Adiós, España! (Alternate Title = 'Exchange Rocks!')

As I write this blog entry, I am sat in my rather comfortable bed in Spain, about to go to sleep in it for the last time. (For a while, at least – Isabel has extended me an open invitation to return whenever, for as long as I’d like :D)

I’m not entirely sure if I’m ecstatic or miserable to be going back home. I think it’s a healthy combination of the two. If anything, it will be nice to escape the current Spanish weather – the past three days have been over 40 degrees in Madrid, and not much better in Valencia!

A lot of people – actually, almost everyone I’ve spoken to in the past month – have asked me if I regret my decision to enrol in a Semester Program of exchange, as opposed to a Year Program. The answer is generally ‘no’. While I am quite upset to bid Colmenarejo ‘adios’ tomorrow, I still feel that the length of time I’ve spent over here is perfect for me, and that it’ll be good to get back to Perth and find some good, solid work for the second half of the year.

(Moral of the story: Don’t listen to exchange companies when they imply very strongly that the Semester Program is for wimps. I knew what I was signing up for!)

And hey, a semester is still a semester. And it’s been a busy, and wholly worthwhile one.

I’ve travelled to the other side of the world completely on my own – and without losing my passport once! [Let’s hope I didn’t just jinx that for tomorrow.]

I’ve gained a strong foundation in Spanish as a second language. While I’m still far from perfect, I can carry out a conversation and almost always understand what people are saying. It’s certainly something that I am hoping to continue to study, if I can only figure out how in Perth...

I’ve had a snowball fight!

I’ve lost a bit of weight.

I’ve made some wonderful friends. The friends my age are a lovely bunch of guys that have introduced me to some rather new and exciting experiences. My absolute best friend in Spain, however, has been my host mother Isabel. She and I have got on from day one, sharing a love of linguistics, fruit tea, bad puns, discussing human rights, jazz music and world history – among other things. She’s been so welcoming to me, and so open and patient. I feel remarkably lucky.

I’ve eaten so much new, delicious food.

I’ve seen beautiful places – tiny villages, big cities, the tops of mountains.

I’ve acquired three more siblings. Daniel, Maria and Antonio have all made my time here both wonderful and infuriating on different occasions. I feel like they’ve really become my family – we poke fun at each other, we sing Shakira and Kanye West songs together, we’ve taught each other to play sports and musical instruments and card games, and we squabble constantly. I’ll miss the three of them a hell of a lot.

I’ve visited Valencia not once, not twice, but three times.

I’ve played hockey, been to discotecas and house parties, strolled the streets of Madrid alone because I could, played Marco Polo about a million times, been to a traditional Spanish funeral, passed school sport, discovered that I actually like museli...

I could go on, of course, but I think you get the picture.

If anyone younger than me is reading this and considering exchange, I would absolutely recommend it. It’s fascinating to remove yourself from your comfort zone, particularly if – like me – you’ve spent your entire life living in the same house, in the same city.

I also feel like so much of the reason I have benefitted from this exchange has come from living with a different family. Staying in a house so different from mine, with a family so different from mine, was eye-opening, sometimes frustrating, and an interesting way to learn about the way my own family functions.

So yeah, exchange rules! If you’re really thinking about it, check out SEANZ – these guys are the ones that sorted me, Breanna and Jess out. They’re top.

So – guess that’s it. Better get some sleep to prepare for a 25 hour or so commute.

Adiós, España! Voy a volver pronto.

In Which Grace Commutes Solo To Madrid

I've been into central Madrid a handful of times whilst I've been here. A few times with friends, and a few times with my host family - but always with people, and with a specific purpose for being there.

Yesterday, finally feeling comfortable enough in my Spanish and my knowledge of Madrid's public transport system to do so, I ventured into the CBD by myself.

This is something that I've been keen to do for a while, to say the least. When I first heard that my host family placement was in the province of Madrid, I was stoked at the thought that maybe I would get the chance to explore the major streets of the capital of Spain alone.

That's not to say that I don't love exploring with other people. But going out into the culmination of centuries worth of history and culture and hubub by myself was such a different experiences. I could stop to look at the statues, plaques and parks that locals don't bother to glance at. I could wander, in an aimless and leisurely fashion, focussed more on the experiencing than the doing.

So that's exactly what I did, bussing and then metro-ing until I arrived in Plaza de España at about 2pm.

I took a stroll through a little park, stumbling across fountains, statues, some amazing markets, and some delicious take away coffee.

I ate lunch by myself in a small, beautiful cafe on the Gran Via. I ordered the somewhat typical bocadillo calamares, and dutifully refused the free glass of beer that came with it - opting instead for a Diet Coke. (I was also asked out by the waiter. That was... interesting.)

I went into shops, from the nine-storey megastore El Corte Inglés to the tiny, ancient little jewellery shops. I'll admit, I bought a fair bit yesterday - both for me and for some of you lucky things.

