A Lifetime of Learning
Cuba: My Roots and First Language
Brazil: Discovering a New Language and Culture
Italy: A Life-Changing Chapter
Finding a Home in America
Becoming a Teacher
A New Chapter in Wyoming
My journey with languages started long before I became a teacher.
I was born and raised in Havana, Cuba, where Spanish was naturally part of everything: my family, my childhood, and the culture I grew up with. Cuba gave me my roots, as well as a love for the warmth and expressiveness of the Spanish language and for Cuba’s amazing culture, its food, music, traditions, and strong sense of identity.
In my mid-twenties, my life took me far beyond Cuba. Along the way, I had to learn new languages and adapt to new cultures myself. Those experiences taught me something that has stayed with me ever since: learning another language can change the way you experience the world and connect with people.
My first professional path, however, was not in languages or education. I studied Industrial Engineering in Havana and later moved to São Paulo, Brazil, where I earned a Master’s degree in Production Engineering from the University of São Paulo. It was in Brazil, while pursuing engineering, that languages and teaching unexpectedly began to take my life in a different direction.
Brazil became my first real experience of building a life in another language. I learned Brazilian Portuguese through immersion, study, friendships, everyday life, music, and culture. I fell in love with the language and with Brazil’s warmth, diversity, and unique joy for life.
While finishing my master’s degree in engineering, I also began teaching business Spanish to executive secretaries and marketing professionals working for multinational companies in São Paulo. I initially started teaching as a way to support myself financially while completing my studies, but I soon realized how much I enjoyed it. I loved sharing my language and culture and helping my students become more confident communicating in Spanish.
It was an unexpected discovery for me. At the time, I was still pursuing a career in engineering, but teaching those first students made me realize that I had a natural connection with language learning and teaching. Years later, that experience would become the beginning of a new professional path.
My journey then took me to Rome, Italy, where I learned Italian through immersion and became deeply connected to the culture. Living in Rome taught me to appreciate art and history in a new way, and it was there that I discovered and developed a love for opera and classical music, good food and beautiful things.
But Italy also holds a much more personal place in my heart because it is where I became a mother. My son was born in Rome, and becoming his mother has been the most wonderful and meaningful experience of my life. For that reason, Italy will always be much more than a country where I once lived and learned another language. It will always be part of who I am and part of my family’s story.
Eventually, my journey brought me to the United States, which became much more than another country where I lived. It became my home.
Once again, I had to adapt to a new language and culture. I learned English through immersion and everyday life, gradually becoming more comfortable and confident as I built a new life here.
During more than two decades in the United States, I raised my son, continued my education, built a career as a Spanish teacher, and formed friendships and connections that became an important part of my life. America is also where I met the love of my life, my wonderful husband, and where we built our life together.
I feel very grateful for the opportunities this country has given me. America gave me the freedom and opportunity to start over, continue my education, reinvent myself professionally, and build a good life through hard work. Today, I am proud to be an American, while also being proud of my Cuban roots and grateful for the Brazilian and Italian cultures that became part of me along the way.
Learning English was also the third time in my adult life that I had to learn to communicate in another language. Having gone through that process with Portuguese, Italian, and English, I know firsthand what it feels like to search for the right words, make mistakes, feel frustrated at times, and slowly gain confidence.
Years after discovering my interest in language teaching in Brazil, I decided to make education my profession. I returned to graduate school and earned a Master’s degree in Education with a specialization in foreign-language teaching, along with my certification to teach Spanish.
For more than 20 years, teaching languages has been an important part of my life, including 18 years as a high-school Spanish teacher. Over the years, I have taught students at every level, from beginners taking their first Spanish class to advanced students in AP Spanish Language and Culture, AP Spanish Literature and Culture, and IB Spanish B.
Some of my most rewarding experiences as a teacher have also happened outside the classroom. Throughout my career, I have taken several groups of students on exchange programs to Spain and Brazil, giving them the opportunity to experience the language and culture firsthand. It was always a pleasure to watch them discover a new culture, become more comfortable using the language, and return home with a completely different perspective.
What has been even more rewarding is seeing some of those students carry that interest with them into college and beyond. Some chose to add a language minor, others studied abroad for a semester, and many simply continued making languages and international experiences part of their lives. Knowing that I may have played a small role in encouraging that curiosity has been one of the most meaningful parts of my career.
After all these years, those are still the moments that make teaching meaningful to me.
After more than two decades in New Jersey, my husband and I recently began a new chapter in Casper, Wyoming.
Moving from the fast pace of the East Coast to Wyoming has been quite a change, but we are enjoying the quieter rhythm of life, the friendly and down-to-earth people, and the beautiful wide-open landscapes. There is something very special about Wyoming’s independent spirit and the sense of space and freedom we have found here.
For me, this move has also created an opportunity to think about what I want the next chapter of my professional life to look like. After many years in the classroom, I knew I still wanted to teach and continue sharing my love of languages, but I also wanted the freedom to do it in a more personal, flexible, and creative way.
That is how Aymee Languages began, a new way for me to continue doing what I love while bringing together my experience as a teacher, my own journey with languages and cultures, and my desire to keep learning and trying new things.