Please note: This transcript was generated by AI technology and has not been edited for accuracy by a real, live human. Someday, I'll probably get around to it...

[00:00:00] Bree: For the last couple of weeks I've been spending time with Mimi down on St. Simon's Island, Georgia. For those of you who don't know Mimi, I encourage you to check out the episode from December 5th, 2022, the truth about time grief and the healing Power of Kittens, where I interview this incredible matriarch about her feelings about time.

[00:00:24] And every time I go to St. Simon's, I feel a little bit like I'm living in a different country. People speak English, of course, but the rhythms, the manners, the culture, it's completely different on the island than it is back at home. You can watch movies about southern women, but nothing captures the true language of a culture like being there

[00:00:52] and for many people there is little that is as expansive and invigorating as traveling to a new place and getting to know a different culture. In fact, last month I asked people in a Facebook post, what would you do if you had unlimited time. and the most popular answers were to learn a new language or to travel.

[00:01:20] And a lot of people said both. So I thought that I'd invite my dear friend and language expert, Dr. Christina Ball, on pause to go to talk to us about the power of learning a new.

[00:01:37] Christina Ball is a cultural and linguistic bridge builder and the owner of Speak Language. A one-time college Italian professor in love with languages. Christina began her transformation into an educational entrepreneur in 2004 when she launched a small Italian language culture travel school in Charlottesville, Virginia.

[00:02:03] Fast forward to today and her language company speak now offers online and in-person language, public speaking and d e I training programs in 22 languages, including English and American Sign Language with a team of over 60 linguists and curriculum design. The mission of Speak is to help individuals and teams break down language barriers in order to connect and thrive.

[00:02:35] When not leading speak, learning Spanish or planning travel, Christina can be found on the stage 

[00:02:42] where she performs as an actor in Charlottesville. Christina holds a PhD in Italian language and Literature from Yale University and a BA in Art history from Boen College. She was also awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to Italy. 

[00:02:59] I loved talking about travel and learning new languages with Christina, but I also loved hearing about her adventures as an entrepreneur. So if you are interested in traveling to far off lands or just the adventure of starting your own company, this episode is for you. Enjoy!.

[00:03:21] Christina: Why do I love acting and why do I love languages? Because you get to be a different person. When I speak Spanish, I'm like this totally like passionate person. And then an Italian, I'm just a little bit more refined and elegant, but still passionate. And then in English, I have this image of, this. Christina that was very shy as a child and didn't really blossom as an actor or a, small business owner, an entrepreneur until my mid thirties 

[00:03:51] Bree: let's just get right into 

[00:03:53] Christina: it.

[00:03:53] Yeah. Really while we're talking. So that's the way we roll, right? 

[00:03:57] Bree: Bri . That's right. That's right. Christina \\ in a recent Facebook post, I asked a question, which was really, if you had unlimited time, if time were not a factor, what would you do? what would you do with your life? And so many people said,of two things they said they'd like to learn a new language 

[00:04:21] and that they would like to travel. And so I wanted to have you on because of your business speak, and my question for you, because you meet with a lot of people who are taking the time to learn a new language and to travel. So in your opinion, why do you think people want this so much? , ? 

[00:04:45] Christina: yeah, , I think, you know, of course I've had this business for 18 years now, so I just think about all the time what really motivates people, what keeps them from, wanting to start learning a language.

[00:04:56] I think much like any. Big bucket list item or back burner item, or a huge goal, like speaking in other language is o often put on the back burner because we think it's gonna be, a huge time commitment. Or we maybe remember our high school French class, somehow we didn't do well, or we,we, we think, oh wow, I took French for four years in high school or Spanish and now I can't even say, hello, how are you to people, at my local Mexican restaurant or my colleagues at work?

[00:05:28] Christina: who are Spanish speakers. so we think like it's got this huge thing and it makes us avoid it, kind of like an ambitious weight goal. Like, I've gotta lose 20 pounds, we always think of the final result and how we've tried it before. I've tried to lose, five pounds before and I never was able to do it.

[00:05:45] Oh. So I'm just gonna give up. They seem like unrealistic. So I think, you know what we're all about here is really loving the learning process, focusing more on the journey.

[00:05:55] So if it's like you're trying to get healthier and more fit, which you can just, what do I love to do? I love to dance. I'm gonna do Zumba or take a tap dance class and, I'm gonna get fit and I love, kale salads and I love gardening. just combine what you love and make that dovetail,with your ultimate goal.

