Last week I was lucky enough to be a part of joining my team on a work trip to Puerto Rico. I've been with the compnay for about three months now and to be chosen to go on a 4 day work trip to a beautiful island was amazing. The fkying kind of sucked but it was definetly all worth it.

I was given the opportunity to learn a whole new aspect of my job and learned a lot more about my companies' work. Not going to lie, it was nice going to a beautiful island where the company paid for all your expenses. Haha.

Since it was a company trip there was of course lots of work involved. It was almost a tease being on such a beautiful island and not really being able to explore. However I am always and forever grateful to be chosen to take part of this business opportunity. It gave me a big ounce of respect to my coworkers who travel constantly for work. It is tiring and involves late nights and time changes. But it's what the work entails.

Met some great people who are also a part of the company, based in Puerto Rico. Hearing about the unfortunate natural disaster that hit the island not too long ago. There are still parts of the island that don't have electricity, and the people are still rebuilding. But the culture and the drive of the Puerto Rican people keeps going. The smiles don't fade and the love for culture still runs deep. I personally loved the fact that everywhere we would go salsa or reggeaton was blasting through the speakers.

It was overall a very rewarding experience. It has given me the opportunity to learn a new trade for my work and learn new business.

Always keep learning and absorbing your surroundings. You're never too old to keep learning and exploring!

Some or maybe none of you know, but I am half Guatemalan and half Salvadorian. Growing up I had to master two different Spanish dialects. And if you are not a fluent Spanish speaker or are unaware that there are different dialects in the Spanish language, there are. So, even though the majority of Spanish is the same, there are certain phrases and words that mean something different in another Spanish dialect.

When you take a Spanish Class you are learning what we call "proper Spanish" which originates from Spain. This is supposed to be the generic Spanish that you are supposed to use when writing a Spanish platform to translate your English speaking channel to Spanish. However, if you are aiming for a certain demographic of Spanish dialect, you would of course correspond your website and or business to that Spanish dialect.

That being said, when I moved to San Diego, the majority is Mexican. Being that I came from a city where the majority is Central American, I didn't realize how different Spanish dialects can be. For example, for me "poporopo" meaning popcorn, is said completely different in Mexican Spanish; they refer to popcorn as "palomitas". To me, "palomita" is a small dove, so when I first heard that word I looked at the person in bewilderment because in my head I was like "I don't want to eat small doves". It sounds stupid on my part to think that's what they were referring to, and if you're Mexican I hope you are not taking offense, but this just goes to show that there can still be language barriers within the same Spanish language.

I enjoy learning the different words and phrases. There is still so much more that we can all learn from each other. Being that I just moved to Seattle I find myself communicating with much more Puerto Ricans through work. They also have different phrases and mannerisms they go by. So I guess I can start adding another spanish dialect to my list!

When it comes to language barriers, I think when you come across someone who speaks another language or even dialect than the one you are familiar with, try and learn some common phrases.

Tell me about your experiences with different dialects or languages and leave a comment below! I would love to hear your stories.

Young. Wild. & Growing - First Work Trip

Young. Wild. & Growing. - Three Different Spanish Dialects