Learning Spanish and Exploring Hispanic Food on Our Future Travels

When my husband's contract expires next year, we're planning something we've been looking forward to for a long time: traveling for about six months through parts of Africa and South America.

Since we'll be visiting Spanish-speaking countries, we've decided to start learning Spanish in preparation for the trip. I think knowing at least some of the local language will make traveling easier—and hopefully make it more fun, too.

Of course, there's another part of the trip that I'm already excited about: food! 😄

I would love to try as much local and traditional food as possible, especially popular Hispanic and Latin American dishes.

Discovering the Spanish Influence on Food

Growing up in the Philippines, I've always found it interesting how much Spanish influence can still be seen in our food and culture.

Because the Philippines was colonized by Spain for centuries, Spanish cooking influenced many Filipino dishes and snacks. Foods such as tortas, empanadas, and flan became familiar favorites in the Philippines, although Filipino versions have developed their own unique flavors and styles over the years.

That's one reason I'm curious about trying Spanish-influenced and traditional dishes in other countries.

If we make it to places like Peru and Paraguay, I wonder how different their food will taste from the Hispanic-influenced dishes I'm familiar with back home.

Learning Spanish Before We Travel

We're still in the preparation stage, but learning Spanish has become part of our travel plans.

I'm not expecting to become fluent overnight. 😂 Even learning basic phrases—how to greet people, ask for directions, order food, and have simple conversations—would already be a big help.

And honestly, learning a language becomes much more interesting when you have an actual reason to use it.

Instead of simply memorizing vocabulary from a book, I'll be imagining myself using Spanish in a restaurant, ordering something I've never tried before, or asking a local where to find the best food in town.

That sounds much more exciting!

Six Months of Travel and New Experiences

The idea of spending six months traveling through different parts of Africa and South America is both exciting and a little overwhelming.

There will be so many things to learn—the languages, cultures, traditions, landscapes, and of course, the food.

I'm especially looking forward to experiencing each place beyond the usual tourist attractions. I want to see how people live, try food that I can't easily find in the Philippines, and hopefully collect plenty of stories along the way.

For now, we're starting with something simple:

learning Spanish and planning what we're going to eat. 😄

If our plans push through, I have a feeling the food alone will give me plenty of things to blog about.