[00:06:15] So I think, language learning, that's what we, we practice here at speak and what I really believe. as a linguist language teacher, it's just like, what, do you love? What motivates you? Is it, is it gonna be, planning a trip to Italy or Morocco or wherever, Argentina. And just visualize yourself speaking with those locals and and we can work with your timeline to get you speaking,along the way, and enjoying the journey.

[00:06:39] That's what life's about. , that's what business is about. That's what everything's about. 

[00:06:43] Bree: What you just said also makes me think of how we have so much that is packaged and delivered to us, our 

[00:06:53] news, our entertainment, so much of what we are consuming is based on.

[00:07:00] an algorithm and somebody else's curation of what they think we should see. Some computer's, curation of what they think we should see. And so learning a language, as you just talked about, it made me think of course, the only way to get the real experience of a place is to have the capacity to communicate with people in a meaningful way.

[00:07:32] And when we learn another language, then it gives us that praxis for real human connection and not just, here's the curated version. Tangier, right? It's yes it is. , the way to really be in a place and in some ways of a place to learn that language. So I love that you are bringing that up and also, Moving past the awkward phase of trying to learn because learning a language is awkward.

[00:08:09] Christina: It's . You have to, yeah, you have to have that beginner's mind and cultivate that and, make mistakes. And a lot of us as adults, we wanna be experts, right? We wanna be experts at what we've worked on for years, decades you have to put yourself in that vulnerable position, and oftentimes in a group or just with one teacher just making mistakes and making a fool of yourself.

[00:08:30] So that's why you have to be, very playful and , just be like, I'm gonna make mistakes. That's how I'm gonna get better. Speak . 

[00:08:38] Bree: That's right. I have the rehearsal room going right now, and that's really about, cultivating a brave space for people to take risks and to try out a, a a bunch of different ways of communicating ideas, and that's what you are doing too at speak, is really creating a very human, container for that exploration and embracing the awkwardness.

[00:09:04] And I know you pretty well, so I also know how much more comfortable I would be making terrible mistakes with you because we laugh about it, right? And I'm sure that humor is a big part of your. 

[00:09:22] Christina: Process. Definitely, yeah. The teachers all have to have good senses of humor and be very patient yeah, it's probably very similar. I love the idea of the rehearsal room because every classroom is really like that, whether it's online or here at speak. it's very safe space to, to make mistakes and to nurture growth, however challenging or awkward it may be.

[00:09:44] And the human centered, I love that. you mentioned that because of course in these, the, this day and age of duo lingo and babble and an app on your phone, although those can be wonderful practice tools or they're also not with a live human teacher and just like theater, we don't, yet have robots acting as far as I know.

[00:10:05] We need human actors and directors and sound designers to create the, that, that performance that, that experience of art. so I've always believed in, in human, human centered learning with a live teacher. And, that's what. , it caused me to resist the online teaching, for so long.

[00:10:25] However, now with wonderful things like Zoom it's still a human teacher, and a conversation that we're having live, just not in the same physical room, but it's very similar. So I'm all about growing with and using it that way, but still with the human , the human voice is very powerful.

[00:10:42] Even when it's, it is quiet voice. Now we do sign language too. So I'm learning a lot about sign language and, all of the different dialects and, or even teaching, the directors of a in innovative opera company right now it's called Victory Hall Opera. And they're doing an opera, in March called, Orpheus and Erika.

[00:11:02] And it's going to feature sign language and very renowned, deaf actors are going to come and perform. So I thought, wow, isn't that amazing?

[00:11:11] Bree: Oh, that's so amazing. 

[00:11:13] Christina: I never thought I'd be teaching a quiet language like sign language. And I never thought an opera would incorporate, sign language.

[00:11:20] And yet silence can be very powerful too. 

[00:11:24] I was just listening to the Daily podcast and it was about si the quietest room in the world. It's in Minneapolis. It's like this chamber where you can go and there's no sound.

[00:11:34] And all you hear is your own body, the fluids. And I thought that was terrifying and fascinating. . And so when you go in there, and the journalist describes it in her in the podcast episode, but all you hear is your hair swishing and the sounds in your ears and your blood flowing and obviously your heartbeat. I thought, wow, 

[00:11:52] Bree: so intense. 

[00:11:54] Christina: I probably freak out.

[00:11:56] Bree: It's like too much. But it is a language, right? It's the language of the body. We think of language in terms of spoken words, but there's so much language. I was even thinking that you focus on human learning and body language is a huge part of that.

