Alyson Matkin/ From DuoLingo to a New Community

Immigration policy has taken astonishing turns on U.S. streets in 2026. I generally keep a minimal media diet so the news doesn’t get me down, but in January and February of this year, there was no escaping notice how destabilized immigration enforcement had become. I felt a strong desire to put personal energy towards change, but what could be done? 

I was already meeting weekly with a Spanish conversation tutor and keeping up a language streak on DuoLingo. Why not organize a neighborhood Spanish language club? I reached out to an existing community email group and announced a broad invite to my home for an evening of Spanish practice and conversation. Our club would be Español Juntos, Spanish Together. That first club meeting included twelve people. We were up and running. 

This club is great fun. Our meetings have fantastic energy and personal rapport. It is apolitical and prosocial. While admittedly, Espaol Juntos is in its very beginning stage, I feel positive momentum. That old saying that a person can’t be known without walking a mile in their shoes speaks a loud truth. Vocalizing a non-native language offers much the same illumination, especially in the company of speakers who have made efforts with English as their second language. Learning a language opens a person to a world of empathy. And with empathy, we can do anything.