As Cristian Gonzalez ‘16 walks into school Monday morning, he isn’t thinking of that English FRQ or running the pacer in P.E. He is running through Arabic grammar in his head as he climbs the stairs because this week is Arabic week, one of 12 languages he puts on a constant cycle when he does his homework, listens to the radio, watches TV and talks to people in one specific language all week.

Gonzalez considers himself fluent in Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic and Portugese but he is also very close in the remaining seven: Russian, Dutch, Farsi, Pashto, Hindi, Korean and Mandarin Chinese. He does feel that the concept of fluency is a very fluid term.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about fluency in general,” Gonzalez said. “It’s not that you know every word in the entire language instantly. I define fluency as being able to go to a country and being able to interact with the people there and not feel totally alone, but comfortable. Fluency is more than the grammar and vocab and pronunciation. It is so much of the culture as well.”

Ever since he started Model United Nations at LT (MUN) as a result of his interest in foreign affairs and international relations as a sophomore, languages have been the focus of Gonzalez, a native Spanish speaker.

“As I came to understand foreign affairs, I realized that the reason the world is so messed up is because of our miscommunications,” Gonzalez said. “We are not in tune with each other’s cultures. What better way to remedy that than to learn the languages of people’s hearts in order to really connect with them.”

The culture and background of the languages he studies has always played a big role in Gonzalez’s learning process. Fellow member of MUN Bak Mirjat ‘15, who speaks four languages fluently (English, Sindhi, Urdu and Arabic), has helped him out with Arabic pronunciation and learning the culture as well.

“Cristian just has a pure drive to acquire knowledge,” Mirjat said. “I believe that the potential to learn is within all of us, and Cristian does not limit himself when it comes to learning languages, which helps him to tackle the most difficult ones.”

When learning these languages, Gonzalez starts by getting a book of the language and making sure he knows all the basics: the alphabet and initial vocabulary as well as the basic sounds. He also logs onto polyglot websites to talk with native speakers of his new language or the language he is focusing on that week. Once he feels comfortable with a language he will put it into his weekly rotation, where he starts in Asia with languages like Russian, Hindi and Arabic then travels west across Europe. All of this language learning has a huge impact on his schoolwork in general. In Gonzalez’s math class with Joe Barker, he constantly writes his notes and homework in the language he is focusing on that week.

“I don’t think the time Cristian uses to study foreign languages during math class negatively impacts his math grade, because he works to keep ahead,” Barker said.  “I do think his drive in studying languages and cultures is model for others. He is not doing all this for a grade or to be flashy or draw attention to himself, but to communicate across cultures. What amazes me is how much energy he puts into learning these languages and how comfortable he seems with each one.”

Yet even with all this practice, Gonzalez has days and even weeks where retaining his language knowledge seems impossible. He cites the hardest language he ever tried to learn was Euskera, a dialect spoken in Northern Spain.

“Euskera is a very old language but it is so difficult to learn because there aren’t any links between it and other languages in the region or even the world,” Gonzalez said. “Sometimes I look at a page and I have no idea what I am reading.”

Additionally, some of his practice at LT has brought on some unkind comments.

“There are a lot of prejudices here around Asian languages,” Gonzalez said. “I was in study hall and I was writing a book report on Tom Sawyer which I read and wrote in Arabic. While I was writing the report, some kid leaned over and asked if it was secret plans for ISIS. That is what I hope to eliminate with learning all these languages, these rigid mindsets.”

Hoping to go to Harvard, Gonzalez has big plans for his future, using his linguistic knowledge to connect people across the world.

“Cristian certainly has a bright future ahead of him,” Mirjat said. “His drive will take him anywhere he wishes to go, whether it be to the college of his choice or even the career of his choice. I expect nothing but the best for him.”