[00:12:11] Right? Oh my gosh. I mean, can you speak Italian without using 

[00:12:13] your hands? No, No. There are lots of fun TikTok videos of , someone trying to get her husband. I could do this cuz my husband's Italian to try to speak, with his hands behind his back and he just literally can't do, it's like,

[00:12:25] how do I do it? , 

[00:12:28] I, just had a pre-meeting with my friend Zap, you may know Zap too. Zap is a dancer, and we were talking about, the language of dance and what dance is. And it's the same thing with language, right? I love taking away the preconceived notions of what language is and what communicating is in many ways to be able to really move through it.

[00:12:53] So as people are learning a new language, people who are scared or resistant or had those horrible high school experiences. What are some of the tips that you have so that they can make the most of their time in learning a language? 

[00:13:14] Christina: Yeah. Oh, how much time do we have?

[00:13:16] I have a lot of trips. ? Yeah. But a few. A few. and of course I'm a language learner too. I teach Italian. I'm fluent in Italian. That's my background is in college. Italian professor. But, I'm actively learning Spanish,I can relate to the challenges of, your listeners. And, in terms of finding the time for it, am I ever gonna move up a level?

[00:13:40] First it would be to set smart goals. So these are. The, goals that I try to work on as a business owner, as well. But smart goals are specific. So for me, like I'm gonna try to move up one level in Spanish by the end of 2023. So I'm, maybe I'm B one, I wanna move up to b2, which is,intermediate to advanced, intermediate level, measurable.

[00:14:05] I can measure that. I can be tested at the end of it, with an online test and see that I've made it to that level. Or I could have one of our teachers assess me and say, yes, you've achieved this in terms of your vocabulary and your grammar usage. You are at the B2 level. It's achievable.

[00:14:23] Christina: That's the A and smart. so I'm not gonna become as fluent as , one of my native speaking friends. But, it's achievable for me to move up from B one to b2. So a little jump in the, this, the language learning level scale. or it could be something like, I wanna be able to have a conversation with, With my friend who works at the Farmer's market and is from, Syria, I wanna be able to carry on a conversation with Mr.

[00:14:51] Tahini who sells the best. hummus in Charlottesville, he actually teaches Arabic with us. That's how I find my teachers. So whenever I meet someone who's from a different, language background and maybe we're already chatting in the Whole Foods line and we're having a great time, then I just ask where they're from and if they have any teaching experience , I like local, teachers. If I can meet them through word of mouth or my, my network of people. but yeah, so Mr. Tahini carry on a conversation. So that's an achievable goal. I could be able to greet him in Arabic and ask, how are you?

[00:15:23] And say, I love your hummus. It's the best the R and smart, realistic. So we all know what that means. Again, not being like fluent and being able to, write a novel in Arabic, in one year and timely, so do you have, six months before you, your trip to Italy? and that is, a perfect amount of time to learn basic travelers, Italian.

[00:15:46] So if you have one to two hours a week to, to spend. So that's a timely. So those are the smart goals. And then regarding time, my second tip would be like to spend your time wisely. So again, I used to joke that Rosetta Stone brought us a lot of business, but even though they made the big bucks, people would be so frustrated with Rosetta Stone, and not being able to carry on a conversation after spending, hundreds of hours and hundreds of dollars on the software.

[00:16:14] And so now it's duo lingo. and I haven't used this cuz I don't wanna get in trouble, but it's like one, a good ad for speak, I think could be like , spend hours on duo lingo and still feeling mono lingo.

[00:16:25] because you can spend, hours there, like in the waiting room, waiting for your kids, to get outta soccer practice, whatever. And you're like, oh, the app says I've spent 50 or a hundred hours on my Spanish. And then, you try to carry on a conversation and you can't.

[00:16:39] maybe skip that and just, Find an hour a week to join a language class in your local community or online, with the tutor. So have one hour of meaningful conversation based, language learning rather than spending five hours, on an app or you're not really speaking. So spending your time wisely.

[00:17:00] and then again, like finding opportunities to speak the language in your own community. I mentioned like my farmer's market, we have, people from all over the world in Charlottesville, like any probably community around the globe nowadays. where can you. make a list of five businesses where the owners or the staff speak the language you're learning and you're gonna be able to see them.

[00:17:20] Christina: And that's really motivating to be able to even just greet someone in the language that you're studying. and then of course you can take a group or one-on-one class. And then lastly, since travel is also, one of the top bucket list items that your listeners mentioned, I would say plan a trip

[00:17:39] Plan a trip to a country where your learning language is spoken in. and, that will really motivate you. we teach a lot of travelers here. mainly we teach people who need the language for their jobs, actually. But, we still,offer classes like Italian for Travelers, which is very popular.

[00:17:56] that's only about a 15 hour class. So in 15 hours you can learn some basic Italian for travelers and and be able to communicate with people. So that's really motivating when you have a trip and you can start visualizing, you can start your trip early.

