About us

Our story

We are a couple from Chile who landed in Canada with full suitcases, school-book English and the firm belief that “how are you?” deserves a complete life story as an answer. Spoiler: it doesn’t.

We soon found out it was not just a language barrier. There was a whole culture to get to know: small talk, impeccably polite lines, the “sorry” you say even when the other person bumped into you and, of course, Tim Hortons as the national meeting point.

At first I had very little contact with local people, and I needed to talk to practise my English. The problem: I am very shy and felt guilty taking up someone’s time while I hunted for a word that never showed up. My practice plan was basically passionately talking to my phone screen.

Then, in a Facebook group, I saw a message from someone who wanted to learn Spanish, and I thought: what if they aren’t the only person who wants to learn Spanish? That was a chance to exchange languages and to practise with a local without feeling guilty: we both win. I wrote the first post and started planning the first meeting.

Almost three years ago we met for the first time at a Tim Hortons. I felt confident: I had been preparing for weeks and had even printed a few sheets with basic ice-breaker activities. But nerves don’t care about planning. We went with a few friends, and everyone else was a local we had never met. There was a lot of uncertainty… and a lot of printed paper.

And then the best thing happened: the meeting was incredibly easy. About 15 people showed up, all very talkative, and the ice-breaker sheets were hardly needed. Many of those people still come today and, one coffee at a time, went from strangers to great friends.

Because over time we understood this was never just about exchanging languages. It is about exchanging experiences, cultures, recipes, jokes that don’t translate and a good time with people who share something very simple: the desire to learn. And to make mistakes, which is part of the deal. The group classic: “embarrassed” and “embarazada”. They sound alike, they don’t mean the same thing, and all of us, absolutely all of us, fall for it at some point.

Today the group has more than 350 members. Not all of them have come to a meeting, and not everyone who has come is in the group, which tells me something important: there are many more people out there looking, in one way or another, to get closer to Spanish or English. Our mission is to reach them.

Some meetings have had more than 20 people and others just 3, and honestly it makes no difference: the spirit and the energy are the same. And we hope to keep sharing this for a long time to come!

Jimmy