December 2022 - Archer Morgan

Full of enthusiasm for learning Spanish and authentic curiosity about Spanish speaking cultures as well as the deeper implications of learning a foreign language, Archer brings great energy to any Spanish class he takes. A dedicated student who has enrolled in a class at Tierra each term since beginning his studies in Spring 2021, he’s taken great strides, leaping from a low intermediate level up to advanced courses. With a great sense of humor and natural abundance of empathy, he’s a sensitive classmate who helps make the classroom a fun and comfortable environment for everyone. We are honored to count Archer as part of our wonderful student community and look forward to continuing to watch him mine the depths for nuance as he polishes his impressive Spanish skills!

 

Name: Archer Morgan
Occupation: Software Engineer
Time Studying at Tierra: 1 year and a half

1) Why are you studying Spanish?

"Largely out of curiosity. I used to watch bilingual people toggle between languages and wonder what that would be like, phenomenologically speaking. I have wondered just how much is really lost in translation, particularly in poetry and literature, and just how true it is what they say, that to have a second language is to have a second soul. I'm quite far from the bottom of any of these questions, but this sort of curiosity is a large motivation. The other component is to be able connect with substantial and growing community of Spanish speakers around my home in Portland".

2) What is your favorite part about your experience here at Tierra?

"The community is very sweet. The students are coming together to voluntarily challenge themselves to grow, possessing enough humility to be willing to make mistakes. The instructors are eager to help them and have enough patience and knowledge to do so. Both groups are strengthening character traits that serve them well beyond language learning".

3) Can you tell us of a time you have been able to use what you have learned studying here?

"Once I was on a flight from Mexico back to the US and there was a very young girl sitting next to me who was traveling alone, it turned out for the first time. She didn't have enough English to fill out the rushed verbal travel form being posed to her by the flight attendants, none of whom spoke any Spanish. I was able to do a small amount of translation for her and make her feel a bit less interrogated while they found a native Spanish speaking employee off the plane to come in and finish the job. That felt nice".

¡Felicidades Archer!