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GLASGOW, Ky. (AP) — Stephanie Mattingly knew she needed to work on her Spanish, and she decided the best way to do that was to visit a Spanish-speaking country and immerse herself in the language. So, she chose to spend five weeks recently studying Spanish at the Universidad de Catholica in Valparaiso, Chile.
The fact that Spanish is a family skill - her mother, Sharon, teaches the language at Barren County High School, as did her grandmother, Joan Coomer - helped some, but not enough.
"Everyone has to learn it for themselves," Sharon Mattingly said.
Stephanie Mattingly, a University of Kentucky junior from Barren County, is majoring in agriculture economics with a minor in Spanish.
"I had my mom as a teacher, but having your mom as a teacher doesn't make you the most productive student in the classroom," Stephanie said. "I knew I wanted to learn to communicate. I was like, 'I need to go somewhere to learn it, use it and then I will really enjoy it and I will really have the appreciation for it that I wasn't getting from just being in the classroom.'"
Turns out her theory was spot-on. Sharon said she can tell a major difference in how her daughter speaks Spanish, adding that her classroom performance in Chile was very good. Stephanie took intermediate classes in grammar and a conversational Spanish class. Her professors spoke only Spanish.
"Those classes really built on all of the experiences I was having and helped me to gain not only a better understanding of the language, but also the culture," Stephanie said.
At first, Stephanie thought about studying in Argentina, but chose Chile because her family has connections to the country on South America's western coast.
When Stephanie was in high school, a Chilean student, Panchi, came to stay with her family as an exchange student in 2009.
Before that, in 1976, another exchange student, Juan, stayed with a family in Barren County. Coomer grew close to him and visited Juan and his family in Chile in 1995. And in 1979, exchange student Saundra stayed with Coomer and her family. When she visited in 1995, she got to see Saundra as well as Juan.
Juan returned to Barren County in 1997 and brought his entire family for a visit.
Coomer and Sharon Mattingly visited Stephanie in Chile and got to see Panchi, Saundra and Juan as well.
"It was great to go back and see them," Coomer said. "It was a dream. I really didn't think it would happen."
While in Chile, Stephanie and her mother and grandmother went sightseeing with their Chilean friends, who served as tour guides.
Stephanie said it was neat that her family's experience has come full circle with her studies in Chile. Having her mother and grandmother visit, she said, "was something very special to share with them."
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