When it hit 8.30pm, still nowhere near dark, the nightlife began to emerge and so I felt as though I'd better skedaddle.

In my last couple of weeks here I'll be on exam break - while I don't have to take the exams, all my friends will be busy studying themselves silly. With Isabel still working and Daniel, Maria and Antonio still at school, I was worried I'd be rather bored. Now, knowing I can tackle Madrid, I'll take it upon myself to do all the stuff I'd been worried I wouldn't get the chance to - museums and art galleries, the Palace, the botanic gardens.

The experience was absolutely incredible. I can't really describe it well enough. I've not on this entire exchange felt more independent, or grown up. I was chilling in Madrid, guys!

Yet Another Update On My Spanish

A few weeks ago, I had to take a test a test in Spanish. This was to give my school and my exchange program an indication of how my language skills were progressing. There was an hour of speaking - which was rather fun, because it consisted of playing games with another exchange student! - and then an hour of reading/writing.

Today I got the results back! I was quite pleased.

I received 85% for speaking, and 75% for writing. My Spanish teacher was particularly happy with my 'extended writing' piece, in which I was required to "write a few paragraphs describing your favourite holiday destination", because I scored 9.5/10.

So, for those interested in how my written Spanish is going - here's the product of half an hour under exam conditions, ie. no dictionary or verb conjugation tables!

(If you are curious as to what it says I recommend Google Translate - which can give you a good, if gramatically incorrect, idea.)

Isla Rottnest - conocido como 'Rotto' en mi ciudad, Perth - es una isla en el coste oeste de Australia. Es muy poco pero tan bonita, y es un destino popular para vacaciones. Me encanta Rotto.

Rotto es reservado solo para vacaciones. Nadie viviendo en la isla. Es tan popular porque es un sitio perfecto para relax. El alojamiento es poco chaletes cual alojar familias de cinco o seis personas. Todos los chaletes son con vista al mar.

Mucho de Rotto es bonito. Las playas son maravilloso, y puede nadar, tomar el sol, pescar y (muy tipica de Australia!) jugar cricket. La isla tiene un arrecife, y puede esnorkel ver peces y un naufragio! Es una isla con mucho vegetation - es muy verde.

Ademas, Rotto tiene 'quokkas', unos poco, peludos animales son no otra sitio en el mundo!

La especial cosa de Rotto es que es sin coches. Todo el mundo debemos utilizar bicicletas, o caminar. Asi, es muy seguro para niños.

Mi familia gustamos ir a Rottnest en la primavera, especialmente octubre. Gustamos pescar, nadar y especialmente comer en la famosa 'Panaderia de Rotto'!

Este año, quiero ire en bici alrededor de todo la isla con mi padre. Porque la isla es tan poco, solo necesitamos montar seis horas!

Otherwise, not too many interesting things have been happening in the past few weeks! I've spent the last few weekends just relaxing around the house during the day.

I've been to the disco a couple of times with my friends, which has been quite a lot of fun. Dancing to loud technopop in a club - I'm living the teenage dream!

Next weekend I'm off to Valencia again for two nights, on a trip organised by my exchange program. I'm looking forward to meeting some fellow exchange students - and, of course, eating more paella!

A Little Moment Of Personal Accomplishment

Today is a Tuesday.

On Tuesdays (and Thursdays, as a matter of fact), Isabel works until very late and Daniel is with his father for most of the afternoon. This means that, at 4.30pm, I pick Antonio and Maria up from school and we walk home together.

At about 3.30, I headed off to Galapagar to pick up some groceries. By 4-ish I was standing at the bus stop, waiting to catch it back to Colmenarejo, when the mother of one of Maria's friends saw me while driving past. She asked if I was heading to school and offered to give me a lift. I accepted.

And so I sat in the car of an almost-stranger who didn't know any English, for ten whole minutes. And we talked - about the weather, about what I was going to cook for dinner, about soccer, and about Australia. Pretty simple.

But - here's the exciting part of the story - I understood every word! And I was able to reply to everything she said, and asked!

I feel a bit like this at the moment -


I had a full, ten minute conversation with someone I didn't know. In Spanish! In a language that isn't my own!

If there was something that was going to make me realise how far my communuication skills had come, this was it. Sure, my grammar is still far from perfect and tenses still make my head spin. But I can communicate. I can talk to people!

:D

Lost In Translation

Quite a few people have asked me recently if I have any amusing or embarassing mistranslation stories.

Of course, I make several errors in my Spanish daily. Mostly, they're just boring mistakes - mispronounciation, using the wrong verb tail, confusing my tenses, etc. etc.

Similarly, the people around me who are speaking English - generally in English classes - make plenty of mistakes, too. (I've noticed that many of them have trouble in asking the time; I often get "What time it is o'clock?" and "When is the hour?")