[00:18:10] Christina: So I mentioned the importance of enjoying the journey, not just focusing on the ultimate goal, but you can enjoy having fun learning about the culture in your class. Maybe reading about it. Now they're a zillion podcasts where you can learn about the culture or the town that you're going to and get on, sites like Airbnb and check out all the experiences.

[00:18:31] I love Airbnb experiences cuz they're really unique guided tours that the locals will offer, in your town. for instance, when I went to Dublin, my daughter and I, Mila, and and I are both actors and love the theater. So we did like a Dublin. the National Theater Tour.

[00:18:47] It was just the two of us and it was like a theater expert and he brought us to the National Theater. We got to go on the stage. Behind the stage. We learned all about how the history of,of Ireland and,the revolution, all that, how that theater people were involved in that.

[00:19:02] And it was fascinating. And I've had these in Mexico in Spanish, so the tours that were only available in Spanish. and so that was really motivating for me. planning these experiences,will really get you excited. It's oh, if I can go on a walking tour of Paris and French, oh my God, that would be so amazing.

[00:19:19] And then, and then lastly, regarding travel and language, I think the best thing to do that I would recommend is to sign up for a language immersion program. in the country, you want to visit where the language is spoken, whether that's France, Italy, Spain, Argentina. There are language schools all over the world that are wonderful.

[00:19:41] I've studied Spanish a lot, in Mexico and Spain, and that's the best way to go. You can live with a local family, a host family, and you're speaking the language from Breakfast to , your final, sang at night if you're in Spain, that's at 3:00 AM and that's just the best way to do it.

[00:19:58] It's also tends to be very affordable to study a language abroad, living at the host. Family can be more affordable than even, maybe an Airbnb or maybe a, the boutique hotel. It's definitely cheaper and you'll be really immersed in the language and culture, and meeting people, and that's really what it's all about.

[00:20:16] So I recommend that for, singles, individual language lovers, travels of any age, and also for families. 

[00:20:22] Bree: Last year I did a solo retreat in Mexico and I made it a point to connect with locals every day in my. Very rudimentary, broken Spanish. And in including, I took, I, I didn't take, taxis or tourist transportation.

[00:20:48] I took the local buses that locals were taking. It was such a wonderful experience and that was very different from going to a resort and hanging out on the beach every day. And it's one that really, felt like a true growth opportunity

[00:21:06] , I do think that there's just such a completely different experience 

[00:21:11] you talking about running into people at the grocery store and the farmer's market and the round town and recruiting, ever Recruiting also just makes me think of how, how we have English speakers have a bias, English speaking.

[00:21:26] Americans especially have a bias, that we presume that people are having our experience in our communities and. The truth is that people who are speaking are fluent in another language or their native language is not English, have a very different experience in our world, and so the more we can.

[00:21:51] Feel that experience in other countries where we have to struggle a little bit to find the bathroom or whatever, . Exactly. That's pretty simple typically, but not always. the more we can have compassion for people in our own community who are living among us and. Going to the grocery store with us and have, have more hurdles to jump and taking care of day-to-day things.

[00:22:18] So I love the idea of learning a language as an act of human compassion as well as enrichment, 

[00:22:25] Christina: buildingbuilding empathy for other people. learning a language really helps you with that. it's not just, to make the most of your vacation.

[00:22:32] It's, mu much deeper than that. And now that we've seen since we lived in Charlottesville, I'm just like any town in the world, how our town has become much more multilingual, multicultural, which is wonderful. And, yeah. And for that reason, it's really an invitation to learn a language in order to have more 

[00:22:51] empathy for. , all of these people. We have so many people from Afghanistan right now, and,imagine coming from from that world to this world and not speaking English and maybe you were an architect in your home country and now you have to start over as a bus driver and you don't know the language and all of that.

[00:23:10] So yeah, it's, we're here at Speak, we're getting more and more into that kind of diversity, equity, inclusion language and culture training, trying to create programs for, everyone from. Groups of people from, of refugees, from Afghanistan, learning to drive buses to get jobs at U V A, helping them with their English, to working with law enforcement, helping them develop, a an awareness of,different language groups and even silently people who are hard of hearing or deaf and how you would try to communicate with them.

[00:23:42] And , you don't just speak louder, , and then have these law enforcement, employees learn a little bit of a language and see how's that going for them, . And then, yeah, so we're getting more in, more and more into that. as the need really comes to the surface, more and more becomes more urgent.

