hill, studying French in elementary, middle, and high school. When I went away to college in New Mexico, I stopped taking French class and instead focused on my nursing degree.

After graduating from nursing school, I moved back to Chapel Hill to start work at UNC Hospital. I've been a pediatric nurse there for three years. Working at the hospital has been very rewarding, but I have always wanted to work internationally. In 2006, I decided to start preparing to do so.

I wanted to work with the humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders. I learned that most of their work is focused in French-speaking Africa. I remembered some of the French that I had learned as a kid, but I definitely needed some review! I started taking conversation and grammar classes with Bernard Luscans at CHICLE in December 2006.

In the past year, my French skills have improved greatly. Bernard's classes have been both challenging and fun. I feel like I have not only retained the foundation that I established when I was younger but have improved on top of that. We discuss a variety of interesting and relevant topics in our conversation class and I find myself bringing up the same subjects with my friends afterward. Everyone is always surprised that such thought-provoking issues have come up in class. My grammar class has been incredibly helpful and is also fun. I look forward to it every week because my classmates and Bernard make it so enjoyable. I will miss the class, my classmates, and our parties when I leave.

I start work with Doctors Without Borders in the Democratic Republic of Congo in January and I now feel prepared to work in a French-speaking country. I am confident that everything I have learned at CHICLE will be useful to me during my experience abroad. [Read Less]

He appeared in our offices about four years ago and proceeded to teach Spanish and French for us. He is completely fluent in both (and English and ...) and has lived in many countries. He's also a very qualified interpreter and translator but is very busy now studying for his doctorate in Comparative Literature at UNC-CH.

Joy and Meg are so dedicated that they come on Saturdays. Here are their stories.

"My name is Joy Mermin and I am one of 3 ESOL teachers at Haw River Elementary School in Alamance County. Our school has more than 250 students whose first language is Spanish. In addition to teaching the children, we also serve as liaisons and support for our children's families.

In 2001 I took a leave of absence from teaching kindergarten in the Chapel Hill -Carrboro Schools to earn my ESL add-on certification at UNC. That year I took two semesters of beginning Spanish at the university. When I returned to teaching the following year as an ESL teacher, I wanted to continue to work on my Spanish, but a regular university course was out of the question because of my schedule. That summer (2003) my friend, Meg, who also teaches ESL, suggested that we try a weeklong intensive course at CHICLE, and that's what we did. I enjoyed it immensely. The following year I tried one of CHICLE's evening courses, but that was exhausting after a long day of teaching and a substantial commute. Meg felt the same way. So, in 2005, the two of us decided to contact CHICLE to set up a tutorial on Saturdays where we could work together to continue to improve our Spanish.

Our Saturday tutorial class with Donato is one of the highlights of my week. The class itself is tremendous fun - we have free-wheeling conversations in Spanish about everything - philosophy, religion, literature, and, of course, because of our work, education. We laugh a lot. Sometimes we play games. I especially enjoy our role-playing. As a result of the class, my ability to converse with the families at my school in their first language has improved immensely. But even if I were not seeing practical benefits, I would continue to come to class. I love being able to finally really speak a second language. I love the way speaking a language opens a door to really being able to understand another culture.

Gaining the confidence to trust myself and to take risks-that's probably been the hardest thing I have had to learn, especially at the age of 58. I'm still working at it. Donato has been a tremendous help."

Meg writes

I found out about Chicle from the newspaper quite a while ago. I am studying Spanish to be able to communicate more easily with the parents of my students. I took some group classes at Chicle about 4 years ago and for the past 3 years Joy Mermin and I have been studying with Donato on Saturday mornings.

I took Spanish in high school and college about 30 years ago. I went to a
language school for two weeks in Cuernavaca, Mexico about 15 years ago. I have traveled to Mexico several times and once to Guatemala with a group of students to work at a school for two weeks. I have also traveled to Australia and Europe.

We laugh a lot in class especially when trying to express ourselves.I find verb tenses (especially the subjunctive) have been the hardest for me.

I have taught English Language Learners at Seawell Elementary School in Chapel Hill/Carrboro for the past nine years. Taking Spanish classes and trying to use it with my student's parents continually helps me evaluate my own teaching. [Read Less]

My name is Sheree Adams and in the past 10 years I've been to Japan 5 times (I think) and am going for the 6th time in a few weeks. I go to Okinawa to study karate with my teacher who is now 83 years old. When I went to Japan last year I realized that I wanted to study, in earnest. I contacted CHICLE and they said that if we had 3 people it would be a scheduled class. Since there were 4 of us going to Japan together, the others thought they would benefit from lessons as well.