There are a couple of times in which words that sound similar in English and Spanish have brought confusion, though. So here are a few anecdotes, in all their vaguely-amusing glory!

All I Wanted Was Some Food -

In my very first week in Spain, my host mother greeted me after school with the usual "¿Qué tal?" (="How are you?"). I responded, in my very slow and halting Spanish, "Muy bien, pero ¡estoy hombre!"

Which I thought meant "Very good, but I'm hungry!"

Turns out, with my confusion of vowels and grammar errors, I'd actually said; "Very good, but I'm a man at the moment!"

Isabel had a good chuckle.

Toilet Humour Ahead, Beware -

A friend of mine, Sergio, was away from school sick for a week. Upon returning, my English Conversation Class teacher, Rachel, put him on the spot by asking him why he'd been away.

He thought for a moment, before responding with "I don't know how to say it."

Rachel told him to have a guess, assuring him that it was probably very similar to the Spanish.

So, he tried his luck with "I had constipate?"

Turns out, 'constipado' means 'a cold' in Spanish. Rachel had to explain to the poor, clueless class why she and I were doubled over laughing.

Embarrassment, Or Not -

For all I know, I accidentally started a rumour about myself earlier this week!

We were playing volleyball in PE at school, and I was thumped hard in the chest with the ball during the game. I was a little winded, but otherwise fine. However, my classmates were all immediately concerned, rushing up to me to check if I was okay.

Now, I'd heard people saying 'embarazadas', and I'd assumed it meant 'embarassed'. Seems reasonable, right? I just shook my head, therefore, and said:

"¡Estoy bien! Solo un poco embarazada."

"I'm fine! Only a bit embarassed." = what I was trying to say.

"I'm fine! Only a bit pregnant." = what I actually said.

Oh dear. It took my PE teacher, who doesn't speak any English at all, a bit of time to cotton on.

Words On Words

One of the many things I'm finding absolutely fascinating about living in Spain is the language barrier.

I'm sure my fellow exchange students will agree that being thrust into a world where you suddenly can't speak to people, or can only speak to them on a very basic level, can be hilarious, terrifying, infuriating and sometimes lonely.

Things I wouldn't even think twice about at home - checking the time with someone, small talk, reading a notice in the classroom, paying for groceries - suddenly take all of your concentration and energy. It can be exhausting.

On the bright side, my ability to mime has certainly come forwards in leaps and bounds. You should all bags me for your charades teams when I get back!

When it comes to learning Spanish I have been very lucky. My eldest host brother Daniel speaks incredible English, and my host mother Isabel isn't bad either. They're both remarkably patient with me, make sure I never feel left out, and are so willing to help me whenever I need it.

Daniel actually sat with me a few nights ago and helped me translate my History notes for over an hour. He's absolutely fantastic. I've promised him Tim Tams in return!

School is a whole different story. While I've made some absolutely wonderful friends, and most of my teachers are lovely, it can be so difficult to follow along. In class, I'm generally fine as long as things are written down. But actually speaking to people - friends, teachers, the headmistress - is intimidating and so difficult.

It can also make you ridiculously paranoid. I'm constantly wondering whether people are talking and laughing about me!

When you're stuck behind a language barrier, you start noticing things you never would have before. This is one of the things I've found so fascinating. I've become so much more in tune with people's facial expressions, body language, and tone. I've communicated with people simply with high-fives, thumbs ups, and enthusiastic nods. I've learned that a smile can go a long way.

Learning to speak a new language has certainly highlighted which words I use most often in day-to-day conversations. While the obvious are all there - yes, no, please, thank you, but, and, can, need, want, etc, etc - there have also been a few surprises. Turns out I say random words like 'country' (pais), 'okay' (vale), 'car' (coche), 'play' (jugar), and 'tired' (cansada) a lot more than I would have thought!

It's so difficult, but don't get me wrong. Me encanta español. Y voy ser capaz de hablar correctamente! (Con tiempo.)

Picspam 2 - Mis Hermanos Maravillosos

Me and Antonio:


Daniel:


Maria and Fernando:
Antonio's answer to "sonrisa por la camara!":

Goofballs:

More goofballs:

Yeahhh we like to wrestle - I've recently taught them to play 'stacks on':

And on the Spanish...

...because plenty of people have asked. It's coming! Slowly but surely. My family and friends are all wonderfully helpful and patient with me.

Today in History I managed to understand all of the 'resumen' the teacher wrote up on the blackboard! WOO HOO! Although that was mostly thanks to similar-to-English phrases like 'factores politicos', 'agricultura', 'la raza suprema'... you get my drift. Still, it's something, right?

But yeah, while my ability to read Spanish is getting better and better, speaking is another thing altogether. It's still a bit like living in a foreign film without subtitles most of the time.