[00:24:02] I think they also, I don't know if you've done much research into the neurological impact of learning a language, but. , from what I've read, and I'll have to look this up and see if I can find it to put in the show notes if I can find the real data on it, but there are two major ways to stave off an aging brain 

[00:24:27] Bree: number one is to learn a new language, and number two is to learn an instrument. And part of that is because it takes such focus to learn, but that truly teaches your brain to create new neural pathways in a super efficient way. I see it working. I've tried to learn, the piano and studied reading music and I can exactly tell how it's similar to learning how to conjugate verbs in, in, in Portuguese or something like that.

[00:25:03] Christina: So it's definitely working that way. And, yeah, and we have a lot of students who are, who are over 70, so eternally youthful,life lifelong learners, we call them. And. they, a lot of them study Italian or French because they've just always loved traveling to those countries and learning those languages.

[00:25:22] So we have our most, popular Italian class has about 12, 12 seniors, and they're all over the ages of age of 65. And they come every Thursday for an hour and a half, and they bring wine and cheese and with the teacher they're speaking, they're all intermediate to advanced and Italian, and they're having the best time and they're, they're just loving it and it every week and they're reading, they'll go to the opera together, Italian operas 

[00:25:48] We even organized a trip for them to Italy, where they, went to the opera in Italy and were practicing their Italian and traveling around to, Milan and Verona and all of the operas there. So in any case, I see it in action. I see it, every day in our language center with the few people.

[00:26:07] we'll take 

[00:26:07] Bree: anecdotal 

[00:26:08] Christina: evidence there's an expression when we used to have this on our old t-shirts, but it's like li learn two languages, live two lives. I love all the scientific stuff and the health of the brain and that's wonderful too.

[00:26:21] But what I love is I see that people are able to really. Bring an alter ego to life. Bring these dormant sides of their personality. they just come to the surface. They blossom and bloom and are able to express themselves, through this foreign language and speaking it.

[00:26:40] And we give them a different name. So Francis could be Francesca . And so you're not Francis today, it's Italian class Francesca. And she just be gesturing, and this , this different personality will come,come out. So, I love that obviously as an actor we get to play different characters on stage, but it's totally true with languages.

[00:27:01] , we work with so many professionals that could be,scientists or really. Famous professor of history or whatever, and then they get into their Spanish class or whatever they're learning and they're all of a sudden, like gesturing and , there's like a different side of them comes out and maybe they have a hobby that they've had on the back burner that intersects with whether it's reading or theater or music, and they can, that can come to life through their language learning.

[00:27:27] I used to organize trips to Italy, for two weeks. They were called two weeks in Todi. And this is something I wanna get back to, in my business in a few years, but it's, study abroad component of my business. So for two weeks I would bring a group of adults to Todi, which is a hill town in Umbria, which is this region next to Tuscany in the center of Italy.

[00:27:48] And, they would learn Italian for four hours a day every morning at an Italian language school that I partnered with. And every afternoon I was like the tour guide and would take them to wineries and art museums and, cooking classes. So it was just my fantasy of what language and culture and travel learning should be.

[00:28:07] This, I'll never forget this woman, named Roberta. Roberta. Roberta. She, she was a woman in her fifties and she called me, she lives in New Jersey, and, she was just interested in my trip. and she had never met me before. She read about me inin a magazine article and more magazine and, read about the trip.

[00:28:27] Christina: I was like, Christina, I just. Read the article in more magazine. I just have to tell you, I wa I just am dreaming about going on your trip. I am not Italian. I don't have one drop of Italian ancestry. But Christina, I am Italian in my heart, . And I'll never forget that. And I just, yeah, she's Italian in her heart.

[00:28:48] And she came on my trip to Todi one year, and then the next year she came back, and then the next year she went back on her own. And now she, I see on Facebook, she's going back. I think she might have bought an apartment in Todi. She has all her friends there. She's fluent in Italian. I'm just like, she, Roberta is Italian, Yeah. Uh, and so that was beautiful and all this, now she must be in her mid sixties and still speaking Italian and doing what she loves. Anyway, The more soulful or creative or personality focused personal growth that happens with language learning is really what fascinates me 

[00:29:25] Bree: you mentioned earlier that you present as a different person when you're speaking different languages, and I love that. My husband is, somewhere between conversational and fluent in Spanish. he speaks Spanish pretty well. But we tease him. So Jeff is, a six two.

[00:29:42] Big, football player type of guy. And we joke because when he speaks Spanish, he sounds like he's about five feet tall. . Oh, what he does if you're not looking at him, he sounds like he's five feet 

[00:29:55] Christina: tall. . That's so funny. Oh my god. . 