I've studied with teachers and friends for various amounts of time over the years, but have resisted what everyone has every said-that to understand and learn the language, you have to learn to read and write it. Since there are two phonetic alphabets and thousands of kanji (pictographs), I thought that was not even remotely possible. But within the first 6 week session, Tomomi had us reading and writing the first alphabet and well on our way through the second. It was amazing. I really like her style, of teaching and I feel that I have learned a lot. I'm still a long way from my goal but I hope to keep studying when I return from Okinawa.

Mary Margaret Graham, Sheree's partner, is an instructor in Durham and at the Carolina Pines Women's Dojo. They met in Okinawa as they both have the same teacher. She is about to take her 5th trip to Okinawa and has done some self study in Japanese.

I'm David Glenn, a graphic designer, a musician, and a karate practitioner. For decades, I've wanted to learn Japanese to help improve my understanding of karate. It's taken me all these years to finally get started. I think, doing this as a group has really been helpful. We can study outside of class and practice together. (That's a euphemistic way of saying that my friends tolerate my ignorance and try to help me keep up.)

One of the most enjoyable parts of the whole experience is seeing Tomomi Sensei once a week. The class is always so very pleasant. She works really hard with us. And while we're away, doing our homework, she's doing hers, putting together more material to help us learn. Domo arigato Sensei.

I'm Emily Wexler, a graphic designer in Durham who happens to be friends with some serious martial artists. They decided to take a Japanese language class in preparation for a trip to Okinawa and Japan. I thought it would be a fun way to spend time with them and use my brain in a different way. As the class progressed, I decided to join them on their trip to Japan, so next month we will all get to practice our Japanese together. [Read Less]

Ruth Pershing, their mother and a teacher herself, told us the following.

My eldest son (Galen) began taking weekly Spanish classes at CHICLE when he started elementary school, and he's now entering seventh grade. We can't imagine him ever stopping. It frees up his time in school to take other languages, including at the moment, Latin. The program has always been well-suited to his age, emphasizing phrases and familiar topics for little ones, and moving on to add more complex vocabulary and some writing and grammar now that he's older.

Our two younger ones have followed in Galen's footsteps, taking classes at CHICLE from kindergarten on. All three love the upbeat and collaborative atmosphere of the classes and the combination of immersion, games, activities and conversation. They have a comfort with the language that can only be attained with such steady long-term exposure and with the level of teachers that CHICLE provides."

We are really proud of our children's program and love having them here mornings and afternoons. We are happy to have Ruth boast for us and feel that the number of children who come to weekly classes and multiple summer camps for years on end is the best evidence we could have as to the value of our children's program. [Read Less]

Martha tells us:

Three years ago this past spring, I took my first Level 1 Italian class at CHICLE. I had not studied any languages since high school and that was Latin in 10th and 11th grade - ages ago! My husband had been invited to attend a conference in Macerata, Italy, which allowed us both to go to Italy for the first time. I had always wanted to go to Italy and was very excited to be able to take a class at CHICLE so that I could learn some of the common expressions and communicate with people. I had completely forgotten what it was like to learn a language. I was humbled by the process, but felt very comfortable with the teachers and the other students. It helps that everyone in the class is very kind and patient because it can be a little awkward learning a language the first time. I have continued taking Italian classes at CHICLE in hopes that I will get to go back there one day. Also, I have learned that the Italian word for baby squirrels is scoiattolini. [Read Less]

Burt explains why he studies Spanish.

You can owe a lot of motivation to your family.

My grandfather was a vaudevillian and juggled his way through life using magic wands, bowls that never ran out of water, and heaps of cigar boxes that he kept tossing in the air and never dropped. He spoke very few words. I admired his verbal minimalism and hesitated to learn any languages. My grandfather's brother was a lot more expansive - he spoke seven languages fluently. He was at ease in his polyglot world and looked and sounded like a caballero from Spain's golden age. I admired his aloofness and language skills. He gave me a sense of what style could be.

My father taught me my first words of Spanish. As an eight year old I learned from him that any American English word could be translated to Spanish by adding a terminal "o" or "a", rolling your tongue to make "r" sounds, and shouting when you spoke. My uncle earns his living as an impostor. Years ago he appeared several times on the Johnny Carson show as Howard Hughes' personal chef from Barcelona. I owe to my uncle my first Spanish food words and a yearning for tapas.

When I resumed my Spanish instruction at Chicle after a long learning hiatus it was in part to honor my family and their convoluted attempts to bridge the language divide. Of course, given my heritage, I now want to be the opening act at a tango club in Buenos Aires and tell jokes in Spanish with such acumen that the bartender will say, that man is so loco he must have grown up in mi barrio.

Judy details her odyssey.

Andalusia! Córdoba! España! Of course I accepted the invitation to be a keynote for the first Andalusian Conference of Emergency Medicine. What? I have to speak Spanish? You have no funds for a simultaneous translator? Maybe you can provide someone for the question & answer period?

