Language Lovers

After many months of formulating ideas and trying to establish a diverse language community in my neighborhood of San Diego, Ocean Beach Language Exchange (OBLX) was born this Autumn. With a focus on providing completely FREE language exchange events in a variety of spoken tongues to the public, it's a glimpse of the rich, cultural experiences I have hoped to cultivate for some years now.

Nik in "Acquire Languages" Hoodie (2023)

It would be a stretch to say that OBLX was born from extensive, meticulous planning, as my frequently impulsive nature would imply otherwise–however, the language scene is not something I'm new to. Since 2022, I've slowly advanced my own vision of an online language learning platform called Acquire Languages to bridge the gap between language and culture. The drive to bring opportunities to people both online and locally have pushed me to take action, no matter the obstacles.

When I first started the in person events earlier this summer and even attempted to first kickstart my language company back in 2022, I ran into challenge after challenge. For the latter, the toughest part was consistency. Ultimately, I struggled to offer stable financial compensation for the team members I had gathered in exchange for their time, and in effect, could not attract a constant stream of clientele to promote growth. These perceived failures at the time were gut-wrenching, as my spirit deeply wanted something that my practical reality could not yet sustain. So, since Winter of 2023, I was forced to accept a long hiatus designed to prioritize stabilizing my own life before jumping back in to give it another go. Fast forward to Summer 2025, and I felt finally ready.

My friend Kakeru and I at 'Language Lounge'

The early events before OBLX was fully established were exciting, but difficult to launch with the minimal guidance at the beginning. I have to give a huge thanks to a few individuals (Kakeru and Caitie & Dylan) that offered a lot of support and showed up to several events, boosting my morale and inspiring me to press on. In June 2025 I launched "Language Lounge" for the first time, a weekly event centered around language awareness, discussing goals, and overall language practice (not tied to any specific tongue). Week by week, I continued to show up even with continued instances of no other attendees. By late August, however, I had become aware of "Meetups" and realized that in order to increase attendance, understanding "how" the social event scene worked was crucial. So with that inspiration, I was fully ready (and committed) to launching the next phase of my Language journey in OBLX!

"Polyglot Picnic" Fall Language Meetup

Since we launched more officially, there have been dozens of members who have joined our groups on Meetup & NextDoor, and we have hosted over 10 events, with 5 of those being unique "Language Specific" meetups in Spanish, Ukrainian, German, etc. One of my favorites so far was "Polyglot Picnic," which was our very first, FREE Picnic to the public that featured a few snacks from some different cultures and an opportunity to chat in a couple languages such as Spanish and Italian! Moments like these have deeply enriched my time in the area and finally given me a bit more of a grounded purpose to many of the actions I've taken before now, as if there's finally a clearer path forward.

This is OB Language Exchange!

I know it won't be easy to be a leader in this area. I've already faced the many bouts with burnout and fatigue giving it my all before, but this time, I'm trying to prioritize balance and make sure that I'm not overextending myself. It will take time, that's what I keep reminding myself, not just to transform this idea into something more material and durable, but to create a community, one that represents many of the unique backgrounds my ~town~ shares. Maybe that is what I've always been looking for, since I came here five years ago...