Spanglish with a side of French

Brrr, December. Here in Linares we're enduring this cold weather as best we can–shovelling snow daily, wearing giant winter coats, drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace...

Not! It may not be 30 degrees and sunny anymore, but winter here trumps Canada by a long shot: most days I can get by with only a trench coat and scarf.

Christmas is fast approaching, and despite the lack of snow (very strange), it's starting to feel like it with all the decorations and lights around town. I'm very excited to be going home for three weeks for the break–my flight is in exactly two weeks!

Things are going well here for the most part. Like any other job, there are days when mine gets on my nerves between students being noisy or staring at me blankly, but for the most part I really enjoy it. One important thing I've learned probably seems like common sense: if you need help, just ask! Last week I was feeling overwhelmed one day between my regular job, private lessons and work at a private academy and ended up talking to some colleagues about it. It was amazing how supportive and helpful they all were, and I'm now feeling much better about it all.

This past month wasn't overly exciting on the travelling front, but I did manage to make two day trips to Baños, a nearby town with a beautiful castle, and Úbeda, a small Renaissance city nearby. Tomorrow I will be going to Baeza, another Renaissance city, with some of my language-assistant friends. Úbeda and Baeza are both UNESCO sites and are only a half hour away. My parents also visited for a week, and it was great to see them! They had bad luck with the weather–it rained the whole week and was sunny the whole next week–but we made the most of it. They loved experiencing the tapas scene, meeting the family I'm staying with and some of my colleagues, and seeing Cástulo, an ancient Roman city discovered semi recently right outside of Linares.

As for the title of this entry, recently I've been feeling like I can't put a complete sentence together in a single language! At home, I speak to Elena and Andrés (the couple I'm living with) in sentences that often start in Spanish and end in English or vice-versa. There was also one memorable day where Andrés called me from the living room and I inexplicably answered "Oui?" Feeling tongue-tied like that can be a little frustrating, but I think it's just part of the deal when you're living between languages. One thing's for sure: my Spanish is at least better than when I came!

As for the weekend, not too many plans yet aside from Baeza tomorrow and, por supuesto, lots of tapas! It's currently La Ruta de la Tapa here in Linares, a type of tapas festival where each bar makes a special tapa. It's also a long weekend, so I'm looking forward to some solid rest and who knows, maybe another day trip.

'Ta luego! 

Beautiful Sevilla, Linares nightlife and giant group hugs

It's hard to believe it's already November! These last few weeks have been very busy, so it's hard to know where to start.

This past weekend was a four-day weekend for Linares schools, so a few language assistants and I went on an impromptu trip to Seville. Nos encantó! (We loved it.) What an amazing city between the delicious food, great nightlife and incredible history and culture. A definite highlight for me was touring the Alcázar of Seville ("Alcázar" is the Arabic word for "palace"), part of which was built for King Peter I of Spain during the Christian period but in the Moorish style. The Plaza de España, a half-circle plaza built for the Ibero-American Exhibition in 1929, was also gorgeous and symbolic: with a canal running through it, the plaza includes four bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain and beautiful stone alcoves for every Spanish province. Naturally, we needed a picture with our temporary home province of Jaén!

A few weeks ago I spent the weekend in Andújar, a nearby city in the Sierra Morena mountain range, with the couple I'm staying with and some of their friends. We did some hiking, enjoyed the views, and por supuesto ate a lot! We were very lucky to have 30+ degree weather all weekend in the middle of October, which I thoroughly enjoyed compared to the 10-degree weather in Canada. We also visited a famous sanctuary where a pastor apparently saw the Virgin Mary and which is now the site of many religious pilgrimages. The sanctuary had beautiful views of the mountains, and it was interesting to see another aspect of it: people leave a variety of objects–pictures, jewellery, clothing, etc.–there, asking that Mary will look over them and their family.

A few weeks ago, I also experienced two new parts of the Linares nightlife: the clubbing scene and the Botellón ("Big Bottle"). With some friends we met here, my language assistant friends and I went to one of Linares's two nightclubs, which was pretty different from Canada. To begin with, nobody arrives at the club until 3 a.m.! We went at 2 and it was empty, so we decided to go to the Botellón while we waited. The Botellón is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Basically, it's a place where students go to drink and smoke in the streets, complete with music blasting from cars and even a strobe light from one car trunk. It was a very different experience, and I couldn't help thinking that a Botellón wouldn't last a night in Canada before being shut down. At 3 a.m. we went back to the club, which was now packed, and stayed out until 5 a.m.–considered early here.

