Central Michigan University Athletics
More Than Words
9/21/2021 4:00:00 PM | Volleyball
Volleyball Teammates Find Common Ground In Español
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Anna Erickson thought her days of being immersed in the Spanish language were behind her.
So did Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez, at least for a while.
But you never know what's around the next bend or at the top of the next hill.
Rosario-Martinez and Erickson, members of the Central Michigan volleyball team, have formed a tight bond with Spanish as the common denominator.
For Rosario-Martinez, a native speaker who was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, the friendship has become a refuge and a way to ease her assimilation. For Erickson, a native of Hopkins, Minn., the friendship has served as a vehicle to sharpen her language skills and will undoubtedly serve her quite well as she pursues a career in occupational therapy after her playing days at CMU commence.
Erickson's parents heavily stressed education -- a bilingual education -- when she was young. The route was a Spanish immersion school in suburban Minneapolis, and it served purposes well beyond language. It took a young girl out of her element and put her in a world that was, at least partially, foreign to her.
"At first I hated it because I had to move schools and leave all of my friends," she said. "They kept saying, 'You'll thank me later.'
"And I thank them now."
That experience, and her fluency in Spanish, perhaps helped Erickson understand better than most what Rosario-Martinez has undergone since coming to the United States in 2018, when she enrolled at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz. and then spent two years in the volleyball program before transferring to CMU.
Rosario-Martinez had never spoken English before arriving in Yuma. She leaned on teammates from the likes of Columbia and Puerto Rico as she felt her way along.
At CMU, it took three months for Erickson and Rosario-Martinez to make the language connection. When they did, there was no turning back.
"I didn't know she knew Spanish," Rosario-Martinez said of Erickson. "We were hanging out one day and I heard someone talking in Spanish and I didn't know it was one of my teammates. I was looking everywhere, and I saw that it was one of my teammates.
"I feel more comfortable; it reminds of home a little, which is nice."
Erickson held back on speaking Spanish in front of the native speaker because, she said, "I was just shy because I was like, 'Oh she's going to want me to speak it for her if I tell her and she'll probably think (my Spanish) is so bad.'"
It wasn't then and it isn't now. And while there are some English words that can trip up Rosario-Martinez, her articulation is remarkable for a person who has been speaking the language for just over three years.
These days, Erickson and Rosario-Martinez converse regularly in Spanish, be it the home they share with teammate Maddie Whitfield, on team road trips where board games are a staple, and sometimes in interpreting English metaphors, slang and colloquialisms that come from coach Mike Gawlik.
"He always uses the phrase 'smell blood in the water,'" Erickson said, adding that the phrase, commonly used throughout sports in the U.S., brought wide eyes and raised eyebrows from Rosario-Martinez.
The pair has become best friends and have helped each other immensely in their development.
"It's nice to get to practice with someone," said Erickson, who has traveled extensively to Spanish-speaking countries throughout her life and has also worked as an English teacher in Belize. "I'm (had not been) speaking Spanish as much as when I was younger so to be able to practice with her – she's helping me keep my Spanish sharp.
"It's just nice to know I'm helping her too and reminding her of home."
So did Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez, at least for a while.
But you never know what's around the next bend or at the top of the next hill.
Rosario-Martinez and Erickson, members of the Central Michigan volleyball team, have formed a tight bond with Spanish as the common denominator.
For Rosario-Martinez, a native speaker who was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, the friendship has become a refuge and a way to ease her assimilation. For Erickson, a native of Hopkins, Minn., the friendship has served as a vehicle to sharpen her language skills and will undoubtedly serve her quite well as she pursues a career in occupational therapy after her playing days at CMU commence.
Erickson's parents heavily stressed education -- a bilingual education -- when she was young. The route was a Spanish immersion school in suburban Minneapolis, and it served purposes well beyond language. It took a young girl out of her element and put her in a world that was, at least partially, foreign to her.
"At first I hated it because I had to move schools and leave all of my friends," she said. "They kept saying, 'You'll thank me later.'
"And I thank them now."
That experience, and her fluency in Spanish, perhaps helped Erickson understand better than most what Rosario-Martinez has undergone since coming to the United States in 2018, when she enrolled at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Ariz. and then spent two years in the volleyball program before transferring to CMU.
Rosario-Martinez had never spoken English before arriving in Yuma. She leaned on teammates from the likes of Columbia and Puerto Rico as she felt her way along.
At CMU, it took three months for Erickson and Rosario-Martinez to make the language connection. When they did, there was no turning back.
"I didn't know she knew Spanish," Rosario-Martinez said of Erickson. "We were hanging out one day and I heard someone talking in Spanish and I didn't know it was one of my teammates. I was looking everywhere, and I saw that it was one of my teammates.
"I feel more comfortable; it reminds of home a little, which is nice."
Erickson held back on speaking Spanish in front of the native speaker because, she said, "I was just shy because I was like, 'Oh she's going to want me to speak it for her if I tell her and she'll probably think (my Spanish) is so bad.'"
It wasn't then and it isn't now. And while there are some English words that can trip up Rosario-Martinez, her articulation is remarkable for a person who has been speaking the language for just over three years.
These days, Erickson and Rosario-Martinez converse regularly in Spanish, be it the home they share with teammate Maddie Whitfield, on team road trips where board games are a staple, and sometimes in interpreting English metaphors, slang and colloquialisms that come from coach Mike Gawlik.
"He always uses the phrase 'smell blood in the water,'" Erickson said, adding that the phrase, commonly used throughout sports in the U.S., brought wide eyes and raised eyebrows from Rosario-Martinez.
The pair has become best friends and have helped each other immensely in their development.
"It's nice to get to practice with someone," said Erickson, who has traveled extensively to Spanish-speaking countries throughout her life and has also worked as an English teacher in Belize. "I'm (had not been) speaking Spanish as much as when I was younger so to be able to practice with her – she's helping me keep my Spanish sharp.
"It's just nice to know I'm helping her too and reminding her of home."
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