[00:29:59] Bree: So I love it. And the truth is there is that part of his personality that's yes, this compact little dude who's getting stuff done, that's his Spanish persona. 

[00:30:11] Christina: isn't your nickname for him el Jefe? It is,it's, yeah. , I always noticed that in your, post some things and I was like, oh, wow. Why does she call him that now? I see. It's like he speaks Spanish and he's the. El Hafe . 

[00:30:26] Bree: He, he also was the boss. Like he's a film director and an executive producer.

[00:30:32] I wasn't the first one to call him El Hafe. he's been called that a lot. It just, it's stuck and we give him what he can because he lives in a house full of very, 

[00:30:42] strong women. Very Alpha Leo women . so he needs to be el hee somewhere in his life. . Exactly. 

[00:30:48] Christina: Cause most of the time, only that 

[00:30:50] Bree: little guy

[00:30:51] Most of the time he's the five foot tall Spanish speaking guy.

[00:30:56] He's so cute. 

[00:30:57] You've touched on this a little bit, and you are such an inspiration to me for so many reasons, but one of them is because you are a brilliant entrepreneur, and and you run a small niche business, but you really seem to thrive in that space.

[00:31:21] Some of our listeners are entrepreneurs. And so I'd love if you could tell us a little bit about that part of your journey as an entrepreneur. 

[00:31:30] Christina: Oh, sure. yeah. It's all happened very organically and,And without much of a strategy, I must say.

[00:31:37] so it all started, I was a college Italian professor and, also writing about restaurants, for a local newspaper. I'm a, foodie and food writer. And, I was teaching at university of Virginia Italian. But I was also teaching a night class to, adults. My audience now my clients, now my students,All aboard Italy basically traveled as Italian and I would go at night and teach this two hour class to university professors, community members.

[00:32:06] Christina: It was, a very affordable, very, popular class. And, I just remember students just loving it. I would bring all my leather coats and belts from home and set up a little market and have them, pretend they wanna buy and haggle with me. Or we'd have a wine tasting and we did, we'd do all that and learn Italian obviously 

[00:32:23] anyway, it was so much fun. And when every time it ended, I think it was and eight week class, the students would say, we wanna keep learning. , we want more Italian, and where can we go? And of course, unless you're a UVA student, There aren't many opportunities, locally to keep going in.

[00:32:39] You're in, you're Italian, so I was like, oh, maybe I can start my dream school. I had always, while I was, doing my doctorate and teaching, I always thought is this for me? I just, it seems like being a professor will always be the same thing every day and teaching, maybe you teach a new course or you write a new book, but, other than that, it's always gonna be pretty much the same job.

[00:33:02] And I'm the type who loves a lot of variety and creativity. So I had always thought oh, I need to do something different. . And that's why I was a writer and I worked for the film festival. I did a lot of different things. and then in 2000. I met the owners through this food writing job of, new business called, Milano and Verde Blue and Mark and Victoria Cave opened this Italian coffee and gelato bar with a beautiful furniture store.

[00:33:30] It happened to have a gorgeous rooftop lounge on the second floor. I did a story on them. They're like, can you help us with our Italian coffee bar? Make sure the coffees are exactly how a cappuccino would be in Italy and everything's spelled correctly.

[00:33:42] So I did a little consulting for them and then I told them, oh, I really wanna start my own Italian language school. And so they said, why don't you start it upstairs? That will be good for both of us. We'll collaborate, your students will order cappuccino and gelato and maybe buy a farm table from us.

[00:33:58] Echo Italy. I have the sign right behind me, . It's with the three cypress trees and it says Echo Italy. Echo is like voila in Italian, so it's here is Italy and underneath it says language culture, travel. So in 2004, that's what I started. I had zero rent.

[00:34:15] so that really helped me start the business. The caves were very generous, letting me just get my business started. So all I had to do was pay for a logo, a website, and that's it. And I started offering small group Italian classes to adults. I created a class for kids called Echo Bibo. Bibo is like kid.

[00:34:35] Christina: And of course my daughter was in that class who was born in 2001. and then I started my trips to Italy, the two weeks in Todi. So that's how it all started. And I was like, oh, this, I can just start at. Trip to Italy. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I'm totally independent. this is great. And then, over time people said, oh, I love Italian, but I need Spanish.

[00:34:55] Can you teach Spanish? So I started a Spanish program, then French, and then. I started paying rent because I started earning money, paying rent to my, my partners, the caves. And then, in 2009, that was a pivotal year while went to Italy for a sabbatical with my family. And then when I came back in 2009, I noticed that like my school was just crammed, like the Italian classes couldn't fit in this little lounge anymore.