The Past 24 Hours (AKA "I'm Alive And Well!")

Yet More Travelling

My flight from London to Madrid was pretty epic. I was next to two Americans; Jonathan from California and Andy from New York. Jonathan was headed to study at uni in Madrid (the same place my host mum works!) and Andy was off on a cycling tour around Southern Spain . They were really nice and super funny! I had a ball, and am hopefully keeping in contact with both of them via email!

(FYI, Andy is a dentist and he recommends Colgate - I asked. He can also, contrary to popular belief, show his face on television. Anyone remember that ad? No? Awkward.)

Madrid airport is possibly the most confusing place I've ever been. It wasn't that the signs were in Spanish - it's that there were no signs to begin with! Just huge amounts of space, and the occasional number indicating a gate.

I ended up walking in circles until finally I saw an escalator and decided to try that. It led me to an aiport monorail station - one of the stops had a picture of a passport next to it, and so I tried that. Finally, after over half an hour, I made it to passport control! Woo hoo!

Even so, I had to wait another 20 minutes for my luggage.

Madrid Airport To Colmenarejo

My host mum, Isabel, was busy when my plane came in so Señor Fernández, the president of Juventud y Cultura - my Spanish exchange organisation - came to pick me up.

Mum had spoken to Señor Fernández on the phone, and told me that he reminded her of my grandfather, Paul. She was definitely on to something - he spoke and gesticulated in much the same way. Even the accent, though Spanish, sounded somewhat similar. Those who knew Paul can imagine my delight when he pulled out his iPhone to show me a picture of his German Shepherd called Newton!

In my hour or so in the car with Señor Fernández I learned a lot - for example, road rules are not really of interest to many Spaniards. Hmm.

Dinner Last Night

Señor Fernández dropped me off at my beautiful house in Colmenarejo. Upon opening the door I was greeted by grins from three dogs and my host mother, Isabel. I lugged my suitcase inside and she gave me a hug, a kiss on each chee and a tour of the house. Her English is actually quite good, which was rather helpful! She showed me my room and then introduced me to my host siblings - Daniel, Maria and Antonio.

Isabel left me to hang with my them while she finished dinner. Daniel, my twelve-year-old host brother, has amazing English. He was chatting away to me about his recent trip to Disneyland as he, Antonio and I made paper aeroplanes and raced them across the living room. A good way to spend our first hours together? I think so.

We had a deilicious pasta dish for dinner and then I gave them my Australiana presents, which they all seemed to like. Maria has refused to take off her kangaroo necklace since I gave it to her. (Thanks for that idea, Mum!)

Today...

I woke up at 11 today to find that Maria was the only other person here. Isabel and Antonio had gone looking for firewood, and Daniel left this morning to stay the weekend with his father.

Of course, Maria found it quite difficult to convey any of this to me, as her English is limited and my Spanish is even more so. So together we went through my English-Spanish dictionary until we had established the basics.

Maria helped me to unpack, teaching me the names of items of clothing as we went. When we were done I taught her how to play Snap.

Isabel and Antonio returned, and so Maria and I played soccer with Antonio (and the dogs!) for a while. I've discovered that "GOOOOAAALLLLL!" translates across to Spanish quite well.

We went in to the centre of Colmenarejo (because Isabel wanted to show me the library, the theatre, the church and the chemist) and to Galapagar (beacause Antonio needed some new boots!) for the afternoon. Spain is absolutely beautiful. I swear, even the graffiti looks prettier.

It's been an amazing but rather exhausting day. It's my bed time!

Picspam coming soon!

T Minus 15 [Days!]

These last few days have been exciting, to say the least! Slowly but surely - finally! - information about my soon-to-be host family has come to me from Spain.

I'm off to live on the outskirts of Madrid, in Colmenarejo, and going to school at I.E.S. Colmenarejo. My host mother's name is Isabel, who is divorced but lives with her three children; Daniel (11), Maria (8) and Antonio (6). They've had exchange students before, and have a few pets - three dogs, one cat, two hamsters and a pool of fish.

This is exactly the sort of host family I hoped for - I'm so happy, and can't wait to meet them! I received all this information this morning from my Spanish contacts, along with a few pictures, and I'm off to email them after this.

In other news, the first of three of us using the same exchange program (for anyone interested, it's Student Exchange Australia New Zealand - link found here) is off to Italy tomorrow! Yesterday the three of us ventured in to Perth city to buy identical teddy bears to hug if we got lonely in our respective European countries. Here's mine, complete with a friendship bracelet on her left ankle;


The Spanish is coming along veeeery slowly. It's going to be a busy couple of weeks - learning the basics of a language, various farewell parties and goodbyes, packing my room up, packing the things I'm going to take away, organising multiple appointments and praying that my visa is accepted by the Spanish Consulate on time. Eep!