Work is going really well. I'm surprised to say that I enjoy being with my kindergarten students (3 to 5 years old) the most, which I did not expect! I was worried that they would have too much energy and that they would be difficult to teach, but it's actually the opposite: they learn so quickly and simply love their teachers, so my classes often end in giant group hugs. However, an occupational hazard I didn't expect was humming along to children's songs for days on end after class. This is my face, this is my face; I've got eyes, look, look, look; I've got ears, listen, listen, listen... I am really happy to be working in two schools because I have students of all ages (from from 3 to 18), and I appreciate the variety in what I can teach them. This week I also started working at a private academy on Mondays and giving private lessons; both were more challenging than I expected, but I'm staying positive and am sure they will get easier once I get into a routine.

'Ta luego!

Living between languages

Today I was shocked to realize that it's already halfway through October. Where has time gone?!

Things are going very well in Linares. Funny enough, I've yet to have a full week of work between day trips to Jaen (the province's capital) for administrative purposes, a day spent with visitors in my school, a trip to Granada, and a civic holiday. Nonetheless, I'm getting used to the type of work, and it looks like I'm going to have a busy schedule: there are tons of people who want private lessons for themselves, their kids, their brothers, their sisters, their friends... not to mention the fact that yesterday I had an impromptu interview at a private English academy and they basically hired me on the spot!

Living with a Spanish couple has been amazing. They are so sweet and have included me in family events and social events too, which is great because we're pretty close in age. We've been watching a Spanish drama series, unfortunately without Spanish subtitles, but last night I was thrilled to discover that I am catching more of the dialogue! I'm also working on my linarense accent, which is quite unique. (So far I think I've only succeeded in making my accent a little less anglófono.) 

Last week I went to Granada with a group of visitors from Slovakia, Bulgaria and Turkey that was visiting one of my schools. Alhambra was simply breathtaking, and the city of Granada was muy chula (very nice/pretty). Then on Monday I went to Jaen to experience one of their fairs, which was huge and a lot of fun! In short, it's been a very busy two weeks and I had planned to take it easy this weekend, but alas tapas is calling my name and it looks like I'll be out again tonight!

'Ta luego! 

First days in Linares

While enjoying a leisurely Saturday morning, I suddenly realized that I haven't even been in Linares a week and already it's starting to feel like a second home. This week was a really busy one between getting settled in, starting work, navigating a new city, trying to decipher the very unique Linares accent, and, por supuesto, eating lots of tapas!

Linares is a nice city, big enough to have everything you need but small enough that you can run into people you know in the street. I can't get over how welcoming and helpful everybody is: I can't count the number of times people have offered to help me with anything I need, even if we've only just met! And it's a good thing, too, because I wouldn't have been able to figure out how to set up a bank account, get a cell phone, or get to the schools I'll be working at without a lot of help.

Last night I experienced the Linares tapas scene, which surprisingly was like a type of tapas bar crawl. We went from one tapa bar to another, trying the various tapas offered and revelling in the low prices. It's no wonder the tapa bars are filled with linarenses on the weekend, considering that for just a few euros you can get delicious food and drink–and a great atmosphere, too!

As for my living situation, I'm renting a room in a house owned by a Spanish couple looking to improve their English. They've been so nice and helpful, and my Spanish level has already skyrocketed from trying to express day-to-day things like, "Do you have an onion?" or "How do you say 'hairdryer'?" It's nice to have a kind of family around, too, when you're far away from home. :)

'Ta luego!

En route to Linares

September 30, 2014

As I sit sipping a café con leche on a warm Malaga patio, it seems surreal that only a few days ago I was telling friends, family and others that I would soon be spending eight months in Spain. Back then, it seemed only vaguely true, an adventure happening in the future that I was both looking forward to excitedly and second-guessing in turn. But at last here I am, on the last leg of my journey, waiting for a bus to my soon-to-be new home of Linares, Spain. 

Almost immediately, some of my expectations for southern Spain have been confirmed. Sitting on a patio facing the street, I notice vespas scooting by, palm trees lining the streets, conversations taking place in rapid español andaluz, and other café customers sipping their coffees while leisurely smoking a cigarette. This is no 11:00 a.m. on a Canadian Monday: the café is surprisingly busy and there seems to be no rush to finish coffee or meals and scoot off to work. A pleasant surprise comes at the end of my meal: my delicious ham-and-cheese sandwich and two cafes con leche cost a mere 5.25 euros.

It has been a long journey to get here—and there are still a good 7 hours to go until I reach my final destination­—but despite the struggle to keep my eyes open and focused on my watch and my luggage, I’m full of excitement and anticipation.

‘Ta luego!