[00:35:20] And I just saw wow, we're growing. I need to take a leap. I need to repot this plant, put plant, put it in , a bigger garden. So I took a big leap and led to many challenges, which was, changing my name to speak language center. So we would be inclusive of all languages and different types of, programs and.

[00:35:41] Started a lease on my own space, which was like triple what I was paying, before with the shared space. that was a big learning, learning, it started my, my crash course, mba, I guess you would call it was like, how am I gonna pay the rent with just a couple group classes in Spanish, Italian, and French?

[00:36:00] So that's

[00:36:01] when I started to find different opportunities working with UVA A 

[00:36:05] and doing one-on-one classes, becoming a government contractor, doing translation. So I had to find all these opportunities in order to create a business. Before that, I was more of a solopreneur. a lot of people, would just assume I was also teaching at U V A and not take my business seriously and that, that.

[00:36:25] that hurt. but it was kind of true. I was working part-time, I had my daughter and wanted to spend time with her and wanted to do theater and other things. but in 2009 I had to become a serious business owner and, Still focus on our mission connecting people through language, culture and travel, but also learning how to make money.

[00:36:46] we are a for-profit business and becoming a leader and starting to think less like a solopreneur and more like a c e O or like a team leader. Yeah, that all started in 2009 and, yeah, and over the years we've developed more and more programs. Now I have about 70, 70 teachers who work with me, and we do online and in person, we're getting a lot more into curriculum development and my dream is to have a full, online academy where people can pay a subscription price and have access to all these online live, small group classes, which could be like,travelers Italian or Travel Tuesday, where each Tuesday you pop in and learn about a different part of Italy or Spain.

[00:37:29] Christina: And then it could be advanced grammar or pronunciation lab for our students, English students or whatnot. and then, so that's one goal that I'm started working on. Then the other one is, having a really, like a study abroad concierge website where you say you're, you want to study French in Paris, and so you go to the speak abroad.

[00:37:51] We have the one or two schools that we've vetted. we can recommend and you go there, and we help you connect and plan and with other activities that you can do in tours. So that's my dream as to how a study abroad, concierge service, and, yeah. So anyway,that's the long story of my journey and, always,trying to scale.

[00:38:13] But also, not growing too big. I don't really have ambitions to, be like, like a Rosetta Stone or something like that. I just always wanna stay, stay small, but also just keep creating and going with the times. , with the pandemic, we, we used to just teach English.

[00:38:30] We have a program called Be Speak English, that's Advanced English, coaching online. We had that in since 2016, but we never taught really online until the pandemic hit. We never taught foreign languages. So since 2000, 2020, we've really, been putting a lot of energy into the online learning.

[00:38:50] We're developing our own curriculum in Spanish and then we. Do that more in Italian and Portuguese and other languages. So that's, that's every day is fun. I never know what I'm gonna do, each day. , I know what I'm gonna do, but every day is so much variety. today I'm on this wonderful podcast with you.

[00:39:07] then I'm having lunch with our graphic designer who's visiting from New York City, and we're gonna plan out the design for our new online language academy and all of that. 

[00:39:18] Bree: I have a few takeaways that I'd just like to share with you about that . The first is that I love that you started. From a heart space of where you really felt moved and inspired to do something that you already loved, 

[00:39:36] You were taking something that you already loved and let it build, let it grow within you. And I can feel that even as you're talking about it, I could feel your chest expanding and it's just such a beautiful openness to see, and I think it's really reflected in your work even now, years later.

[00:39:56] The second thing is that you started really in earnest in 2009, which was in, in the wake of a recession . Here. You were taking huge leaps. And I point that out because. We are in, somewhat of an economic downturn right now, and I think it's very frightening to a lot of people. and yet there are examples of people like you who started small and built it up even when financial times were tough, that you didn't try to create an empire from the get-go, but you let it evolve from a place that was very reasonable, but also ambitious , reasonable and ambitious 

[00:40:48] Christina: or crazy, the next thing is that you've really kept your core mission in place the whole time, which is having. Really meaningful connections. Vibrant and I would say knowing you and the work vibrant is the word that really comes to mind when I think of speak and the work that you're doing.

[00:41:12] Bree: And you've really kept your core mission at hand you've not let that turn into, just teaching at uva A you didn't just go become a professor, you stayed with what really kept you, intrigued and interested , but also you looked for opportunities to diversify your income streams when you need it to.

[00:41:35] Finding that creative space to take some risks. I'm sure some of the approaches that you took felt quite safe, and I bet some of them felt like a leap of faith. But by having a diverse portfolio, of income streams, you, could protect yourself against everything falling apart at once.

