September 2014 - Aaron Bini & Ellen Mickle

Committed  to learning Spanish and to learning it together, Ellen and Aaron studying side by side for many months merited a double recognition. Sharing a passion for organic and sustainable agriculture, they are driven to expand their Spanish skills to be able to communicate with Spanish-speakers in their fields of fair trade and farming. In fact, they began learning Spanish while volunteering on a farm in Colombia, and the dream of travelling abroad again is the other spark that keeps them motivated. They are hard-working students who support each other in their successes and hurdles and are on the path to achieving their ambitious learning goals. Genuine and kind, through their example Ellen and Aaron inspire us to live by our ideals and pursue our goals with joyful determination.

Names: Ellen Mickle & Aaron Bini
Occupations:  Ellen - Customer service representative at fair trade products cooperative Equal Exchange                                                     Aaron - Organic farmer at Sauvie Island Organics
Time Studying at Tierra: Since June 2013

1) Why are you studying Spanish?

Ellen: “Many of the products (mostly coffee) sold by the company I work for come from Spanish speaking producers - knowing some Spanish enables me to read materials put out by producer groups and countries and to communicate with producers when they come to the U.S. for conferences/visits or when I'm able to visit them on a "source trip" in the future. I also want to travel again in a Spanish-speaking country - Aaron and I got our start learning the language while traveling in Colombia and volunteering on an organic farm there.”

Aaron: “Because I work with native Spanish speakers in the agricultural field and think it's becoming more and more important for non-native Spanish speakers in the U.S. to learn Spanish. I also want to travel again in South America.”

2) What is your favorite part about your experience here at Tierra?

Ellen & Aaron: “Great learning environment: small class sizes, comfortable setting, excellent instructors.”

3) Can you tell us of a time you have been able to use what you have learned studying here?

Ellen: “I was able to use Spanish a bit at the 2014 Specialty Coffee Association of America conference, when communicating with farmers and fair trade organizers from Latin America.”

Aaron: “When communicating on a day-to-day basis with the 3 native Spanish speakers that I work with.”

¡Felicidades Ellen & Aaron!