Thus began my odyssey as a Spanish student. I found a scientist-friend, a Chilean native, who agreed to come to my home, translate my speech into Spanish-language powerpoint slides, and teach me Spanish. In 8 weeks. My husband laughed as I taped the name-cards that were provided with that book, all over the house (drapes, windows, tables, chairs, forks, spoons, etc). Then my colleague recorded my talk, and I practiced mimicking her accent. So, the big day came, but I had practiced so much that by the end of the talk I could actually speak, use the laser-pointer, and look at my audience with eye contact-at the same time!

After that, I was hooked. Besides, being an emergency physician in the Emergency Department at UNC Hospitals, I had to learn how to communicate in a rudimentary fashion with my growing number of Spanish-speaking patients. Now, I thought, I have to get serious about this. With the little free time I had, I went to San Miguel de Allende, to La Academia Hispano-America, for about 2 weeks of daily instruction. Meanwhile, my husband (who was light years ahead of me in Spanish) made me practice rolling my r's and repeating words like 'ferrocarril'.

Then, one day I was walking to the Mediteranean Deli, and I saw a yellow piece of paper taped to the window-CHICLE-it said. Hmmm. My husband tried it first. He reported enthusiastic and cool teachers. So here I am. I still call myself an 'intermittent-intermediate' student-that is, depending on my work schedule and how much I am able to study, sometimes my absences are punctuated with lessons, rather than my classes being punctuated by absences. But Chicle's adaptability to my needs and schedule has been tremendously helpful. I can get a reasonable history from my patients, have enough of a vocabulary to provide them with reassuring updates and comfort during their ED stay, and my patients are very pleased that I try to communicate with them in their native tongue.

Now, besides being able to participate in medical meetings and social events in Mexico and South America, I am getting closer to my dream of being able to easily read some of the world's best Spanish language literature. [Read Less]

I was fortunate, many years ago, to attend an elementary school where French was taught from the first grade. I also went several years to a summer camp where French was spoken. This gave me a good start with the language. Later, as wife of a foreign service officer who spoke fluent French, I was able to improve my ability with the language when we were assigned to several Francophone ex-colonies in Africa. My early beginnings with the French language stood me in good stead in Tunisia, Republic of the Congo, Morocco and Ivory Coast and helped me communicate with the people in those countries while we lived there. My French improved and was invaluable while living and working abroad.

(Betsy doesn't say this but we know she used her French in many different community projects in Africa. She has an amazing ability to be in the right (or sometimes wrong) place and to do do the right thing. She quietly and even inconspicuously, but always with extraordinary determination, helps people. Do not stand in Betsy Fenhagen's way.)

When Westy and I retired to Chapel Hill, I didn't have many opportunities to speak French and I worried that I was losing my facility with the language. CHICLE's conversation class has not only allowed me to speak with others familiar with French and keep up some proficiency in the language, but also has been an enjoyable hour every week where I could use the language in a relaxed, convivial atmosphere. The classes are a pleasure, with no pressure to compete, and lead by a competent native French speaker. Our conversations are stimulating and often informative about French culture. They have kept me in touch with a language I love over the past five years and also keep me prepared for those all too infrequent trips to France!

Bernard Luscans, CHICLE's first French teacher, says "Betsy Fenhagen is the dream come true student: she is forever young. Because Betsy is a truly Francophile and a studious student as well, we adopted her as our godmother at CHICLE. However, Betsy does not know it, so don't tell her!" [Read Less]

I first started Spanish at CHICLE two and a half years ago with Level 1. I had never studied any Spanish at all prior to beginning with CHICLE. What prompted me to learn was the increasing frequency of communication difficulties regularly arising at the fire department on both emergency calls and with routine contact with citizens at the station.

I would not say I use my Spanish a lot - although certainly frequently - particularly on medical emergency calls and with the installation of child safety seats at the station. I have also used it to present several fire safety talks at restaurants and I even presented a two hour safety class at El Centro Latino in Spanish, albeit with some help from an interpreter who was present.

When I am able to ease an anxious parent's concern about a sick child at a medical call or I am able to help a paramedic treat a patient whom he would not otherwise be able to communicate with by being able to speak some Spanish, I find it a very satisfying thing. The same goes for educating parents on how to use properly their child's car seat.

I believe this country should always be a place where everyone feels welcome, and if I can contribute a small amount to foster this for the Latino community in North Carolina by learning to speak Spanish, I am more than happy and excited to do that. Learning Spanish has also helped me develop a greater awareness and appreciation of Hispanic history and culture-something that was long overdue.

On a more general level, I have lived in Carrboro for 16 years.  I moved down here to attend graduate school at UNC-CH. In 1994, while attending UNC, I joined the Carrboro Fire Department as a volunteer. I loved working as a firefighter so much I decided to continue on with them on a full-time basis starting in 1995, and I have been there ever since. I have a wife and 15 year old step-daughter, who studies Spanish at Chapel Hill High School. [Read Less]