[00:41:59] What I see now is that even as you are dreaming forward, you're still staying in that space of creative engagement really responding to your need for constant stimulation too, 

[00:42:17] you're not just sticking with what you know, you're letting it evolve. Not from a place of I want to upend the whole , Rosetta Stone Empire. Yes. But from a place of, I want to find more ways to reach more people because I know how impactful this work is. . Does that sound 

[00:42:38] Christina: accurate to you?

[00:42:40] Oh my gosh, it's so perfect. Yeah. it just reminds me of you just working with you in the theater and how your notes to actors or designers when you directed shows, it was just like, oh my God, how did she get all that exactly right? . Yeah. But regarding, just touch upon or respond to a couple of those things that you said regarding the recession.

[00:42:59] It's true. Yeah. 2008, that was exactly, what happened. And, then again with the pandemic,just when I look back, I see like the two. phases of big growth. Two of the biggest were that year, right when I became Speak Language Center in 2009 and during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and now,I guess the takeaway there is that I thrive and I come alive when it's a challenging period, . Even when everything's going well, like with the business and just like same old, same old, I just don't feel, like I'm working to a hundred percent of my capacity. So I think I thrive, in these situations when it's, more challenging and that.

[00:43:43] My nature. I've always been like a procrastinator, likedo it the last moment, the 11th hour or whatever. And just let's get it done. Or it's opening night and we still have to rework the scene. and then starting from the heart space, that's definitely true. And,the thank you about the common of the being vibrant and having a vibrant business.

[00:44:03] I remember my student evaluations when I was a college professor and then teaching that night class that I described, which was a seedling for my business. the evaluations always say, what was your favorite part of this class? The teacher's enthusiasm. And I would bring these hard copies home to my husband.

[00:44:20] He would just crack up. It's like enthusiasm. Enthusiasm en enthusiastic en. And so that's why we have the exclamation point in our logo. Speak and then in terms of diversifying the income streams, that's definitely how we grew and stayed alive. Although I would say that some, yeah, it was my safety net is that when something failed, let's say people weren't able to travel because they couldn't afford it during the recessions, we would tap into the government training, government linguists or spies or things like that, which we still do.

[00:44:49] and translation, things like that. but I would say, that's also a big challenge to me now, and something as I'm, I'm 57, so I'm just thinking like, what's my exit strategy? Or, I don't, I think I'll ever retire my parents. as a side note, were entrepreneurs. They started their own business in the basement of our home when I was in high school.

[00:45:10] Christina: So I, I was raised in a family where I saw, wow, my parents just could create their own, it was in the computer services field, so totally different, but still being raised in a family where they, I saw their life, lifestyle improve and all the struggles and the cashflow challenges and then the celebrations.

[00:45:30] So that is, was very influential in my decision to start my own business. And they're still at 83 and 84. My, my biggest mentors, we talk weekly about business things in life, But I'm very aware of the fact that we've been doing too much. So you just can't do everything.

[00:45:46] And as business owners, we often will, I'm a great listener and I'm a people pleaser, so if people ask, oh, I want sign language, okay, I'm gonna start that, or I want this and that. And so we've grown that way, but it's also spread me too thin. And so now my focus is on getting back to taking what we do really well, which is one-on-one teaching and creating custom courses for different workplace scenarios, whether it's business school students or custodial teams or, law enforcement really customizing our curriculum to partner with organizations and.

[00:46:26] Offer translation just to help them in their whole communication, journey and growth to be stronger teams. and also this dream to have the study abroad, website. So those are the two things that I'm really focusing on now. So stick with the heart, and build a strong team, and create better learning experiences, but not say yes to everything.

[00:46:48] Bree: It's a hard thing for people pleaser to give up. I commend you. I'm there with you. I'm there with you. . Yeah, exactly. We'll say no together. . It's hard, right? . It's hard. It is hard. Before we wrap up, can you tell us how people can find you? 

[00:47:05] Christina: Sure. We have, two websites.

[00:47:07] Speak language center.com and be speak english.com. The second one is our English coaching, program. and on social media. I am at Speak Christina. And then at Speak Language Center is our Speak one. So I'd love to see you there, . 

[00:47:25] Bree: Wonderful. And I will share all of those links in the show notes as well.

[00:47:30] Thank you so much for joining us today, and thank you. Gra Prego? 

[00:47:36] Christina: Yes, you're welcome. Prego. Prego. Pregos like a magic word. It just means like you're welcome and after you, and please tell me what you're thinking. Prego.